The Reverend Dr. Kevin Kitrell Ross

Kevin Kitrell Ross is on a mission to inspire people to awaken to their highest  potential and be a force for good in the world. This mission has taken him  around the world serving people as a thought leader, keynote speaker, panelist,  author, radio talk show host, life coach, social entrepreneur and most  prominently, as the Senior Minister of Unity of Sacramento International  Spiritual Center.

“Rev. Kev”, as he is affectionately called, is also deeply  committed to co-creating a world of peace, prosperity and unconditional love  for all and has risen as a respected interfaith social justice leader. Ross has  earned a reputation as a bridge-builder who has worked nationally and  internationally to heal the widening global racial and religious gap through  education, dialogue and direct encounter.

Ross’ activism has placed him on the front lines of some of our nation’s most  pressing civil and human rights struggles. He was among the faith leaders to be  arrested while challenging the decision not to prosecute the law enforcement  officers who killed an unarmed African American man Stephon Clark, in  Sacramento. Together, with a broad coalition of leaders and community, Rev.  Kev’s was influential in the passage of AB392, “The Stephon Clark Law”; which  is now the strictest police use of force law in the US. He also took to the front  lines with over 1000 other protesters and faith leaders, at the United  States’ southern border to demand that children be released from cages and be  reunited with their families. And he was instrumental in having the Muslim  travel ban temporarily lifted in order to allow a Yemeni mother to be reunited  with her dying son in a San Francisco hospital. 

Rev. Kev is sought after as a spiritual adviser to business, educational, faith, legal  and political leaders. He has shared the stage with luminaries ranging from His  Holiness, the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Ella Gandhi, Vice President Kamala  Harris and Marianne Williamson. He is a Senior Fellow of the Mountain-Valley  Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, a member of Sacramento Area  Congregations Together, and a four-time delegate and presenter to the  Parliament of the World’s Religions.  

Ross’ bridge-building work has taken him to five continents around the  world. He chronicled his most recent service pilgrimage to Tanzia and Zanzibar  with the documentary short, Mission Tanzania: An Ecotouristic Pilgrimage in  Spirt, Service and Safari, which was featured at the 2023 Harvard Divinity  School Film Festival. 

Rev. Kev, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, a Master  of Religion and Public Life degree from Harvard Divinity School, and he recently  received his first honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree in 2023 from Trinity  International University of Ambassadors. At Harvard, Ross developed Camp  Courage Academy, a training curriculum for credentialed faith leaders to  provide them with tools for moving beyond dangerous political neutrality to  becoming engaged social change agents. He hopes to launch the first cohort of  the Academy at Harvard in the Summer of 2024.

Rev. Kev has received numerous honors, including been inducted into the  Martin Luther King, Jr. Clergy Hall of Honor at Morehouse. He has also  appeared in two Oprah Winfrey Show specials and numerous national print  publications, including being featured in the New York Times and Time.com  magazine. He considers among his highest honors, being invited to open a  session of the United States House of Representatives with a prayer for the  nation and being included in a delegation to present former South African  President with the Gandhi-Award for Nonviolence in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Ross has authored numerous books, including The Designer Life: Distinctions  for Living Life By Design and Not by Default, and Breathing Space: A 52 Week  Meditation Journey for Centered, Soulful and Successful Living. He has also  written two children’s books, The Optimistic Seed: A Story of Resilience and  Hug Your Children. In service to the world’s children, traumatized by the  pandemic, Rev. Kev created the online social media character, “Khavon”, to  support children and families with building resilience through crisis and  difficult times.