An AHA board member since 2021, Candace is a former ordained minister turned atheist-humanist activist, researcher and writer on issues related to race, religion and mental health. She got her start in the secular community after writing The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women are Walking Out on Religion, and Others Should, Too. Her book is the first in-depth look at the plight of black American women who have shed harmful religious beliefs. Candace is also a contributor to Women Versus Religion: The Case Against Faith—and for Freedom. Her essay explores the negative impact of religion on women, especially regarding mental health. Candace’s latest book, On Death, Dying, and Disbelief, came to be after she suffered a devastating loss and searched for secular grief-management resources.

In 2003, Candace obtained her bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from North Carolina Central University. She has taught at all grade levels from elementary through college. In 2008, Candace earned a master's degree in mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. As a counselor, she has served in many different levels of care, from in-home therapy to residential. She has been the clinical director of an all-boys group home, regional manager for a community mental health agency and a licensure supervisor. Candace is working on an MBA at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Candace also serves the secular community as a member of The Secular Therapist Project, a member of The Clergy Project, and a singer in Godless Gospel, a project of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.