Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Christian Ethics - Loyola University Chicago: 2006-2011
Master of Divinity – Baylor University: 1999–2002
Magna Cum Laude
Maryknoll Institute of African Studies: Summer 2001, Spring 2004, Summer 2009
Masters level coursework in African Studies and African Religions
B.A. in Religious Studies - Gardner-Webb University: 1995-1999 Minor in African Studies, completed in East Africa
AWARDS, HONORS, and GRANTS
Ministry Innovation Grant, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta for Theology from the Margins ($8000), 2019
Common Good Fellowship (https://commongood.cc), 2018-19
Louisville Institute, Project Grant for Researchers ($25,000), 2017-2020
Emory University, Evaluator for $15million Lilly grant on Religious Practices and Practical Theology
Institute of Museum and Library Services consulting for Community Catalyst grantees, 2017-2020
Alumna of the Year & Gallery of Distinguished Alumni, Gardner-Webb University, 2017
Fellow, ABCD (Asset-based Community Development) Institute, DePaul Univ., 2017-2021
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Summer Fellowship ($5000), 2014
Loyola Univ. Chicago Research Assistance Grant ($5000), 2013-14
Loyola Univ. Chicago Manuscript Publication Assistance Award ($2000), 2013
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, Pre-Tenure Theological School Fellow, 2013-14
American Association of University Women American Fellowship ($7000), 2012-13
Loyola Univ. Chicago - Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship ($22,000), 2010-2011
Constant H. Jacquet Research Award, Religious Research Assoc. ($4000), 2010
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Project Grant with Susan A. Ross ($20,000), 2009
American Academy of Religion Grant with Susan A. Ross ($4500), 2008
Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit Honor Society), 2009-2021
Graduate/Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program Grant ($2000), 2009
Loyola Univ. Chicago - Advanced Doctoral Fellowship, 2009-2010
Best of Symposium Award - Loyola Interdisciplinary Research Symposium, 2009
Ph.D. Comprehensive Exams, passed with distinction, Nov 2008
Loyola Univ. Chicago - Graduate School President’s Medallion, 2008-2009
Loyola Univ. Chicago Graduate School Advisory Council Essay Award Winner, 2008
Loyola Univ. Chicago Graduate School Conference Travel Awards, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
Loyola Univ. Chicago Graduate School Merit Award, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09
PUBLICATIONS: Academic
Books
Series Editor (with Traci West, Aana Marie Vigen, and Todd Whitmore) for Social Ethics, Ethnography and Theology, Bloomsbury / T&T Clark, 2018-2021.
Risky Marriage: HIV and Intimate Relationships in Tanzania, Lexington Books, 2013.
Journal Articles
Teaching on the Streets: Engaged Pedagogy after an Execution, Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2019.
“Catalysts for a Riot” @thispoint journal, Columbia Theological Seminary, 2019.
“Preaching, Sexuality, and Women Religious,” with Emily Reimer-Barry, Theology & Sexuality, Volume 19, Number 1, 2013.
“Epistemological Privilege and Collaborative Research: A Reflection on Researching as an Outsider,” (article & film) Practical Matters, (www.practicalmattersjournal.org), May 2013.
“Listening to the Particular through Action Research on HIV and AIDS,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Roundtable response on to “Charting the Paradigm Shifts in HIV Research: The Contribution of Gender and Religion Studies” by Sarojini Nadar and Isabel Phiri. Vol. 28, No. 2 (2012).
“Hanging out a Red Ribbon: Listening to Musa Dube’s Postcolonial Feminist Theology,” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion, Volume 2, Issue 13, December 2011. (http://raceandreligion.com/JRER/Volume_2_(2011).html)
“Acting out Abstinence, Acting out Gender: Adolescent moral agency and abstinence education,” Theology and Sexuality, Vol. 16.2, 2011: 141-159.
