Rev. Dr. Anita J. Gould is an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.
Dr. Gould serves as the proud Pastor of AGAPE AME Church in Gaithersburg, MD, to which she was appointed in July 2020. Prior to this appointment, she served five years as Pastor of the historic Mt. Gilboa AME Church in Catonsville, MD. At Mt. Gilboa she oversaw the work to restore the walls and windows of the 160-year old edifice, under grants totaling $200,000+ from the Maryland Historical Trust African American Heritage Preservation Program. Dr. Gould She serves the Washington Conference as an Instructor in the Board of Examiners, preparing preachers for ordination as Deacons in the AME Church; and the Chair of the Washington Conference Church School Committee.
Free to follow her passion and share her gifts, skills and talents with individuals and groups she teaches workshops and mentors individuals in Christian discipleship, and in the identification and development of their spiritual gifts. Dr. Gould is the Founder and Chief Education Officer of New Freedom Ministries, LLC.
Dr. Gould founded New Freedom Ministries, LLC, as a means of her fulfilling her commitment to answer the call to preach and teach others so that they might live out a life in “right-response” as accountable Christian disciples. In partnership with pastors, congregation leaders, and community leaders she provides creative transforming training experiences which facilitate individuals discovering the purpose and power of their spiritual gifts. She developed the Leader-Gift Inventory so that leader-participants may discover and focus on their personal Ephesians 4 “Leader-Gifts” given to equip others for the work of Christian ministry. Dr. Gould coined the term “Leader-Gifts” in doctoral project publication.
A native of the Capitol Hill community in Washington, DC, Dr. Gould is a graduate of the Western High School (Georgetown, DC), currently the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Her higher education studies were completed with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree at Morgan State (College) University; a Master of Divinity (M.Div) degree at the Howard University School of Divinity (Bishop Bunton Preaching Award); and she was conferred the Doctor of Ministry in Church Leadership Excellence (D.Min) degree by Wesley Theological Seminary. She is a Golden-Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc; a Life Member of Blacks in Government; and a Life Member of the Morgan State University Alumni Association.
Dr. Gould worked for the Region 15 Office of the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, and for 25 years years she worked as Personnelist in the Headquarters Office of Human Resources at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She retired as the Manager/Supervisor of a 15-member staff responsible for Departmentwide programs and technical assistance in the policies and programs for HUD’s personnel systems, payroll, and all related Title 5 laws and regulations.