Reverend Dr. Marion Platt is the sixth Executive Director and Pastor to lead Star Gospel Mission in its 120-year history. A native of Charleston, Marion served two enlistments as a U.S. Army infantryman before embarking on a nineteen-year ministry with The Salvation Army. He has held executive, academic, and pastoral roles in several cities across the South; he earned his doctoral degree from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville and is a sought-after lecturer, evangelist, and revivalist. Marion has been a Rotarian since 2004, sits on the Board of Directors for Trident United Way, and serves on the Faith-Based Advisory Council of the International African American Museum in Charleston.

Dr. Platt is a passionate, results-driven leader with a record of energizing organizations, empowering communities, and engaging stakeholder groups in strategic planning and in the successful and timely achievement of specific and measurable goals. He is skilled in the cultivation of individuals and organizations through transformational leadership, clear and concise messaging, short-and-long term planning, and prudent financial stewardship. He excels at connecting organizational responses to community needs, recruiting and developing cross-functional and diverse executive teams, leading and inspiring advisory organizations and governance boards, cultivating donors and foundation relationships, soliciting major gifts, and serving as key spokesperson and representative for the agency. He is a skilled and sought after preacher and organizational consultant on matters related to organizational change and diversity.

Dr. Platt grew up between three faith communities: the Southern Baptist Church, the Missionary Baptist Church, and The Salvation Army. While a teenager and young adult, he wandered from the faith, but was incorporated into a loving community of Jesus followers while serving in the US Army in 1998. So irresistible was their personal and corporate witness, that he gave his life to Jesus in the fall of that year and began his journey of discipleship which continues to this day. Before going into full time ministry, Dr. Platt served as his pastor's assistant and learned from him how to teach, preach, counsel, and disciple others. Not long after, he traveled from New York to Atlanta in order to be trained as a Salvation Army officer. To date he has pastored three church communities (two in Atlanta and one in Savannah) and oversaw the pastors of two congregations in Memphis. From 2015-2019, he taught communications, leadership, and Old Testament at Evangeline Booth College in Atlanta, and continued to regularly lecture at universities, national training institutes and pastoral retreats, and taught and presented the Gospel in the US, Cuba, England, Peru, Haiti, Jamaica, Canada, Greece, the Dominican Republic, and several other places around the world.

Education Experience to prepare him for nonprofit leadership:

Doctor of Education, Leadership & Professional Practice – Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN

Master of Arts, Organizational Leadership – Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN

Bachelor of Arts, Christian Ministries – Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN