Dr. Erik Carter, Ph.D., is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. His passion is helping schools, churches, and other communities become places of membership and belonging for youth with...
Kat Armas is a Cuban-American writer and podcaster from Miami, FL who holds a dual MDiv and MAT from Fuller Theological Seminary. Her first book Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength...
Dr. Margaret S. Clark is an experimental social psychologist with additional interests in personality. Her research focuses on optimal intra- and interpersonal functioning close relationships, the social functions of emotion, and the...
Dr. Szu-Hui Lee is a board-certified clinical psychologist with more than a decade of research and practice experience with community and boarding school populations. She received her PhD from The Ohio State University and completed...
Jennifer A. Guerra Aldana, originally from Guatemala, grew up in Southern California as the daughter of church planters. Jennifer received her B.A in Social Work from Point Loma Nazarene University and served as a youth pastor and...
Mark Yaconelli is an author, retreat leader, spiritual director, storycatcher, husband, and father. He is the founder and executive director of The Hearth, a nonprofit that utilizes personal storytelling to heal, connect, enrich, and...
Ahren Samuel is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator at Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) where she is committed to diversity and making sure that inclusion and equity are tracked across race, gender and socioeconomic status....
Rev. Dr. Montague Williams is the Professor of Church, Culture, and Society at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. He is an ordained minister and holds a Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Boston University. With a...
David R. Caruso, Ph.D. is a psychologist who develops and conducts emotional intelligence training around the world. David is the co-founder of Emotional Intelligence (EI) Skills Group, Senior Advisor to the Dean in Yale College, and a...
Traci Smith is a pastor, mother of three, and author. Traci’s passion is helping families find times for connection and spiritual nourishment amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. What began as a quest to help her own family has...
Pastor Sanghoon Yoo, the founder of The Faithful City (TFC), has led ministries and social services at Arizona State University (ASU) and the Phoenix metropolitan area over two decades. He holds Master’s degrees in Social Work (MSW)...
Yadi Martínez Reyna is a bilingual Latinx gender non-conforming artist, UCC Licensed Minister, Pastor, and borderlander, born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Yadi serves as the LGBTQIA Unconscious Bias Awareness...
As a queer, Black, trans person from an immigrant family, the Rev. Phiwa Langeni is quite skilled at detecting and decreasing various societal gaps, especially with/for those with multiple minoritized identities. Since ordination in...
The Rev. Matt Overton is a minister in the Pacific Northwest and the Executive Director of the Columbia Future Forge. The Forge is a non-profit church ministry providing teens and young adults with job skills, life skills, and...
Dr. Laurie Renee Santos is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She is also Director of Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory, Director of Yale’s Canine Cognition Lab, Head of Yale’s...
Jannah Scott is a Strategist, Planner, Advisor, Public Policy Expert, who has served in many capacities with faith, government, business and the nonprofit community. For eight years, Jannah served in President Obama’s administration as...
The Rev. Ryan Gackenheimer joined Silver Lake in 2016, coming from more than seven years of ministry as Associate Pastor of the First Congregational Church UCC of Essex, Vermont. As a young camper in Indiana Ryan found a passion for...
Andrew Wicks is the founder of Incredible Days, an organization which provides experiential learning programs and leadership training. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Incredible Days has been a pioneer in the field of Virtual Mission...
Nathan Stucky, MDiv ’10, PhD ’13, serves as director of The Farminary Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He grew up on a farm in Kansas where his love for Christian faith and agriculture first took root. After...
Josephine Kim has a dual faculty appointment in Prevention Science and Practice/CAS in Counseling programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and in the Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of...
Reverend Sharell Shippen is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Currently, her passion for ministry is lived out in her service as Interim Pastor of United Church of Christ Valley Forge, in Wayne, PA. In the fall of...
Rev. Caroline Ainsworth Hughes serves as the Minister for Christian Formation at the Wilton Congregational Church in Wilton, Connecticut. There she gets to put her many years of children’s and youth ministry to work serving children...
Dr. Mary Clark Moschella is Roger J. Squire Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling. Previously, Professor Moschella taught at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., for ten years. Before that, she was a pastor in United...
