West Cancer Foundation Board of Directors

Recently named a Mid-South Hero, Dianne is a pastor that is committed to healing her community.  Young and her husband, Bishop William Young,  have called the Bluff City home for more than 30 years.  They began to minister to community members in Oakhaven and recognized critical gaps between the physical and emotional wellness of their neighbors.  That ministry grew into their church, The Healing Center.  She and her husband work tirelessly to address suicide, provide counseling, and the nursing of physical and emotional wounds.

To aid those in need, the Youngs grew their church membership and opened a free clinic to heal the whole person, creating the Wellness and Stress Clinic of Memphis.  The Wellness and Stress Clinic provides free medical, social, legal, and emotional support services.  When someone walks through their doors, they are not just treating a medical issue.  Every person meets with a social worker, and all needs are accessed.

Pastor Dianne, as she is affectionately called, fights for what she believes in, a fight she’s faced for decades.  When she entered the ministry, she was not given a warm, pastoral welcome.  There were still reservations about women in the ministry.  Once, she was asked to not enter the pulpit and stand over to the side.   However, Young is a fighter and fights for her beliefs.

Young is a wife, mother, grandmother sister, administrator, talk show host, teacher, preacher, evangelist, pastor, and author.   Pastor Young attended the University of Memphis and Carolina University where she received her BA; hours toward MA.  She received an honorary doctorate from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida.  Pastor Young has preached and conducted many workshops and seminars across the country.  Pastor Young serves as a Board Member of NAMI Tennessee and a member of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Planning and Policy Council.

She Chairs West Cancer Foundation’s Community Engagement and Outreach Committee and has been instrumental in working to form partnerships with some of the largest congregations in our community.