Professor. Preacher. Organizer. Trainer.

Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker
Preacher | Organizer | Professor | Trainer| Pastor

Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker is a nationally respected social entrepreneur and community connector with deep roots in faith-based organizing, chaplaincy, and youth justice. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Community Leadership and Director of the Walker Leadership Institute at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. In these roles, she teaches courses such as Church Planting, Womanist Preaching,  -Based Community Organizing, and Caste.

Dr. Baker is a seasoned organizer, preacher, trainer, and professor who consults and leads trainings across the country. Her work focuses on anti-racism, youth ministry, chaplaincy, and faith-rooted organizing. She has built a reputation for equipping leaders to engage faithfully and effectively in the work of justice.

She is the co-creator of Break the Pipeline, a Missouri-based campaign to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Under her leadership, the campaign has launched a chapter of EXPO-MO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing) and the STL Participatory Defense Hub—grassroots initiatives supporting families impacted by the criminal legal system and working to shift court outcomes while building long-term power among formerly incarcerated youth, adults, and their communities.

In addition to her work at Eden, Dr. Baker serves as the Organizing Director of Gamaliel’s Race and Power Institute and Faculty Director of Eden’s new community education program, The Center for Lived Faith and Organizing (CFLO).

On May 18, 2025, Dr. Baker was called to serve as the transitional minister of Centennial Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—her home church and the site of her ordination. She is the first woman to serve in pastoral leadership at the 121-year-old historic congregation in North St. Louis, which she returned to support following devastating tornadoes that impacted the area.

A lifelong community organizer, Dr. Baker also leads When Black Women Lead, a statewide coalition of Black women of faith, organizers, and elected officials building political power, expanding voter engagement, and preparing to reach 250,000 Black women voters in Missouri by 2030.

Dr. Baker holds a Bachelor of Science from Howard University, a Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology. She is the proud mother of Cornell “Deuce” Baker II, and together they reside in St. Louis, Missouri.