Rev. William Mathis serves as a Lecturer in Divinity at Yale Divinity School. Rev. Mathis is Pastor of Springs of Life-Giving Water Church (The Springs), an American Baptist Church in New Haven, CT. He is also the CEO of WLM...
The Reverend Dr. Debora Jackson is the former Director of Lifelong Learning at Yale Divinity School. Dr. Jackson received her Doctorate in Ministry, emphasis in Leadership, and Master of Divinity degree, emphasis in Spirituality, both...
Janice A. McLean-Farrell is a faculty member and coordinator of the Global New York Church Project at City Seminary of New York, USA. She is co-editor of Understanding World Christianity (2011) and Engaging the World (2014)....
Maria Liu Wong is the Dean of City Seminary of New York....
Pastor Rebecca Gonzalez is one of the Founders and Directors of Power House Youth Ministries...
Pastor Jorge Gonzalez is one of the Founders and Directors of Power House Youth Ministries....
Tony Jones is the author of Did God Kill Jesus? Searching for Love in History’s Most Famous Execution, is theologian-in-residence at Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis, and teaches theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and United...
Dr. Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame. Smith is well known for his research focused on religion,...
Dr. Michal Beth Dinkler is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School. Professor Dinkler’s research lies at the intersection of New Testament and literary theory, focusing especially on the usefulness of...
In addition to being the co-host of the popular podcast, Harry Potter & the Sacred Text, Ms. Vanessa Zoltan is a research assistant at Harvard Divinity School. She graduated with her BA in English Literature and Writing from...
Yara Gonzalez-Justiniano, originally from Puerto Rico, is a PhD student in Practical Theology at Boston University with concentration in Church and Society. Her research interests include Latinx theologies, cultural identity and memory...
Mr. Paul Gorrell is a poet and Founding Director of Peace Right Here, a non-profit organization working to recover and reshape imaginations to embrace, practice, and champion alternatives to violence....
Rev. Dr. Philip Browning Helsel, is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Previously he served for four years at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. His current...
Rev. Dominique Robinson currently serves as the Youth & Young Adult Pastor at Shaw Temple AME Zion Church (Smyrna, GA)....
Alaina Kleinbeck is Director of Youth Ministry Initiatives for the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation. Alaina has served youth ministries and organizations in suburban St. Louis, urban Houston, and Norway. She holds degrees...
Rev. John Leedy was raised in Houston, Texas and has been a life long Presbyterian. His calling into ministry began when he was a high school student and has since dedicated his life and work helping students understand their place in...
Miriam Acevedo is a Licensed Minister and directs the children’s programs at Damascus Christian Church in Hunt’s Point, the South Bronx, and is both a member of the faculty and Director of Operations at City Seminary of New York....
Tim Walsh is Director of Experiential Learning at Newport Academy, a teen rehabilitation center with the mission to provide teens and their families with care and treatment for trauma, mental health issues, eating disorders, and...
“It is at the level of the imagination that the fateful issues of our new world-experience must first be mastered” (Amos Wilder, Theopoetic). This observation reflects a conviction that has inspired Dr. Mahan’s work as the Executive...
Reverend Keith A. King was born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan and is the youngest of seven children. He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in international business; he received a Juris Doctorate from...
Rev. Aracelis Vázquez Haye serves as the Associate Pastor at Church of the City, New London. Her passion and commitment to urban children and youth advocacy, education, social justice, and worship embodies her holistic approach to...
Matt Croasmun is Associate Research Scholar and Director of the Life Worth Living Program at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Lecturer of Divinity & Humanities at Yale University. He began working with YCFC after...
Rev. Lillian Daniel is a preacher, teacher and writer in Iowa. While she has taught preaching at a number of schools, including Chicago Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School, she can’t be held responsible for everyone who falls...
Dr. Evelyn Parker is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and a Professor of Practical Theology at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University....
Rev. Mark DeVries is the founder of Youth Ministry Architects and oversees the youth ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. His books include Sustainable Youth Ministry and Family-Based Youth Ministry....
Yolanda Smith was educated at three different institutions. She remained in her home state for her undergraduate training and earned her bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University. She then headed east and earned an M.Div. from...