“Listening to Experience, Looking Towards Flourishing: Ethnography as a Global Feminist Theo/ethical Praxis,” (article & film) with Edith Chamwama, Eunice Kamaara, Sussy Gumo Kurgat, Damaris Parsitau, Emily Reimer-Barry, Elisabeth Vasko, and Jeanine Viau. Practical Matters, (www.practicalmattersjournal.org), May 2010.
“HIV/AIDS Prevention and Sexed Bodies: Rethinking Abstinence in Light of the African AIDS Pandemic,” Theology and Sexuality, Vol. 15.1, 2009: 27-46.
“Reexamining our Words, Reimagining our Policies: Undocumented Migration, Families, and the Moral Imagination,” Journal of Poverty, Vol. 13, 2009, 1-20.
"The Goods and Evils of a Globalized Context: African and American Women Doing Theology," with Susan A. Ross and Elisabeth T. Vasko, Concilium International Journal of Theology, 2009/1.
“Missional Worship: Worshiping as Kingdom Communities,” The Chorister, Dec. 2002 / Jan. 2003, Vol. 54 Issue 4, pp. 26-28.
“Faith and Works in the Epistle of James,” Gardner-Webb Review, Gardner-Webb University, 1999.
Book Chapters
“Mentoring for Public Leadership and Social Change,” in Mentoring: A Toolkit for Supervisor-Mentors in Theological Field Education, John Senior and Matthew Floding, eds. Rowman and Littlefield, 2019.
“Reading Basically” in Reading Theologically, Eric Barreto, ed. Fortress Press, 2014.
“Morality on the Streets: An Examination of the Beliefs and Moral Practice of Street Children in Light of Christianity and African Traditional Religions,” in Ethnography as Christian Theology and Ethics, Christian Scharen & Aana Marie Vigen, eds. Continuum, 2011.
"Your Daughters Shall Prophesy (As Long as They Submit): Pentecostalism and Gender in Global Perspective." With Andrea Hollingsworth. In The Liberating Spirit: Pentecostals and Social Action in North America, ed. Michael Wilkinson and Steven M. Studebaker. McMaster Divinity College Press; Pickwick, 2011.
Other Academic Publications
Commentary on I Samuel 2:18-20, 26, Connections: A Lectionary Preaching and Worship Resource, Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
Commentary on Jeremiah 31:7-14, Connections: A Lectionary Preaching and Worship Resource, Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
Commentary on Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, Connections: A Lectionary Preaching and Worship Resource, Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
Book review of “To Improve the Academy,” Teaching Theology & Religion, February 2015.
Ancient and Contemporary Voices: What Do Christians Think God Thinks About Sex? Christian Ethics Today, Vol. 20, No. 4, Fall 2012.
“Women’s Broken Bodies, God’s Broken Earth,” Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics, July 2012.
“Listening in the Classroom,” Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics, April 2009.
“Hurry Up and Wait,” Africa ’05 Bound Journal. The Center for Christian Ethics, (Baylor University), Spring 2005.
“Things Fall Apart: A Look at Chinua Achebe’s Novel,” Africa ’05 Bound Journal. The Center for Christian Ethics, (Baylor University), Spring 2005.
PRESENTATIONS TO CONFERENCES AND PROFESSIONAL GATHERINGS
Academic Papers and Presentations
Community-Engaged Ethnography, St. Paul’s School of Theology, Public presentation, September 27, 2018.
Community Development and Congregations, Mercer Development Summit, Oct. 26, 2017.
Social Enterprise and Community Development, Rural Poverty Summit, Oct. 16-17, 2017.
Embodied Pedagogy session (sponsored by the Wabash Center), Emory University’s Practical Matter’s conference, March 24, 2018.
Teaching to Transform in the Age of Trump, National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion annual meeting, Nashville, TN, May 22-24, 2017.
Teaching on the Streets: Engaged Pedagogy Outside of the Classroom, National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion annual meeting, Nashville, TN, May 22-24, 2017.
The Church, Race, & The Death Penalty, New Baptist Covenant Summit, Atlanta, Sept. 15, 2016
Particular Stories, Transformative Responses: Teaching on the HIV and AIDS Pandemic Through the Power of Story, American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 18-22, 2016.
