Reverend Femrono Wood - Founder
Reverend Doctor Femrono Wood is a native of Jamaica. She later moved to Maryland in March 1993. Rev. Wood accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior in December 1993. She was called to the gospel ministry and accepted the call in December 2006. She believes God has called her to the least, lost and left out.
On November 24, 2013, Dr. Wood was ordained to the work of the Gospel Ministry by the District of Columbia Baptist Convention/ABCUSA. Currently, she is under the tutelage of Pastor Charles E. Cato, at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. She serves as on the Pastoral Staff, Assistant Pastor for Women, and teaches Bible study. Dr. Wood continues to serve the Women’s Shelter in Rockville, Maryland and travels annually to the Bread of Life Ministry in Houston, Texas, where she served the homeless client in various capacities.
Dr. Femrono Wood is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ark of Hope Community Center, Inc.—a faith-based non-profit organization dedicated to reaching the least, lost and left out (the marginalized and disenfranchised) locally and internationally. With the inception of Ark of Hope, Dr. Wood sets out to do the work she was called to do – be a world changer, moving beyond race, creed, and culture, wealth, poverty, and age to make a lasting impact in all nations. She believes that the poor must be reached, the broken-hearted must be healed, the captives set free, the blind led to see and the bruised set free. Inevitably, the marginalized will always dwell in the land, therefore, we are to open our hands wide and offer help to those in need. Luke 4:18 & Deuteronomy 15:11
In summer 2018, the Lord commissioned Dr. Wood to travel to Kenya, East Africa. Dr. Wood assignment focuses on drilling boreholes for the marginalized and disenfranchised communities in order to provide clean drinking water, rebuild community, strengthen family dynamic, and transform people who are without hope. Her work in centered in the Maasailand where the population is nomadic and without quality education, deals with food scarcity, period poverty, and drink parasitic water. Since traveling to Kenya, the Lord has used her to construct four boreholes, send boys and girls to boarding schools, help needy families with monthly food staples, provide monthly sanitary napkins, held annual conferences and workshops for men, women, boys and girls. In addition, Dr. Wood leads a delegation to Kenya annually. The Lord is expanding her ministry and Dr. Wood is now slated to launch in Jamaica 2024.
Dr. Wood holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, University College, with a minor in Business Law and Public Policy and a certificate in Management Foundation. On May 13, 2013, Dr. Wood obtained a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Urban Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary, in Washington, DC. On May 20, 2023, Dr. Wood received her Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH. A graduate of the ROOTED Cohort- that emphasize “Church Planting and Revitalizing in a Diverse World.” Dr. Wood thesis focuses on “Transformative Ministry”- Equipping Leaders Beyond the Pew to Transform and Liberate Their Community.”
Dr. Wood is an advocate of justice and equality for all humankind and aspires to impact, train, educate, equip, and empower all people to reach their highest potential and recognize that with God all things are possible. Dr. Wood loves many scriptures, but Psalm 124 is her refuge “If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side”. Dr. Wood is married to Carlton Wood and has one son, Joseph.
Rev. Phillip L. (Phill) Broyles - Director/Coordinator of Men
Rev. Phillip L. (Phill) Broyles is the second of three children born to the late Rev. E. Dorsey and Rowena Broyles. He was introduced to Jesus Christ at the Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church (Lima, OH), where his father served as pastor, and was baptized by his father at an early age.
After graduating high school in Ohio, Rev. Broyles attended the historic Howard University, from which he graduated in 1977 with a degree in Political Science. He then matriculated at the New York University Law School to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. He achieved this dream when he graduated from NYU Law and passed the Ohio bar exam in 1980. Rev. Broyles practiced law in Ohio and in Washington DC for more than 35 years until he retired on Christmas Eve in 2015.
While living and working in Cincinnati, OH after law school, Rev. Broyles met and married the love of his life, Debra, in 1984. They are the proud parents of two children, N’Keesha Facey (married to Akeloe Facey) and Antonio Broyles. They are also proud and doting grandparents to two grandsons, Elijah and Noah Facey.
Rev. Broyles’ passion is to serve God. He has taught adult Bible study and Sunday School for almost 25 years, and nothing excites him more than to have the Holy Spirit open the Scriptures to him, and then to share that with others. He believes fervently that the only way to be an effective teacher is to continually be an eager and willing student. That desire to learn opened up his heart to receive the Lord’s message to attend Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC, from which he graduated in 2017 with a Masters Degree in Divinity.
While at Wesley, Rev. Broyles acknowledged God’s call to the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was licensed to preach in 2013 and ordained in 2016 at the Mt. Jezreel Baptist Church in Silver Spring, MD under the Rev. Eldridge Spearman. At Mt. Jezreel, Rev. Broyles served as the Associate Minister for Missions, in addition to teaching and preaching the Gospel. He and Debra have traveled on domestic and international missionary trips, and Rev. Broyles has been blessed to share the Gospel on multiple occasions in Africa.
In 2017, Phill and Debra began a new chapter in their lives when they followed their grandsons to Raleigh. They joined First Baptist Church in February 2018, where he currently serves as the Associate Minister for Missions.
Mavlyn Bazil - Director of Education
A native of Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands, Mavlyn Bazil resides in Maryland. She is the second oldest of Joanness and Yvonne Bazil and the only girl. In May 2007, Mavlyn matriculated from Hampton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and extensive nursing and military leadership studies. Mavlyn is a decorated Retiree and Veteran of the United States Army, where she served as a healthcare and patient administrator in various capacities both internationally and domestically.
Mavlyn received her Master’s of Social Work in May 2021 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and obtained her licensed master’s social worker (LMSW) in June 2021. She is currently under supervision where she assists young ladies ages 9 through 25 by providing counseling and trauma and life skills services to equip them to take their respective life courses. Mavlyn’s ultimate desire is to work with legislators internationally and domestically to influence the revision and implementation of policy addressing the various forms of violence against women.
Currently, Mavlyn serves as the Director of Education to Kenya and Chief Operating Officer with the Ark of Hope Community Center, Inc., a faith-based nonprofit. As the Director of Education, Mavlyn works to obtain sponsorships funding to secure boarding school education for the young girls of the Maasai Tribe of Kajiado, Kenya. A boarding school education will provide an opportunity for young girls to escape child marriages and receive uninterrupted schooling while having the support of educators and family members. In addition to this, Mavlyn has created an educational curriculum that serves as a guideline to ensure successful matriculation through school and volunteerism to the community, the country of Kenya, and the world at large.
Mavlyn’s passion for advocacy and a pragmatic solution solving style contributed to her many accomplishments and desire to serve her family, church, and community in many capacities. She is a proud member of the National Association of Social Workers - Maryland Chapter. Mavlyn holds certifications in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Cognitive Processing Theory (CPT). As a Mount Jezreel Baptist Church (Silver Spring, MD) member, she helps with the Chadesh (Domestic Violence) and Prison Ministries. Mavlyn passionately believes, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8, NIV).”
