Our Leading Lady

About us

Dr. Carla J. Debnam

Dr. Carla J. Debnam is the founder of The Renaissance Center in Gwynn Oak, MD. The center is a Christian counseling center that has been in existence since July 2001 and is an outreach ministry of Morning Star Baptist Church.

She has written articles on mental health topics and frequently presents at workshops and conferences. Prior to working at The Renaissance Center, Dr. Debnam worked for the federal government for sixteen years.

Dr. Debnam has a Master of Science degree in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University Maryland and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Transformational Leadership from the Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. She is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of Maryland (LCPCM), Maryland Counseling Association (MCA) and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

In November 2005, Dr. Debnam along with two other pastor’s wives began the Leading Ladies Ministry (LLM). The mission of LLM is to encourage, embrace, restore and refresh fellow pastor’s wives. Ecclesiastes 4:12 is the foundational scripture, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. A triple braided cord is not easily broken”. (NLT) She was licensed to preach the Gospel in June 2006 and ordained in June 2013.

Dr. Debnam is a native of Washington, DC and is a proud mother and grandmother. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and baking. She stands on the promise of Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. (NIV)