Candace E. Hardnett hails from a variety of backgrounds. She has managed Health and Fitness clubs, she is an accomplished and award winning cosmetologist, she served her country as a United States Marine, and for the past twelve years, founded and is the pastor of Agape Empowerment Ministries an affirming Christian church located in Savannah, Georgia. She is an advocate for inclusion, love, fairness, and justice. She believes in living an authentic life and using authenticity to liberate, help, and inspire others. She is in the process of publishing her memoir entitled Godly and Gay, where she exposes her life challenges, her lowest moments, and her biggest success. She is a wife, a mother, a pastor, an author, and an artist.