Dr. James A. Thornton is a native New Yorker. He is a graduate of Fordham University, where he received his Bachelors of Arts degree. He attended Fordham’s Graduate School of Business. He received his Masters of Divinity Degree form New York Theological Seminary and his Doctorate of Divinity Degree from United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. The thesis for his doctoral degree in Urban Ministry was “The Church Bridging the Gap Between Public School and Community.”

Dr. Thornton is the director and reorganizer of Salem’s Afterschool Enrichment Center. He firmly believes in the adage of the Negro College Fund, “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste.”

Dr. Thornton is Adjunct Professor of Ethics at New York Theological Seminary. He serves as an instructor for the National Baptist Convention Congress of Christian Education. He also serves on the executive board of the P.T.A. and school leadership team at P.S. 235, where his son is a student in the gifted program.

Dr. Thornton served as the Assistant to the Pastor of Salem Missionary Baptist Church for 10 years, where his father, the Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Boyd was the esteemed pastor. In March of 1998, at the request of his father, he was elected Co-Pastor, and became Pastor when his father retired on April 30, 2006. He is married to Angela Thornton and they one son, Isaiah, who is a joy and a blessing.