Wintley Phipps
Wintley Augustus Phipps, Sr. (born January 7, 1955) is a Trinidadian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and minister, and founder of the U.S. Dream Academy, Songs of Freedom Publishing Company, and Coral Records Recording Company. He features a booming bass-baritone voice, usually singing inspirational gospel music. He is an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister. Biography. Phipps was born in Trinidad and Tobago, but at an early age moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He attended Kingsway College in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, a Seventh-day Adventist academy, and later Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist college (university since 2007 ) in Huntsville, Alabama, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology. Phipps would go on to earn a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Wintley Phipps served as senior pastor to several churches in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including the Capitol Hill and Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Churches. He currently serves as pastor of the Palm Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church in Palm Bay, Florida. Wintley is married to Linda Galloway, whom he met at Oakwood. They have three sons: Wintley II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander . Notable performances. He has performed for American presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, National Prayer Breakfast for Bill Clinton in 1994, George W. Bush,<ref name="Kirkpatrick_1/20/2005"></ref> Barack Obama at several National Prayer Breakfast events and his 2013 Inaugural Prayer Service and other celebrations. He performed for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions, Rosa Parks' 77th Birthday gala at the Kennedy Center, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and former South African President Nelson Mandela. He has appeared on programs such as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. television special, Dr. Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power" Telecast, Billy Graham  Crusades, the Vatican, as guest soloist at Diana Ross's wedding ceremony in Switzerland, "Saturday Night Live", "Soul Train", "The Oprah Winfrey Show", and the 2013 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington.<ref name="PBS_8/28/2013"></ref> Wintley Phipps' performances also include voice over work (or voice acting) with "Breathe Bible". On July 27, 2020, he sang an emotionally-charged version of "Amazing Grace" as Rep. John Lewis<ref name="Lewis_7/27/2020"></ref> lay in state in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, and sang "How Great Thou Art" at Colin Powell's funeral on November 5, 2021. U.S. Dream Academy, Inc.. In  1998, Phipps founded the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a values-based, interactive, tutorial and remedial education program targeting children and at-risk youth through community Family Learning Centers located in various states. Phipps wanted something to help break the cycle he saw played out so many times in his own family. Wintley formed the U.S. Dream Academy to help children who have had a family member behind bars. The program provides mentoring, academic tutoring, and exposure to computers and the Internet. Phipps says, "Just the computers themselves are not going to transform the  lives of these kids," and "The most important part of our program is really the caring, loving adults who surround them." The Academy has garnered praise from Oprah Winfrey and former president Bill Clinton.