Gift of Life Jazz Luncheon & Blood Drive
Trump National Golf Club
November 8, 2014

Congratulations to our 2014 Award Recipients

Champion of Faith Award

Bishop Angel L. Núñez was born in New York City.  His father abandoned the home before his birth and at the tender age of eight he had lost his mother to cancer.  This left him in the care of the government institutions and forced him to live from home to home.  But, God’s hand was always upon him and through divine intervention he was placed with a Christian family for a few years.  It was in this home where a lasting imprint of God’s love was deposited into his life.  Even after growing and succumbing to a life of violence and drugs, God’s seed of love bore salvation and healing to his broken heart.

The Bishop has been in ministry for over 36 years and is an Ordained Minister of the Bilingual Christian Fellowship and holds a Doctorate Degree in Divinity with a Masters in Theology.  As Senior Pastor of the Bilingual Christian Church of Baltimore for over 25 years, he still travels as an International Evangelist winning souls for Christ.  He has traveled to 30 countries carrying a prophetic mantle and challenging word to the church to rise up and fulfill her destiny in Christ.  Bishop Núñez provides an apostolic oversight to ministries, both domestic and abroad, giving instruction, direction and training to pastors and leaders, equipping them to effectually serve the body of Christ.

In this season of his life, he is sensing a pull to speak out about social injustices and also to bring the church into unity cross culturally by breaking down the ethnicity barriers.

Bishop Nunez carries a Doctoral of Divinity, two certificates of Ordination, and was ordained as a Bishop on September 25, 2010.

Humanitarian Award 

Chef Jonathan Jernigan graduated from The Restaurant School of Philadelphia and has more than 25 years of experience in the culinary field, both in restaurants and as a private caterer.

Chef Jonathan was the Executive Chef at the Harbour League Club in Camden, NJ, and went on to general management positions at several restaurant chains working both the front and back of the house. He participated in the Food Network series “Chopped” and was a guest on “Big Daddy’s House” several times. He has operated his own catering company since 2001, specializing in cuisine from around the world. He joined Cathedral Kitchen in the capacity of Chef Instructor in 2008 to professionalize the 30 year old soup kitchen’s grass roots operation, as well as to launch the Culinary Arts Training Program. Under his watch from 2009 to 2012, 129 students graduated the 17 week program and 75% of the graduates have found jobs and remain employed. He also manages CK’s catering and institutional food service enterprise. 

Gift of Life Award

Long Zheng is Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Director of Hematology and Coagulation Laboratories at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Zheng received his medical degree in Nanchang, China and Ph.D. in Vienna Austria. He came to U.S. 20 years ago and received his residency/fellowship training in Clinical Pathology and transfusion medicine/blood banking at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis. 


Dr. Zheng has been the principal investigator of National Institute of Health since 2003, focusing on the investigation of pathogenesis of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP).  He was among the first group of investigators who identified and cloned ADAMTS13, an enzyme that is deficient in patients with hereditary and acquired TTP. Subsequently, he and his colleague have made significant contribution toward the understandings of basic biochemistry of ADAMTS13 enzyme and mechanism of TTP.  National Institute of Health, American Heart Association, National Blood Foundation, and Answering TTP foundations have funded his research.


Dr. Zheng’s research has paved the way for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools helping patients with TTP. He has had over 50 scientific publications related to TTP and ADAMTS13 in peer-reviewed international journals and has been invited to give lectures and grand rounds on diagnosis and treatment of TTP around the world. Dr. Zheng has served as reviewer or editors for several peer-reviewed scientific journals and regarded as the world expert in research and care of patients with TTP.