Panel Respondent: Gender-based Violence in Botswana and Rwanda: Religion, Family and Reconciliation, American Academy of Religion, San Diego, CA, November 18-22, 2016.
From the Classroom, to Prisons, to the Capitol: Experiential learning around the death penalty, mass incarceration, and #BlackLivesMatter, Mercer University Atlanta Research Conference, Panel presentation with Fabiani Duarte, James Hedgis, and Julie Cook (graduate students from my restorative justice course), April 16, 2016.
Single Stories, Complex Issues, and the Ethics of Solidarity: Georgia’s Death Penalty and the #Kellyonmymind campaign, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, Nov. 22, 2015.
Action Research for Teaching and Learning: Reflections from a semester-long collaborative research project on Christmas charity giving models, 10th Annual Action Research Conference, "Developing Our Capacity for Action Research and Inquiry Through Dialogues That Matter," University of San Diego, May 3-4, 2013. Panel presentation with eleven graduate students from my spring 2013 “Applied Research” course.
Faculty Seminar on research on “Ethnography as Engaged Pedagogy,” Institute of Pastoral Studies, Feb. 13, 2013.
Panel Participant for two panels on “Research Methodologies” and “Research and Social Change,” Society of Christian Ethics “Fieldwork and Ethics Pre-conference,” Chicago, IL, Jan. 3, 2013.
A Faithful Pedagogy of Prevention: Understanding Christian Marriage as both Risk and Hope, Taking Action for Health, Dignity and Justice: The Interfaith Pre-Conference on HIV, Howard University, Washington DC, July 20-21, 2012.
HIV/AIDS and Marriage in East Africa, WATER (Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual) Teleconference, October 10, 2012.
A Faithful Pedagogy of Prevention: Understanding Christian Marriage as both Risk and Hope, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 17-20, 2012.
Panel Participant, A Book Discussion of African Sexualities: A Reader, Edited by Sylvia Tamale, 2011, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 17-20, 2012.
Panel Participant, Book Discussion: Religion and HIV and AIDS: Charting the Terrain, Edited by Beverley Haddad, 2011, Society of Biblical Literature, Chicago, IL, November 17-20, 2012.
Panel Participant, “Teaching African and African Diaspora Religions,” American Academy of Religion, Chicago, IL, November 17-20, 2012.
Ancient and Contemporary Voices: What Do Christians Think God Thinks About Sex? A [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant, Sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Mercer University Center for Theology and Public Life, April 19-21, 2012.
A Collective Ethics of Responsibility as a Tool for Preventing Conflict: Theological Reflections on the Responsibility to Protect, Society of Christian Ethics, Presentation at meeting of Baptist Ethicists, Washington DC, Jan. 6, 2012.
When Marriage Becomes Risky: A Theo-ethical Reflection on Christian Marriage in Light of the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Society of Christian Ethics, New Orleans, LA, Jan. 8, 2011.
Confidentiality, Stigma and Risk: Listening to the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Stritch School of Medicine Ethics Grand Rounds, Loyola University Chicago, Dec. 9, 2010.
Confidentiality, Stigma and Risk: Listening to the Experiences of HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, Emory University Center for Ethics, Dec. 6, 2010.
Acting out Abstinence, Acting out Gender: Limits on adolescent moral agency in abstinence-only education, National Women's Studies Association, Denver, CO, Nov. 13, 2010.
Women’s Agency and the African AIDS Pandemic: Reflections on Gender and Sacrifice by HIV Positive Women in Tanzania, American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, Oct. 31, 2010.
Researching Religion in Postcolonial Space, African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) Meeting at the American Academy of Religion, Atlanta, GA, Oct. 30, 2010.
Risking Life So That Life Will Go On: Understanding relational poverty and health in intimate relationships through the experiences of HIV positive women in Tanzania, Politics, Poverty and Prayer Conference: Global African Spiritualities and Social Transformation, Nairobi, Kenya, July 24, 2010.