Roland Martinson came to Luther Seminary in 1977 and has held numerous academic and leadership roles. Now Professor Emeritus, he most recently served for five years as Luther Seminary’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic...
Thomas H. Troeger is the J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor of Christian Communication at Yale Divinity School. Professor Troeger has written twenty books in the fields of preaching, poetry, hymnody and worship, is a frequent...
Skip Masback is the Founding Director of the Yale Youth Ministry Institute and the former Associate Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He came to Yale after serving for 19 years at The Congregational Church of New...
Father Bird grew up in the city of Philadelphia and moved to Jacksonville, Florida as a teenager. He attended Swarthmore College where he studied History with a concentration in education. He taught history and coached three varsity...
Wes Ellis is a Member in Discernment in the United Church of Christ and an M.Div. student at Princeton Theological Seminary. He has served in youth ministry and adult Christian education in UCC, UMC, and PCUSA settings, as well as...
Dr. Tony Campolo is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University and a former faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. For 40 years, he led the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, an organization...
Steven Argue is an Applied Research Strategist at the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Seminary where he teaches in the Youth, Family, and Culture program. He directs FYI’s cohort coaches and serves on FYI’s...
Stephanie Paulsell joined the faculty of Harvard Divinity School in 2001 as Lecturer on Ministry and was appointed associate dean for ministry studies in 2003. She served in the post of associate dean until 2005, when she was appointed...
Dr. Sharon Galgay Ketcham is associate professor of theology and Christian ministries at Gordon College in Massachusetts. She earned her Ph.D. in theology and education from Boston College. Sharon’s two decades of experience in...
Shane Claiborne is a best-selling author, renowned activist, sought-after speaker, and self-proclaimed “recovering sinner.” Shane writes and speaks around the world about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus, and is the author of...
Dr. Seth Schoen’s research and teaching interests are in contemplative and spiritual practices, especially the cultivation of compassion. He is currently exploring how the Compassion Practice and critical race and racial formation...
Dr. Sarah F. Farmer is Assistant Professor in the Theology and Ministry Department at Indiana Wesleyan University. A former associate research scholar at Yale Divinity School and Director the Adolescent Faith and Flourishing Program...
Rev. Rubén Ortiz has served in urban ministry for 30 years. His professional emphasis has been in Leadership Development, Youth Ministry, Church Planting, and Community Development. He is Director of National Programs at Esperanza...
Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka became the director of Adult Educational Ministries at Village Presbyterian Church in March of 2016. He is also serving as senior associate. Born in Honolulu and raised in Seattle at the Japanese Presbyterian...
Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis where he has taught since 1988. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of over 200...
Dr. Patrick B. Reyes, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Doctoral Initiatives at the Forum for Theological Exploration (fteleaders.org), is a Latinx practical theologian, educator, administrator, and institutional strategist. At...
Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King is the Peter L. Benson Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Science in the Thrive Center for Human Development in the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary....
Nyle Fort is a minister, organizer, and scholar based in Newark, NJ. He received a BA in English from Morehouse College and a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Nyle has worked in the fields of education, criminal...
Nadja Reilly is a licensed psychologist with 20 years of clinical experience specializing in children, adolescents, and families. Dr. Reilly completed her graduate training at the University of Miami, Florida, and her clinical...
Miroslav Volf is Founder and Director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, at Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, CT. Miroslav Volf was educated in his native Croatia, the United...
Rev. Mike Park is pastor at Hope West Side Church in New York City. Previously, Mike served on the pastoral staff at Hope Midtown and has been in pastoral ministry for 15 years. A SoCal native, Mike has a B.A. in Political Economy from...
Mary Elizabeth Moore is Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Theology and Education, Boston University. Her passion is to journey with others to cultivate deeper faith, compassionate humanity, and a more just, peaceful, and...
Mark R. Gornik (Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) is the director of City Seminary of New York. He and his wife, Dr. Rita Aszalos, live in New York with their sons, Peter and Daniel. He is the author of, To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith...
Rev. Marc Afshar is a college minister that serves with chi alpha at the University of the Pacific and Delta College in Stockton, CA. While attending UC Davis for his undergrad, he encountered and gave his life to Christ. He traded in...
