Candace Gorham

Candace Gorham

AHA President

Pronouns: she/her/hers
Email: candace.gorham@yahoo.com
Location: Greensboro, NC
Availability: In-person and online, year-round

Candace R. M. Gorham, LCMHC is the President of the American Humanist Association and a licensed professional mental health counselor. She is a former ordained minister turned atheist-humanist activist, researcher, and writer on issues related to race, religion, and mental health.

In 2003, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. She has taught on all grade levels from elementary through college. She taught middle school English for 2 years in Bermuda, where her students had the highest end-of-year test scores on the entire island. In 2008, Candace earned a masters degree in mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. As a counselor, she has served in many different levels of care, from in-home therapy to residential. She has been the clinical director of an all-boys group home, regional manager for a community mental health agency, and a licensure supervisor. True to her education background, Candace currently works part time as a practitioner instructor for the counseling masters program at Wake Forest University. She also works as a behavioral health and substance use utilization manager for one of the country’s largest insurance companies. Candace continues her pursuit of learning as she is also working on an MBA at University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Candace got her start in the secular community after writing The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women are Walking Out on Religion, and Others Should, Too. This book is the first in-depth look at the plight of black American women who have shed harmful religious beliefs. Candace is also a contributor to Women Versus Religion: The Case Against Faith—and for Freedom. Her essay explores the negative impact of religion on women, especially in regard to mental health. Candace’s latest book, On Death, Dying, and Disbelief, came to be after she suffered a devastating loss and searched for secular grief-management resources. Candace has also written a host of articles for magazines and online publications.

Candace first worked with the American Humanist Association as a member of the organization’s Black Humanist Alliance. She joined the board in 2021 and served as Vice President prior to becoming president in 2024. Candace also serves the secular community as a member of The Secular Therapist Project, a member of The Clergy Project, and a singer in Godless Gospel, a project of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

Honorarium Terms

$300 (negotiable, especially for student chapters)

Speaking Interests

  • Mental health (adult/children/family)
  • Race relations
  • Grief