Practicing Postcolonial Feminist Theology Cross-culturally: A Reflection on the Exploring Global Feminist Theologies Pedagogy Project, with Damaris Parsitau, African Association for the Study of Religions, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Jan. 21, 2010.
Nature or Nurture? A theo-ethical evaluation of behavior-based vs. environmental approaches to preventing HIV and AIDS in East Africa, African Association for the Study of Religions, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Jan. 20, 2010.
Pathfinding as Empowerment for African Women, African Women in America (AfWiAm) Discussion series, Loyola University Chicago, May 29, 2009.
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Sexed Bodies: Rethinking Abstinence in Light of the African AIDS Pandemic, Women and Leadership Archives Lecture Series, Chicago, IL, April 16, 2009.
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Sexed Bodies: Rethinking Abstinence in Light of the African AIDS Pandemic, Loyola University Chicago Interdisciplinary Research Symposium for Graduate School Students and Alumni, Chicago, IL, March 21, 2009. (Awarded “Best in Symposium”)
Faith-based Public Health in East Africa, Theology and Ethnography Consultation, Sponsored by Emory University's Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2009.
Gearing Up: Getting Started in Fieldwork, panel presentation with Aana Marie Vigen and Christian A.B. Scharen, Society of Christian Ethics, Chicago, IL, Jan. 9, 2009.
Love and Sacrifice Through Cross-Cultural Lenses: The Boundaries of Self and Conceptions of Love for African Women, 17th European Conference on Philosophy of Religion, sponsored by the European Society for Philosophy of Religion, Oslo, Norway, Aug. 28-31, 2008.
Sex and Sacred Texts: Creating Emancipatory Speech in the Classroom, Paper given as part of a panel presentation entitled Women’s Studies Meets Theology: Sex and Sacred Texts Take the Stage in the Classroom, with Jeanine Viau, Elizabeth Vasko and Mary Moorman National Women’s Studies Association Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, June 19-22, 2008.
The Social Landscape of Stigma: A Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the African AIDS Pandemic, National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, Nashville, TN, May 18-20, 2008.
Ethnographic Fieldwork and Ethics, Fieldwork and Ethics Interest Group, Society of Christian Ethics, Jan. 3, 2008.
Embodied Participatory Learning: Engaging African Communal Theology as a Method of Feminist Pedagogy, Presentation by the Women in Theology reading group, sponsored by the Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, Loyola University, Oct. 17, 2007.
What Africa Has to Teach America: Finding Ways to Increase Compassion and Reduce Stigma in Light of the African HIV and AIDS Pandemic, African Association for the Study of Religions, Gaborone, Botswana, Southern Africa, July 8-13, 2007.
Morality on the Streets: An Examination of the Beliefs and Moral Practice of Street Children in Light of Christianity and African Traditional Religions, Loyola-Marquette Colloquium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jan. 27, 2007.
Public Presentations
Teaching ABCD for the Rural Context, Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) annual conference, Dallas, Texas, Oct. 11, 2019.
Contextual Education: The Importance of Context, Central Presbyterian Church, 60 Minute Seminary, June 23, 2019.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Forum – Celebrating our gifts, Creating change, Columbia Theological Seminary, Sept. 19, 2018.
Community Development Trainings developed for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, trainings in Washington DC, Chicago and Atlanta, 2017-2019.
ABCD 101, Training developed for the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at DePaul University, June 12-13, 2018.
Faith-rooted Community Development, Training developed for the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at DePaul University and the Christian Community Development Association, Oct. 31, 2018.
Panelist for the Convergence / Center for Progressive Renewal Summit on Reimagining Theological Formation, Feb. 20, 2018
Panelist for the Convergence / Center for Progressive Renewal Theological Education Summit (with Brian McLaren), November 8, 2017
First Baptist Church Tucker, 6-week session on Community Development and Community Engagement, Oct-Nov, 2017.
Decatur Book Festival, Moderator for Daniel Chance’s book, Executing Freedom: The Cultural Life of Capital Punishment in the United States, Sept. 3, 2017.
