Dr. Brian Ragsdale, Ph.D.

Dr. Brian Ragsdale, Ph.D. is a visionary educator, creative thinker, visual artist, community organizer, and educational management professional. He is a licensed Clinical psychologist, who performs well in self starting, entrepreneurial environments, distance learning and online higher education administration.

Brian has experience in conceptualizing and implementing systemic change processes (blending best ideas from traditional academic environments with technological advances in distance learning environments). Wealth of experience in re-imagining processes; faculty mentoring and training, community organizing, social service management, program development, program evaluation, research and statistics, grant writer secured over $148k in funding from local, state, and federal sources. Brian is a […]

Amy Adamczyk, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy Adamczyk, Ph.D. is a Professor of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center, CUNY. A first-generation college student who grew up on a dairy farm in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, she is the author of Fetal Positions: Understanding Cross-National Public Opinion about Abortion (Oxford University Press, 2025), which investigates why attitudes about abortion vary so dramatically across countries and cultures. She is also the coauthor of Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation, a finalist for Christianity Today’s 2022 Book of the Year Award, and the […]

Mercy Herrera

Mercy Herrera has been a in education for the past decade. She currently is the assistant principal at Ascend Elementary Charter School in Brooklyn, NY. Mercy’s been an educator, teacher trainer, school leader, and educational advocate for staff and students. She is passionate about coaching and supporting teachers to reach their personal and professional goals. Through dynamic and well executed professional development, Mercy empowers teachers with new information and impactful learning experiences. A specialist in team development, Mercy facilitates group engagements that leave colleagues feeling refreshed and energized with renewed vision and purpose. Mercy trains teachers on  to combine a […]

Annie Hipps

Annie Hipps is from Seattle, WA and is currently attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, where she is a double major in Psychology and Communications. She is very passionate about having difficult conversations and learning by talking to people. As a white woman in America, Hipps has learned through her experience at school what that means. In eighth grade, she was educated on the finer details of American history then she ever had at school or at home. This is when she started to understand the importance of using her voice and place of privilege.

When Hipps entered […]

Jason Craige Harris

Jason Craige Harris ’12 M.A.R. is a Managing Partner at Perception Strategies, a consulting firm working with institutions around the world to promote empirically grounded solutions to gaps in dignity, equity, and belonging. He also serves as a Senior Advisor at Perception Institute, a research consortium prioritizing equity in social systems. In addition, Jason serves as a consultant at Pollyanna, a national organization working to promote racial literacy and cultural competency. He is also the Principal of JCH Consulting LLC.

Jason holds a BA (honors) in religion and African American Studies from Wesleyan University, where he was a fellow at both the […]

Ross Murray

Ross Murray is a Vice President at the GLAAD Media Institute, which provides activist, spokesperson, and media engagement training and education for LGBTQ and allied community members, the media industry and advocacy organizations desiring to deepen their media impact. Ross is also a founder and director of The Naming Project, a faith-based camp for LGBTQ youth and their allies. His book, Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry is available from Fortress Press. Ross is a producer for the “Yass, Jesus!” podcast, a faith and sexuality affirming podcast that believes you don’t have to pick between gay and God. Ross […]

Erik Carter, Ph.D.

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 developmental disabilities and their families. As co-director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, he is invested in research that breaks down barriers to inclusion and equips communities to widen their welcome. He has published widely in the areas of educational services and congregational ministry for children and youth with disabilities, including more than 275 articles and chapters as well as 7 books. Learn more about […]

Kat Armas

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 (Brazos Press) sits at the intersection of women, Scripture, and Cuban identity. She also explores these topics on her podcast, “The Protagonistas“, which centers the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in church leadership and theology. You can check out more of her work at www.katarmas.com.

Margaret S. Clark

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 intersection of those two areas.

Clark has long been interested in the normative nature of interpersonal processes as they occur within family relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships and in how the norms that apply to such relationships differ from those that apply to relating to acquaintances and business partners.

Much of her early work was devoted to demonstrating that the norms governing the giving and receiving of benefits in such […]

Szu-Hui Lee, PhD, ABPP

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 her internship and post-doctoral fellowships at McLean Hospital – Harvard Medical School. She continues to hold an appointment as a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School and was the inaugural course director of the Multicultural Training Seminars at McLean Hospital. Her areas of expertise include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the treatment of anxiety disorders. Other clinical interests include cross-cultural adjustment, issues of first-generation and […]

Jennifer A. Guerra Aldana

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 social worker in San Diego county. She serves as a pastor of La Fuente Ministries- a bilingual, intercultural ministry of Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene and graduated with her Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. At Fuller Youth Institute, she serves as the coordinator of multicultural initiatives. Her passions include leadership training, intercultural youth spiritual formation and bilingual ministries.

Mark Yaconelli

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 mobilize communities for good. Mark is a co-founder of The Center for Engaged Compassion which seeks to cultivate compassion for peace and reconciliation.

Interviews and profiles of Mark’s work have appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, BBC Radio and ABC World News Tonight. Mark is the author of five books including The Gift of Hard Things: Finding Grace in Unexpected Places, Wonder, Fear, and Longing, Downtime, Growing Souls, […]