Before Rev. Dr. Denison Harrield ever stepped into a pulpit, he was flying intelligence missions for the Air Force and managing districts for New York Telephone. Nearly 50 years into his ministry, he's now one of Summit's longest-serving faith leaders — and one of its most quietly influential civic figures.

Harrield graduated from Howard University in 1964, then spent eight years as an Air Force intelligence officer and 18 more as a district manager at New York Telephone before earning a divinity degree and getting ordained in 1978. He's led Wallace Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church at 138 Broad Street since Oct. 1, 1989.

Harrield has served as a Summit Housing Authority commissioner, a SAGE Eldercare trustee, vice president of the Tri-City NAACP, and president of the Summit Interfaith Council — plus memberships with Rotary, Summit Helping Its People, and the Summit Affordable Housing Corporation. The Lions Club, American Legion, Boy Scouts and Council of Churches have all recognized his work, and in 2010 he was named a "Keeper of the Dream" at Summit's MLK Day of Service.

"Giving back to the community is a responsibility of every person," Harrield said. "From my perspective it's the right thing to do."

Under Harrield's leadership, Wallace Chapel earned landmark status — listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 2007, then named one of only three A.M.E. Zion churches worldwide with Historical Landmark status in 2008. Founded in 1923 as Summit's second congregation for African Americans, the church marked its 100th anniversary in 2023. Its roster of past members reads like a map of the city itself: Oscar Dennis, namesake of Dennis Place, and Lawton C. Johnson, namesake of Summit Middle School, both worshipped there. An earlier pastor, Rev. Dr. Florence Spearing Randolph, led the congregation from 1925 to 1946 and was a force in the women's suffrage movement — a history Harrield personally brought before the Summit Common Council in 2015.

A recent profile called him simply "the conscience of our community." Wallace Chapel's Fellowship Hall still hosts community events today at 138 Broad Street.