The Bridge Church – Panel on same-sex relationships and the church, Oct. 14, 2016.
First Baptist Church Macon, GA – Global Women Group, “Women in East Africa,” Aug. 28, 2016.
The Nett Church – Panel on police violence and Black Lives Matter, Aug. 14, 2016.
Symposium Ethics Podcast on Ethics of Christian Mission, August 2016, (http://symposiumethics.org/2016/08/30/ethics-christian-mission)
American Bar Association student podcast on Restorative Justice, July 2016 (http://abaforlawstudents.com/2016/07/06/podcast-ending-mass-incarceration-restorative-justice)
Social Media and Activism (Odyssey Networks), with Lisa Sharon Harper and Wes Browning, Wild Goose Festival, July 9, 2016.
Transformed by a Story: Mobilizing Against Mass Incarceration and the Death Penalty, with Nikki Roberts and Shane Claiborne, Wild Goose Festival, Hot Springs, NC, July 2016.
#DeathPenaltyOnMyMind, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, with Pat Anderson, Judge Wendell Griffen, and Dakota Brookshire (Kelly Gissendaner’s son), June 2016.
Racial Justice in the United States in 2016, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, June 2016.
Retreat leader and speaker on community development, CBF Seminarian Retreat, January 2016.
Sermon series on “Navigating Dystopia: Mass Incarceration and the Death Penalty” and School for Christian Living course on Restorative Justice, Baptist Church of the Covenant, Birmingham, AL, February-March, 2016.
Guest on the American Bar Association Law Student podcast, Restorative Justice series (death penalty in Georgia), with Sarah Gerwig-Moore, April 2016.
Panel Participant, “Leading Women: How Women Are Changing the Church,” with Eileen Campbell-Reed, Chanequa Walker-Barnes, and Rev. Karen Thomas Smith, Alliance of Baptists Workshop, April 17-18, 2015.
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, Pre-Tenure Theological School Workshop, Presentations on MultiCulturalism, Anti-Racism, and Pedagogy and Strategic Thinking about Tactical Decisions – Grading, Assessment, and Course Design, June 2014.
Panel Participant, Covering Earth, Uncovering Agony: Journalism, Environmental Disasters, and Suffering, Loyola University Chicago, Oct. 15, 2013.
American Association of University Women guest presentations on current research - Deerfield, IL (April 13, 2013), Hinsdale, IL (May 21, 2013), Arlington Heights, IL (Oct. 16, 2013), Hinsdale, IL (Nov. 2, 2013).
Panel Participant, Seventh Annual Student Leadership Institute conference, Sponsored by the Department of Student Leadership Development (SLD) at Loyola Chicago, January 26, 2013.
Standing in Solidarity with People Living with HIV and AIDS in East Africa, Loyola University Chicago World AIDS Day Event, Nov. 30, 2012.
Publishing Without Perishing While in Grad School, Loyola University Chicago Theology Graduate Student Caucus, Jan. 24, 2011.
Integrating Activism and Academics, panelist, Loyola University Chicago Graduate Service Resource Forum, Nov. 6, 2008.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE & PEDAGOGY TRAINING
Theology from the Margins, a theology certificate program for Atlanta’s homeless community
Curriculum & program design team
Course on “Christian Living,” Sept/Oct 2019
Visiting Assistant Professor and Interim Director of Contextual Education and International Partnerships, Columbia Theological Seminary, 2018-2020
Supervised ministry coursework (2018-2020)
Intro to Practical Theology, Fall 2018
CrossRoads, MDiv Integrative seminar, Spring 2019
Assistant Professor (visiting), McAfee School of Theology, 2014-2017; Adjunct professor, 2012
Poverty, Wealth and Inequalities, Fall 2017
Theology and Theory of Social Enterprise, Summer 2017
Business of Social Enterprise, Summer 2017
Social Change, Summer 2017
Community Engaged Ministry, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018
Fieldwork in Congregations and Communities, Spring 2017
Global Health and Christian Ethics (East Africa Mission Immersion), Summer 2016
Restorative Justice, Spring 2016
Understanding Urban Mission, Summer 2015
Contextual Ministry, each semester, Spring 2015-2020
Missional Theology, Spring 2012, Summer 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016
Ethics, Spring 2012, Fall 2017
Atlanta cohort supervisor and Design Team member, Justice Ministry Education Project, Auburn Seminary,
New York, NY, 2017-2020.
