The Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin, a proud Chicago native, serves as the first Executive Conference Minister of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ, leading over 600 churches across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. As the chief vision keeper, he guides the Conference with clarity, conviction, and a deep commitment to equity, spiritual transformation, and social impact.

Rev. Goodwin brings more than two decades of leadership across pastoral ministry, higher education, and national church governance. Before his current role, he served the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota Conferences as Associate Conference Minister, offering pastoral care, leadership support, and oversight of the ministerial Search & Call process across three states.

He is the creator and former Program Director of the Pension Boards’ Faith and Personal Finance Initiative, a groundbreaking, $1 million project funded by the Lilly Endowment to address the economic challenges facing pastoral leaders. Through this initiative, Rev. Goodwin championed financial wellness for clergy from historically underrepresented communities.

A trusted leader within the wider church, Rev. Goodwin currently serves on various local and national boards including but not limited to; the UCC Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, Cornerstone Fund, Leadership Greater Hartford, and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. His work is grounded in an expansive theology of hospitality, justice, and communal healing.

Rev. Goodwin is also the founding pastor of Liberation UCC in Seattle and has ministered in congregations and campus communities across the country. His earlier career in Jesuit higher education included senior roles in student affairs, multicultural life, and community formation.

His pastoral journey has taken him from youth ministry on Chicago’s South Side to chaplaincy work with veterans, to building inclusive worship spaces in urban and academic contexts. Across every setting, Rev. Goodwin leads with authenticity, prophetic imagination, and a heart for the marginalized.

Rev. Goodwin holds a:
• B.A. in Human Development and Theology, Boston College
• M.Ed. in Higher Education & Student Affairs, University of Vermont
• M.A. in Transforming Spirituality, Seattle University
• D.Min. candidate, San Francisco Theological Seminary
• Dissertation: “Praying Through: Using group spiritual direction as a strategy for the retention of African American men in predominantly white seminaries in the United Church of Christ.”

Outside of his formal roles, Rev. Goodwin is an enthusiastic dinner party host alongside his spouse Kentavis Goodwin-Brice as well an amateur bartender, and dedicated bridge builder — passionate about creating spaces where people can show up fully, boldly, and beloved.