Ann Champion Shaw

Ann Champion Shaw is an American religious leader, a fifth-generation preacher, and the author of the memoir WORTH: A Story of Favor and Forgiveness (2022).

Ann Champion Shaw was born in Orlando, Florida. She is the youngest daughter of Mrs. Annie C. Champion and Rev. Dr. George L. Champion, Sr.

Shaw received her B.A. Degree in English from Clark Atlanta University and her Master of Divinity with honors from Emory University, Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.

During her period in Atlanta, she served as Director of Christian Education at Big Bethel A.M.E. Church, mentor for the Youth Theological Initiative (YTI) at Emory University, and board member/facilitator for the Youth Hope Builders Academy at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC).

For 15 years, Shaw worked in healthcare chaplaincy in Missouri, where her focus was grief and bereavement. She completed a two-year chaplain residency with the ACPE Midwest Clinical Pastoral Education Program and has worked in hospice and hospital clinical settings in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Ann Champion Shaw is a Board-Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Rev. Ann Champion Shaw is married to Rev. Robert Ryland Shaw, II, and they have served at Allen Chapel AME Church in Kansas City, St. John AME Church in St. Louis, and Bethel AME Church in Kansas City. Currently, she serves as Executive Pastor at Bethel The House AME Church in San Francisco.

Throughout her career, Shaw taught nationally and internationally in Sheffield, England, and Lusaka, Zambia.

She has published writing contributions in The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling and The First Lady: African American Pastors’ Wives in Their Own Voices.

Her memoir WORTH: A Story of Favor and Forgiveness was released in March of 2022, marking her debut as an author. She recounts her journey from a privileged upbringing in Orlando to overcoming hardship after her parents divorced and the family fell into poverty.

Ann Champion Shaw currently serves as a Human Rights Commissioner in San Francisco. She is a mother of two.

Photo credit: www.annchampionshaw.com