Supervisor Renee Palmore Beaman, RN, BSN, MHA

Renee Palmore Beaman, RN (fondly known as "Nurse Nay") has served as the first lady of Bethel AME Church, Lackawanna, New York, St. Paul AME Church, Hamilton, Bermuda, and for the past 28 years as the first lady of Bethel AME Church, Wilmington, Delaware. She now looks forward to serving as the Episcopal Supervisor for the 15th Episcopal District.

​

She has a heart for missions and outreach and has participated as a YPD Leader, Chair of the Medical Team, Co-Coordinator of the True Love Marriage Ministry, Outreach Educator for Street Women, Body & Soul Wellness Ministry Advisor, and COVID-19 Task Force Chair. She has earned notable recognition as the Founder and now Board Chair of the Beautiful Gate Outreach Center (BGOC), Delaware's first full-service HIV/AIDS faith-based organization. BGOC was created as an initial ministry outreach of the Florida Grant Women's Missionary Society (WMS) of  Bethel AME Church, where she has served as the WMS Advisor for the past twenty-eight years.  She has held WMS offices on the Episcopal, Conference, and local levels. Renée served as the first BGOC Executive Director. Under her administration, BGOC created over twenty-five programs, including onsite HIV rapid testing, and emergency room (ER) HIV testing,  prison HIV education programs for males/females, clothing support for children attending HIV Dream Catchers Camp and an onsite medical clinic, in partnership with Christiana Care Health Systems. Her travels to South Africa, Sydney, Australia, London, England, and throughout the US, has allowed her to share experiences and training with staff and clients. Renée was honored to be a speaker at the  International AIDS Conference (Washington, DC), during which the release of the "Gospel of Healing" was shown, featuring BGOC’s unique ministry. 

​

In response to the creation of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Renée created the “Saving Our Sisters” annual conference for women and girls. This conference has become a signature event for Delaware with hundreds of women and girls in attendance annually. Celebrity guest speakers have included, TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, TV Judge Karen Mills-Francis, Actresses Jasmine Guy, Rolonda Watts, Cassie Davis, Keisha Knight Pulliam, Vanessa Williams, Terri J. Vaughn, Activist Dr. Pernessa Seele, and Entertainer Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Delaware's Governor appointed Renée in 2014 as one of the eleven Department of Health and Social Services Directors. She is currently the only African American Female Director and leads the Division of State Service Centers overseeing one hundred and forty employees, fifteen statewide Social Service Centers, and the State Office of Volunteerism. In 2017, she began a trauma informed approach training program in partnership with the College of Behavioral Health at Wilmington University to improve the service delivery of staff and increase their understanding of childhood trauma and its impact on a person’s behavior and physical health. This initiative led to the first Trauma Informed Approach training for over one thousand staff at the Department of Health and Social Services. For her efforts, she received the Governor’s Trauma Champion Award. In 2020, Renée and her staff were tasked with providing safe emergency housing for thousands of Delaware’s homeless residents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is credited with helping the state to purchase a 187-bed hotel (formerly Sheraton Hotel) that became vacant as a result of COVID-19 and now provides daily emergency shelter for over three hundred persons.

​

Renée was the first African American School Nurse (Registered Nurse) for Delaware’s Colonial School District.  She is a Tuskegee University Nursing graduate and also holds a Master of Science Degree in Healthcare Administration.  She holds nursing specialties in pediatrics, cardiology, and infectious disease. Renée is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. A recipient of many awards which includes being a 2008 inductee into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women

 

Renée is a native of Niagara Falls, New York, and the wife and partner of 36 years to Bishop Silvester Scott Beaman, mother of Asaiah (Gregory Fisher) and Kori (Walter Cheatham), and grandmother ("Queenie") to Maliah Renée, Gabriella, Gregory Mason and Kai Scott.

​