Franz R. Exumé is an Elder at New Direction Church of God in Christ in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Born to an African American missionary mother and Haitian father, he grew up in the U.S. and in Haiti during and after the Papa Doc Duvalier era, drawing on the cultural and spiritual reservoirs of both worlds.

After studying economics at Whittier College, Franz spent two years at Claremont School of Theology. During this time, he worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles under the leadership of Rev. James Lawson and Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas. He worked in Monrovia, Liberia as a United Methodist Church (UMC) missionary. Later, he served at the Board of Church and Society UMC and as a community organizer in Washington, DC. He has traveled and worked extensively in West, East and Southern Africa, while examining militarization and its impact on economic development.