Instructor, Candler School of Theology, Emory University (with Jacob Myers)
Urban Ministry, Summer 2015
Supervised Ministry Mentor, Central Baptist Seminary, 2015-16
Assistant Professor, Loyola University Chicago
Graduate Program Director, MA in Social Justice and Community Development
Foundations of Social Justice, Fall 2012, Fall 2013 (cross-listed WSGS)
Diversity & Equity, Spring 2013 (cross-listed WSGS)
Applied Research, Spring 2013, Spring 2014 (cross-listed WSGS)
Christian Moral Theology & Ethics, Summer 2013
Guided Study, Factors of HIV/AIDS among Women, Spring 2013
Guided Study, The Syrian Revolution, Spring 2013
Group Guided Study on Technology, Social Media & Activism, Summer 2013
Guided Study, Experiential Learning & Community Engagement, Fall 2013
Guided Study, Privilege and Ethics, Fall 2013
Adjunct Instructor in Religion/Social Work, College of Saint Scholastica
Spirituality, Resilience, and Recovery, Fall 2014-Summer 2016 (8 sections taught, online)
Assistant Professor in Christian Ethics (adjunct), Lexington Theological Seminary
Ethical Forms, Fall 2011, Summer 2012 (online and intensives)
Science and God: Intro to Biomedical Ethics, Spring 2012, Summer 2012 (online)
Ethics competency exercises - curriculum design, 2011-12 (online)
Adjunct Instructor in Ethics, Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics & Character,
Kennesaw State University
Ethical Foundations, Spring 2012 (online)
Adjunct Instructor, Loyola University Chicago
Moral Problems: HIV/AIDS in Global Perspective, Spring 2009
Teaching Assistant, Loyola University Chicago
Christian Marriage and Family, Fall 2006, Patricia Beattie Jung
Pedagogy Training and Related Experience
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, Workshop for Pre-Tenure Theological School Faculty and Wabash grant, 2013-2014
Research Mentor for Johnson Scholars program, Loyola Univ. Women’s Studies Gender Studies – project on Feminist and Jesuit pedagogies and community-based research and learning, Spring 2014
Workshop participant, 5th Annual Connecting Campuses with Communities Service Learning Institute and Research Academy, Indiana University Purdue University Indiana, May 13-17, 2013
Online Teaching & Learning Training Course, Loyola Center for Ignatian Pedagogy, 2013
Pedagogy II Certificate, Loyola University Chicago Department of Theology, 2009
Research Mentor, Loyola University Chicago Graduate/Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program, Summer 2009
Pedagogy I Certificate, Loyola University Chicago Department of Theology, 2007
Pedagogy project on using methods of participatory learning in the classroom, Women and Religion, THEO 178 / WOST 278, Loyola University Chicago, Spring 2007
FIELD RESEARCH
Nov 2017-2020 US based fieldwork – “Changing Church in Order to Change the World: A Study of Worshipping Congregations Practicing Deep Solidarity”
Affiliations: Louisville Institute
April 2017-2018 Grant Evaluation and Qualitative research on pedagogy, Emory University and Candler School of Theology – Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology (Lilly grant)
Oct. 2009-May 2010 Mwanza, Tanzania - Women’s Agency and the African HIV and AIDS Epidemic
Affiliations: Diocese of Victoria Nyanza (Anglican Church Tanzania) and Saint Augustine University Tanzania
June-July 2009 Mai Mahiu, Kenya - Reflections on Post-election violence from IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) Camps
Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies, Loyola University
Feb-May 2009 Chicago, IL - Faith-based abstinence education among college students and young adults
Affiliation: Loyola University
Jan-April 2004 Nairobi, Kenya - Urban refugees and Christian ethics
Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies
May-June 2001 Nairobi, Kenya - Street children and religious beliefs Affiliation: Maryknoll Institute of African Studies
FILM CREDITS
Producer, three films for Kelly Gissendaner’s death row clemency campaign:
http://vimeopro.com/semafilms/kellyonmymind
Article and Film, “Epistemological Privilege and Collaborative Research: A Reflection on Researching as an Outsider,” Practical Matters, Issue 6, May 2013 www.practicalmattersjournal.org
Director, Ethnography as Feminist Praxis: Spotlight on the Global Feminist Theologies Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya (Documentary). Produced by Sema Films, 2009. Published in Practical Matters Issue 3, Spring 2010 http://www.practicalmattersjournal.org/issue_toc/3
Assistant Story Editor, Love Delivered (Documentary). Sema Films, 2010.
