Our Ministers and Staff

 BACC’s Staff Values

Ministers

Pastor Nikira Hernandez (They/Them)

Senior Minister

Pastor Nikira (they/them) is a queer, Two-Spirit, teacher, preacher, healer, and activist. They believe that everyone is a beloved child of God - including you reading this now, Cedar tree standing tall outside, Great Blue Heron flying over head, and Raccoon peering through your garbage bin - and that there is nothing you could do (or not do), believe (or not believe) that could keep you from the love of the Creator.

Pastor Nikira's theology is grounded in both their Christian and Native American (Paiute) spiritual traditions, and informed by their participation in Black Lives Matter and Indigenous sovereignty movement spaces. Pastor Nikira graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a concentration in Environmental Justice, and a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion.

They grew up jumping in the ocean in unceded Ohlone territory. When not at work, Pastor Nikira is most likely to be found in the garden, or walking in the woods with their dog, Jesse.

Pastor DeShay Freemyer-Jackson (She/They)

Associate Minister and Trans BIPOC Pastoral Resident

DeShay Freemyer-Jackson (She/They) blends Womanist perspectives with theology, spirituality, Black queerness, music, and cuisine. She served as the Minister of Worship and Arts at The Gathering, A Womanist Church in Dallas, Texas. They presently serve as the Director of Programming and Development for Color Splash Out, an LGBTQIA+ camp for middle and high school students and their allies. DeShay holds a Master’s in Divinity from Brite Divinity School, specializing in Black Church Studies and Gender/Sexual Justice, and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Culver-Stockton College.

DeShay co-authored Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians published by Chalice Media and they were featured on HBO’s We’re Here, Season 3, Episode 1. DeShay was selected to join the inaugural cohort of the Black Church Equality Fellowship in 2023, hosted by Pride in the Pews, a nonprofit advocating for Black LGBTQ+ empowerment in the pew, pulpit, and public square. In May 2023 she was invited to serve as the worship leader/musician at Princeton Theological Seminary’s “Iron Sharpens Iron” Women’s Leadership Conference.

DeShay enjoys cooking, baking, bowling, listening to jazz, sloths, and spending family time with her husband Zane, and their two ginger cats, Sassy and Serene.

Staff

Chef Pam Cannon (She/Her)

Food Ministries Coordinator

Chef Pam Cannon (she/her) was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and now lives in Lower Roxbury where she is a community activist. A graduate of Bunker Hill Community College, Chef Pam's family owned a grocery store and sub shop.

Chef Pam has many years of experience, and her most important project to this date is food insecurity on all levels. She loves community and nonprofit work and has partnered with many agencies to work on important projects in Boston.

She has two adult children who also work for nonprofit organizations. Chef Pam has worked at the Marriott, Museum of Fine Arts, First Parish Church, Tuesday Meals Program, First Baptist in Jamaica Plain, Senior and Youth Meal Programs, Newton First Parish, Coffee Hour, Community Works for Justice, and as a culinary instructor.

Her hobbies include dancing and listening to music.

Haze Odell (They/Them)

Office and Building Administrator

Haze’s bio coming soon!

Fe Cabral (They/Them)

Receptionist and Grant Specialist

Fe is a Latinx non-binary artist whose work passionately intersects with community care, particularly in the realms of public health and education.

Embracing harm reduction and the spectrum of ability, Fe employs art as a powerful tool for activism and social change. Their creative practice is dedicated to advocating for inclusive and equitable solutions, using their artistry to address pressing issues and foster dialogue.

Through their multifaceted approach, Fe aims to both inspire and support communities, blending artistic expression with meaningful, hands-on engagement in public health and education.

Fernando Michelin (He/Him)

Music Director

Fernando Michelin is our church musician. A native of Uruguay, Nando came to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music more than 30 years ago.

He leads the Nando Michelin Group and has recorded several jazz CDs, including Duende, Reencontro, When Einstein Dreams, Common Grounds, and Facing South. He is an associate professor in the piano department at Berklee College of Music. 

There are samples of his music on Myspace, or follow the Nando Michelin band on Facebook.

Lina Tellez Sarmiento (She/Her)

Sunday Song Leader

Lina’s bio coming soon!