Javier Viera

Dr. Javier Viera is the President (2021) and Professor of Education and Leadership at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Viera is the first person of color to hold the office of president in the seminary’s 168-year history. He has served as Dean, Provost and Professor of Pastoral Studies at Drew University Theological Seminary; as executive minister of Christ Church in New York City; and as chair of his local Human Rights Commission. He is an ordained elder in the New York Conference of The United Methodist Church. Other professional activities include the Wabash Center Advisory Committee, the University Senate and Commission on Theological Education of The United Methodist Church, the Religious Education Association, and the American Academy of Religion. His scholarly interests center on inter-religious dialogue and how learning occurs across religious and ideological differences; adult learning and development, particularly Freirean dialectics and pedagogy; and the history of Latin America, particularly revolutionary and anti-colonial movements in the Hispanic Caribbean. Dr. Viera holds a PhD in Education from Columbia University Teachers College, an STM from Yale University, an MDiv from Duke University, and a BA from Florida Southern College. In 2020, he received the Yale Divinity School Distinction in Theological Education award and is currently completing a PhD in Latin American studies/history from the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.