Aizaiah Yong

Rev. Dr. Aizaiah G. Yong is an administrative faculty member and practical theologian at the Claremont School of Theology. There he also co-directs professional doctoral programs related to contemplative leadership & the Center for Engaged Compassion (CEC). The CEC is devoted to co-repairing the world through the teaching, study, and cultivation of compassion. Ordained as a Pentecostal Christian minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and with strong ties to the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM), he has over 15 years of experience in religious and higher education leadership, healing, and advocacy work informed by psychospiritual practice, and international public speaking. Together he, his life partner Nereyda Yong, and his father Amos Yong, have co-founded Spirited Renewal, an organization devoted to transforming 21st-century spirituality, culture, and relationships. Rev. Dr. Yong is a trusted thought leader on issues at the intersections of spiritual, cultural, and relational transformation. His forthcoming book, Trauma and Renewal: Toward Spiritual, Communal, and Holistic Transformation (Orbis Books, 2025) received the nationally acclaimed 2023 Louisville Institute Book Grant for Scholars of Color. Multiracial Cosmotheandrism: a Practical Theology of Multiracial Experiences (Orbis Books, 2023) received the 2020 Hispanic Theological Initiative Dissertation Prize and the 2022 Raimon Panikkar Prize. Rev. Dr. Yong holds a PhD in Practical Theology: Intercultural Education and Formation, from Claremont School of Theology; an MA in Theology and Culture from Northwest University; and a BS in Organizational Leadership and Management from Regent University. His greatest joys are being in a life partnership with Neddy and being a parent to awe-inspiring children.