Lorien Carter is an Associate Professor of Practice at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches graduate level Social Work Practice and Administration courses in Foundations and Children, Youth...
Lakisha Lockhart is a playful womanist scholar-activist. She is currently the Director of the STREAM Youth Theology Institute and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia...
Kyle David Bennett is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Caldwell University in New Jersey, where he also directs the Spirituality and Leadership Institute, a think-tank and training center that focuses on spiritual formation and...
Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained United Methodist pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. She works closely with Princeton’s Institute for Youth Ministry and the...
Katherine Hyde is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in mental health psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and families. She completed her graduate work at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St....
Dr. Kate Ott is a Christian social ethicist addressing the formation of moral communities with specializations in technology, sexuality, youth and young adults, pedagogy, and professional ethics. She is the author of Sex, Tech, &...
Kara Powell, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch”, Kara serves as a Youth and Family...
Justin Forbes serves as the director of the Youth Ministry program at Flagler College and has been involved in youth ministry since 1998. Currently a candidate for his PhD from the University of Aberdeen, Justin is a graduate of...
Dr. Joyce Mercer’s work focuses on practices of care in diverse contexts and situations, including post-conflict areas of southeast Asia, children in the consumer culture of the US, addictions in family systems, and the religious...
James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin College, where he holds the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith...
Itihari Toure Ed.D. is the curriculum specialist and evaluation coordinator for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Inc., Micah Institute. Itihari Y. Toure has worked in the field of education, the Black church, and with Black women...
The Rev. Dr. Gregory C. Ellison, II joined the Candler School of Theology faculty in 2009. His teaching draws primarily from his work with the organization he founded called Fearless Dialogues, a non-profit organization that creates...
Georgette Ledgister is a PhD Candidate in religion, and social and theological ethics at Emory University. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, her research interests focus on the intersection of religion, violence and...
Fred Edie grew up on the Isle of Hope just east of Savannah, Ga. He holds a B.A. degree from Furman University, an M.Div. from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. from Emory University. Edie is an ordained elder in the United Methodist...
Dr. Frank Rogers is the Muriel Bernice Roberts Professor of Spiritual Formation and Narrative Pedagogy and the co-director of the Center for Engaged Compassion at the Claremont School of Theology. His research and teaching focus is on...
Elizabeth Corrie is associate professor in the practice of youth education and peacebuilding and director of the Youth Theological Initiative at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her research interests...
Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier is Academic Dean and Vice President of Education at Esperanza College of Eastern University. Previously she was professor of religious education at the Claremont School of Theology and taught Hispanic...
Ebonie Davis has served as the Associate Pastor of Youth at Trinity Baptist Church in Waldorf, MD for ten years. She conducted the most recent national multi-city study of youth ministries known for racially diverse ministry, and holds...
Dori Baker is Senior Fellow for Research and Learning at the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE), an Atlanta-based leadership incubator for the church and academy. Her research lies at the intersection of young adult culture,...
David White is the C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Professor of Christian Education and Professor in Methodist Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. His recent publications include Dreamcare: A Theology of Youth,...
Dr. David Anderson Hooker is Professor of the Practice of Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a mediator and peace builder with...
Dave Rahn is a youth ministry researcher, author, futurist and missional leadership strategist. After beginning his ministry with Fort Wayne Area YFC in 1972, he joined the faculty of Huntington University in 1985 and served there...
Courtney T. Goto is an Associate Professor of Religious Education and a co-Director of the Center for Practical Theology at Boston University’s School of Theology. Her research interests include aesthetic teaching and learning;...
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter’s teaching, research, and activist interests are in Black, Womanist, and Environmental ethics, with a particular focus on race, food, and nonhuman animals. He is the co-creator of Racial Resilience, an...
Christian Gonzalez is the Young Adult Ministries Coordinator for the Youth and Young Adult Ministries Department of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America. A graduate of Wheaton College, Azusa Pacific University, & Luther...
Charles Edward Atkins, Jr.’s work focuses on religious practice in incarcerated communities. Charles is an ordained minister who currently works as a full-time Chaplain with the N.J. Department of Corrections at the Garden State Youth...
