The Reverend Dr. Adunnola O. Waterman-French is a native of Guyana, South America. She is the daughter of the late Wesley Waterman and the Rev. Millicent Waterman, Associate Minister at St. John AME Church, Brooklyn, NY. She is married to Dr. Donald French, Nurse Practitioner, New York City Department of Education Adult Educator in Nursing, and Adjunct faculty member of the College of Nursing at SUNY Downstate Health Science University. Together they have two sons, Jeshua and Judah.

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​Prior to migrating to the United States, Dr. French served as the local YPD Director, President of the Allen’s Christian Fellowship, a 1992 and 1996 Youth Delegate to the General Conference, and a 16th Episcopal District Representative for the then Richard Allen Youth Council later renamed Richard Allen Young Adult Council at the seat of the 1996 General Conference. She also worked in the airline industry as a Flight Attendant and a Reservation Clerk.

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Having migrated to the United States, she attended the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana as a 1997 Pew Younger Scholar and in 1998 completed her Bachelor of Social Science degree from Allen University, Columbia, SC. Rev. Adi, as she is fondly called, returned to NYC and attended People's Institutional AME Church. Under the leadership of then pastor, Rev. Dr. Henry Allen Belin III, she served as YPD Director, member of the Board of Christian Education, and Instructor to New Members. In 2001, under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Wayne A. Johnson, Sr., she formally answered the call to the ministry and was licensed to preach. In 2004, she was ordained an Itinerant Deacon and in 2006 upon receiving her Master of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary, New York, she was ordained an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

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In April of 2014, Dr. French was appointed by Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram to serve as the first female pastor of Greater Saint Paul AME Church in Brooklyn, New York.  The church would later be officially recognized as Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church.  In June 2018, Rev. Adunnola was appointed pastor of Bethany AME Church in Yonkers, where she served for five months.  She also served as an Associate Minister at Allen Memorial AME Church in Brooklyn. In June 2019, Dr. French was appointed by Bishop Gregory G.M. Ingram to serve as Pastor of the Emanuel AME Church in New Rochelle.

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​An educator, preacher, and teacher at heart, Dr. French also earned a Master of Science in Teaching (with a concentration in Students with Disabilities) from Pace University, New York—Class of 2009, and an Advance Certificate in School Building Leadership towards the Master of Science in Administration—Class of 2017. Additionally, she is an Assistant Principal in a NYC Public School for students with moderate to severe disabilities.

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​In December 2023, Dr. French completed her Doctor of Ministry at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. Her dissertation is entitled: “Expectant Conversations With God: Prayers Practices that Empower Clergy and Laity For Service.” She is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated—Delta Beta Zeta Chapter. 

A prayer warrior and one who is passionate about the Lord, Dr. French, has a special place in her heart for youth. She encourages them to “let no one look down on them because they are young, but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity,” 1 Timothy 4:12. She firmly believes that “we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength” anchored in Ephesians 4:13.

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