Deacon Gerald A. Collins is a native of Washington, D.C. He graduated from Howard University, majoring in history (undergraduate) and political science (graduate). He retired from the federal government having worked 40-plus years in military public relations or emergency management/disaster response. He served in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted man and rose through the ranks to become an officer. He was ordained in 1997 for the Archdiocese of Washington and assigned to his home parish, Holy Family, in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.