Dr. DeForest Soaries

Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr. is a nationally recognized former pastor, author, and financial freedom advocate who has revolutionized faith-based financial education through his groundbreaking dFree movement and innovative FinFest financial education festival. After serving 30+ years as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and as New Jersey's first African-American male Secretary of State, he founded the dFree Financial Freedom Movement in 2005, creating scalable platforms that deliver financial education through faith-based frameworks to over 3,000 churches and organizations nationwide. His corporate partnerships, including collaboration with Prudential and service on boards of Independence Realty Trust and Ocwen Financial Corporation, demonstrate his unique ability to bridge faith communities with mainstream financial institutions. As author of 12 books including "Say Yes to No Debt" and host of SiriusXM's "For Your Soul," Dr. Soaries connects biblical stewardship principles with modern financial strategies, making financial freedom culturally relevant and spiritually grounded. His work was featured in CNN's 90-minute documentary "Almighty Debt," and he has been recognized in major publications including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Through his President/CEO role at Corporate Community Connections, Inc., he continues expanding the reach and impact of faith-integrated financial empowerment nationwide.