Marsha Sumner has earned an outstanding reputation within the Washington, D.C. broadcasting community. Over the past two decades, she has filled various industry roles and has excelled at multiple radio station formats. Through it all, she has been guided by her desire to fulfill her lifelong purpose of ministering to people who are hurting.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., she recalls having a deep, innate sense of purpose before she even knew what the word purpose meant. She is ever grateful to have had nurturing parents whom she describes as mentors, and an older brother with whom she has remained very close since childhood.
Growing up, Sumner excelled at sports and by her senior year in high school, she had earned an athletic scholarship to Tennessee A&I. The young, multitalented highschooler turned down the scholarship and the chance to immediately pursue higher education largely because of the way the recruiters addressed her. “All they wanted me to do was run track and that rubbed me the wrong way,” says Sumner.
As her purpose would have it, Sumner later began working for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Over the next 30 years, her work with FEMA would take her to countless disaster sites, allowing her to help thousands of survivors. “I felt like I had found my niche,” she says. “At the end of the day, I could always see that I had helped somebody.”
Shortly before retiring from her fulfilling work with FEMA, Sumner began to sense that God had something else in mind for her. In fact, she had a dream that made the next phase of her purpose very clear. In the dream, she was told to pursue a career in gospel radio and to go to UDC. After her retirement, the future broadcast journalist devoted her energies to fulfilling this next phase. Sumner enrolled and graduated from the Columbia School of Broadcasting, and through a series of seemingly unconnected events, ended up with an internship at WDCU FM 90.1, UDC’s campus radio station. After eight years of volunteering behind the scenes, the ever-determined Sumner finally she got the big on-air break that launched her stellar broadcasting career.
After her tenure at WDCU, the now seasoned professional had a brief stint at WWGB AM 1040 and shortly thereafter was hired on at Heaven 1580 AM, where she has remained ever since. During her time at Heaven 1580 AM, Sumner has had the pleasure of interviewing such gospel icons as Yolanda Adams, Candi Staton, Richard Smallwood, Israel & New Breed, Tonex and more. When asked who was her favorite person to interview, she answered with little hesitation: “CeCe Winans. She has a sweet spirit and is always the same. Interviewing her was like a paycheck to me.”
Heaven 1580 AM recently switched formats to Christian Talk. This change left Sumner, who is always mindful of her purpose, with a decision to make. When the transition was announced at the station, Sumner was in the middle of fasting and was looking for something new. Heaven 1580 AM’s format change provided just what she had been searching for. “Now I feel like I am helping people by keeping my community informed,” she says. The ever-flexible Sumner accomplishes this via her daily radio program, “Cross Talk-Urban Style,” which airs from 10am to 1pm Eastern and features book reviews and discussions designed to inform listeners on topics such as health, religion and more. As the name implies, Cross Talk-Urban Style allows for dialogue between specials guests and the listening audience via phone and e-mail. In conjunction with the program, Sumner has coined the term “Hug Your Neck Radio” because at the end of the program, she wants everyone to feel loved.
When Sumner is not on the air or prayerfully planning for future programs, she enjoys the fellowship of her brother and her extended church family. The evangelist is very grateful for her home church of Ebenezer AME in Fort Washington, MD. Her Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Grainger Browning Jr. and her Co-Pastor Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Browning have been immensely inspirational and extremely supportive. Sumner is a joyful single woman who says, “It’s good to be single and Christian because I can give God more of my time.”
Marsha Sumner may not always know exactly where God is taking her next, but she has always remained willing to follow His lead. Her lifelong journey has taken her across the country, across the airwaves and into thousands of homes. As she continues to fulfill God’s divine purpose for her life, the possibilities for her next destination are endless.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Debbi Johnson
The Ministry Management Group
(202) 487-5856 (cell)
(301) 937-1621 (fax)
Email Marsha
Marsha's Guest List |
