Eva L. Clarke, Founder & Assistant Pastor

Eva Gilliam was born in San Rafael, California. When she was a young girl, her family relocated first to East Saint Louis, Illinois and then to the neighboring town of Belleville . The experience of living in East Saint Louis during the city's stark decline prompted Eva's initial interest in community and economic development. Eva left Belleville in 1977 to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she majored in Urban Studies and Planning and earned an S.B. degree. There were a number of Christian influences in her life growing up including her grandmother, aunts and uncles in Chicago, IL. While a student at MIT, Eva gave her life to Christ. There she also met and married her loving husband Rocklyn E. Clarke. They have a son (born in 1981) and a daughter (born in 1985).

Eva has enjoyed a fruitful career in the Community Development Arena having worked or served in the following positions:

Chief Operating Officer of the Boston Community Loan Fund (2000 - 2001)
Executive Director of the Mattapan Community Development Corporation (2002 - 2005)
Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Faith Partnership, Inc. (2001 - Present)

Eva is the co-founder of Life Church Ministries in Boston, Massachusetts together with her husband, Rocklyn E. Clarke. She serves as Assistant Pastor. Eva was ordained as a pastor under Church Without Walls International in October 2002 during the annual Covenant Convention of New Covenant Christian Church (now known as Jubilee Christian Church ).

Eva is an active member of the community. She volunteers with the Black Church Capacity Building Program and serves on the Boston Capacity Tank (both projects of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston ). She also volunteers with the Boston Community Loan Fund, and the Urban Land Institute . Eva resides in Dorchester, MA with her husband.