http://www.semafilms.com/portfolio/lovedelivered/
Assistant Story Editor, Good Coffee (Documentary), Sema Films, 2009.
http://www.semafilms.com/portfolio/goodcoffee/
Director, Embodied Participatory Learning: Engaging African Communal Theology as a Method of Feminist Pedagogy (Documentary). Produced by Sema Films, 2007. http://www.melissabrowning.com/projects/embodied-participatory-learning/
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Emory University / Candler School of Theology – Pedagogy researcher and Grant Evaluation supervisor for Emory’s Lilly grant to fund the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology, 2017-2018
Loyola University Chicago, Institute of Pastoral Studies: 2012-2014
Assistant Professor; Grad. Program Director (Social Justice & Community Development)
Loyola University Chicago: Aug. 2006 – May 2009
Research Assistant for Susan A. Ross (2008-2009)
Teaching/Research Assistant for Patricia Jung - Assisted with Christian Marriage course, assisted with referee placement for the Society of Christian Ethics (2006-2008)
Passport Camps: Aug. 2004 – June 2006
Editor for three online devotional sites
Interim Director for Mission Exchange program
Assistant Director for Passport Kenya camp
Assistant Director for Echo, a ministry exploration retreat for students funded by the Lilly Endowment
Writer and Editor for Passport curriculum
Design Team member and curriculum writer for Faith in 3D, a tri-denominational youth conference sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, The Episcopal Church, and Presbyterian Church (USA)
Africa Exchange (Nairobi, Kenya): Jan. 2003 – Sept. 2004
Worked as the Daily Operations Supervisor for Kids to Kids, a feeding an education project outside of one of Nairobi’s larger slums
Worked with Amani ya Juu, a sewing project for refugee women
Researched the urban refugee situation and made recommendations to NGOs
Hosted college, seminary, high school and church immersion trips and volunteers
ACTIVISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORK
Testimony given to the House sub-committee reviewing the PAPE legislation to eliminate the death penalty for those with intellectual disability in Georgia, Feb. 20, 2018.
Writer on “The Theological Declaration on Christian Faith and White Supremacy” (www.thedeclaration.net)
Justice Ministry Education Supervisor, Atlanta cohort, Auburn Seminary, 2016-2020.
