Macel Ely II, author of “Ain’t No Grave: The Life & Legacy of Brother Claude Ely,” is the great nephew to Reverend Claude Ely. An ordained minister himself, Macel’s professional experience is quite diverse. He presently serves as Homeland Security Coordinator for the State of Tennessee’s Center for Homeland Security Training. His duties include assisting in the development of a state-wide training for law enforcement officers and other city officials as well as planning, coordinating, and hosting training activities in conjunction with the Governor’s own Office of Homeland Security.

Macel is a licensed Private Investigator and is very active with the Tennessee Private Investigation Association. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Pellissippi State Technical Community College in Knoxville, TN. In addition, Macel does extensive charitable work and serves as a board of director for Barnabas Ministries International and the East Tennessee chapter of the American Society for Public Administrators.

Macel has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Lee University and Kentucky Wesleyan College, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee. Before coming to work for the Center for Homeland Security Training, Macel formerly worked as a school administrator in Kentucky and a news reporter on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.