Task force member, The Lupton Center (FCS) curriculum development group for Seeking Shalom, 2016 and International Development, 2016-2020
Advisory Board member, Global Women, 2016-2017
Participant in the Odyssey Networks Milwaukee 53206 Brain Trust (on mass incarceration), Washington DC, March 10, 2016
Lobbying and work with Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, 2015-2020
Organizer and social media coordinator for the #KellyOnMyMind Collective, a public advocacy campaign for Kelly Gissendaner who was executed by the state of Georgia September 30, 2015 (Feb-Oct 2015)
Representative on the Georgia-based Interfaith Coalition to End the Death Penalty, 2015-16
Blogs on social justice issues published at Huffington Post, Red Letter Christians, Feminism and Religion, Sojourners, and Odyssey Networks
SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP
Board Member, Let Maasai Girls Learn, 2019-2021
Odyssey Fellows Advisory Team, 2019-2021
Board Member, ABCD Institute at DePaul University, 2018-2021
Chair, Faith-based working group, the ABCD Institute, 2019-2021
Conference Organizer for Emory University’s Practical Matters Conference, March 22-24, 2018
Theology from the Margins planning team (to develop a certificate in theology for those experiencing homelessness in Atlanta), with the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and Church of the Common Ground, 2018-19
D.Min. Committee, McAfee School of Theology, 2017-18
M.Div. Committee, McAfee School of Theology, 2015-17
Fair Trade Committee, Loyola University Chicago, 2012-2014
Academic Technology Committee, Loyola University Chicago, 2013-2014
Pre-conference organizer for “Fieldwork and Ethics Pre-conference,” Society of Christian Ethics annual meeting, January 3, 2013
Assistant Secretary General/Webmaster for the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR) - 2010-2015 term
Steering Committee, AAR, Religion and AIDS Seminar, 2012-2021
Steering Committee, AAR, Feminist Theory and Religious Reflection Group - 2010-2013
Conference Planner for ELCA World AIDS Day Conference, Atlanta, GA, December 2011
Conference Planning Committee for “A [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant,” Co-Sponsored by Mercer University Center for Theology and Public Life and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Atlanta, GA, April 19-21, 2012
Conference Planning Committee for the African Association for the Study of Religions meeting, Nakuru, Kenya, July 2012
Conference Planning Committee for "Politics, Poverty and Prayer: Global African Spiritualities and Social Transformation" Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, July 2010
Loyola University Chicago - Global Feminist Theologies Immersion Project, Nairobi, Kenya, International Coordinator and Grant Writer, 2008-09
Concilium International Journal for Theology Conference Co-Organizer, Loyola University Chicago, June 2009
Referee, Political Theology journal, 2008-2020
Society of Christian Ethics, Ethics and Fieldwork Interest Group Co-convener, 2007-2019
Loyola Theology Graduate Student Caucus - Vice-President, 2007, President, 2007 & 2008
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Work, study, or travel experience in 45 countries: Kenya, Tanzania/Zanzibar, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Togo, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Egypt, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada, Honduras, Mexico, Haiti, Cayman Islands, Curacao, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Macedonia, Norway, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Coordinator and Grant Writer for Global Feminist Theologies in Postcolonial Space immersion program in Nairobi, Kenya, Summer 2009. Funded through the American Academy of Religion, Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, Loyola Chicago and University of San Diego.
Twenty years of experience working with and leading immersion-based high school, seminary, college, and church programs in East Africa through Africa Exchange, Passport Kenya, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Baylor University & Truett Seminary, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, McAfee School of Theology, and Loyola University Chicago.
READING AND RESEARCH GROUPS
Loyola Chicago Women’s Studies Gender Studies Faculty reading group on Jesuit and Feminist Pedagogies, Spring 2013
Graduate Scholars Program in Women’s Studies, 2008-2009, Women and Human Rights. Sponsored by the Loyola University Chicago Gannon Center for Women & Leadership
Women in Theology reading group: 2006-2007 (Co-Coordinator): “Feminist Liberationist Pedagogy: At the Intersection of Academic Theological Discourse and Social Action,” and 2007-2008: “Reading Past White Privilege: Listening to Global Women’s Theologies.” Funded by Joan and Bill Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage
Religion and Science reading group: Evolutionary Biology and Altruism, 2007-2008 and Neuroscience and Ethics, 2008-2009. Sponsored by the Loyola University Chicago Department of Theology and the Theology Graduate Student Caucus
LANGUAGES
Kiswahili 2 semesters, extensive self-study, graduate research tool
Courses taken in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
French 1 semester, graduate research tool
Greek 6 semesters
Hebrew 2 semesters
American Sign Language 4 semesters
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
American Academy of Religion
Society of Christian Ethics
Association for Theological Field Education
African Association for the Study of Religions