Dr. Neomi De Anda is Executive Director of International Marian Research Institute (IMRI) at the University of Dayton, where she served as a Human Rights Center Research Associate and is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies. She teaches courses in religion, languages and cultures, Latinx studies, race and ethnic studies, and women and gender studies.  Dr. De Anda holds a PhD in Constructive Theology from Loyola University Chicago, and Master’s degrees in Theology (Oblate School of Theology) and Educational Leadership (St. Mary’s University, San Antonio).  Her research interests include LatinoXa Christology; theology and breast milk; chisme; Marianist Catholic Higher Education; the intersection of race and migrations, in conjunction with the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative Immigrant Justice Team; and partnering with the Hope Border Institute on a border theology at the intersections of the environment, migrations, labor, and women. Dr. De Anda is the most recent past president for the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). Her honors include: the 2021 University of Dayton University Award for Faculty Teaching; the 2021 University of Dayton College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Service Award for faculty; recognition as a Courageous Woman's Voice at the University of Dayton (2020) and an outstanding faculty member in the State of Ohio by Ohio Magazine (2019). Dr. De Anda has also received various grants from the Hispanic Theological Initiative, the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology, the Association of Marianist Universities, and the Louisville Institute, where she now serves as a member of the board. 

Dr. Kay Higuera Smith is Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies and Program Director of the Religious Studies Minor program at Azusa Pacific University. She writes about social justice issues as they relate to Critical Gender Theory, Postcoloniality and Evangelicalism. In her most recent publication, she was Editor-in-Chief of Postcolonial Evangelical Conversations: Global Awakenings in Theology and Praxis (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2014). She currently has two books under contract, one on the historical figure of Mary of Nazareth, and another on Latinx Biblical Hermeneutics.

Dr. Victor Carmona is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. He earned his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. Before becoming a Latino moral theologian, Dr. Carmona served migrants and urban communities with the Mexican Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate; experiences which continue to influence his thinking and teaching. He authored “Theologizing Immigration” in Blackwell’s Companion to Latino/a Theology, and has also published with the Journal of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and with Liguorian magazine.

Rev. Lydia Hernández-Marcial is a doctoral candidate in biblical studies, specializing in the Hebrew Bible, particularly Wisdom Literature, at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC). She is a 2018-19 Hispanic Theological Initiative/Lilly Fellow and has taught at the Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary. As a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), she served as a pastor in several churches in Puerto Rico, where she taught Old Testament, Christian Ethics, and Christian Theology at the Disciples of Christ Bible Institute. Rev. Hernández-Marcial holds a bachelor degree with a major in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, an MDiv from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, an STM from the Union Theological Seminary, and a ThM from the LSTC.

Rev. Dr. Doris García-Rivera is a Professor of Old Testament and Mission and Evangelism in the Certificate in Hispanic Ministries at Lexington Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Academic Coordinator for Pathways for Tomorrow Grant. Her work focuses on Nonprofit Organizations Management, Fundraising, Preaching, Social Justice, Interculturality, Ancient Near Eastern culture, and Prophetic Literature. Since 1982, Rev. Dr. García-Rivera has collaborated with a variety of journals and digital spaces, sharing valuable biblical and theological knowledge and receiving several awards for her writings. She spent 23 years of missionary service in Central America, connecting Indigenous and Central Americans communities with churches and organizations in the U.S. through the International Ministries of American Baptist Churches (IM-ABC). Formerly, she served as Interim Director at Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA)-Bautistas por la Paz. In 2014, Rev. Dr. García-Rivera was appointed President of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, becoming the first woman president in the seminary's history. She holds a PhD focused in Historical & Bible Studies and Sociology from Boston University's School of Theology; an MAR in Cross-Cultural Evangelism from the Andover Newton Theological School; an MS in Microbiology from the School of Medicine of Puerto Rico; and a BSc from University of Puerto Rico. In 1990, Rev. Dr. Garcia-Rivera was ordained as a minister of the ABC – Puerto Rican Baptist Churches. A proud mother of three adults, she enjoys science fiction, writing, and music.

Dr. Manuela Ceballos is a native of Medellín, Colombia, and studies Islamic and Christian mystical literature in the medieval and early modern Western Mediterranean. She completed her dissertation at Emory University in 2016. She has published articles on mysticism and violence, the historiographical concept of convivencia (the coexistence of Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Islamic Spain), and has a forthcoming article on the hagiographical account of a sixteenth-century Muslim saint of Christian and Jewish ancestry. She regularly teaches "Introduction to the Study of Islam," and other courses that focus on literature, history, and culture in the Muslim West. Before focusing on the study of Islam, Dr. Ceballos earned a BA in French and Comparative Literature and an MA in French from Bryn Mawr College and worked as an English as a Second Language instructor for refugees in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dr. Daniel Ramírez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religion, School of Arts and Humanities, Claremont Graduate University. He received his BA in Political Science at Yale College before going on to receive his MA and PhD from Duke University in American Religious History. His research interests lie primarily in American religious history and Latinx American religious history both within and outside the United States. Ramírez has taught a vast range of courses within these broad fields, including American Evangelicalisms and Fundamentalisms; Religion, Migration, and Transnationalism; History of the Hispanic Heterodox: Latina/o Religious History; Religious Pathways of the Borderlands; and Film and Religious History, among others. During Ramírez’s career, he has published numerous book chapters and articles, most often on Latin American religious history, traditions, and challenges. His book, Migrating Faith: Pentecostalism in the United States and Mexico in the Twentieth Century (UNC Press, 2015), begins in Los Angeles in 1906 with the eruption of the Azusa Street Revival and follows the trajectory of the Pentecostal phenomenon in the United States and Mexico throughout the century.

Stephen R. Di Trolio Coakley is a PhD student at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Department of History and Ecumenics (world Christianity and history of religions). He worked and taught in Buenos Aires, Argentina before moving to Princeton, New Jersey. His research interests include Pentecostalism, Latin American history, political theology, and decolonial theory. Di Trolio Coakley is currently a Louisville Institute Fellow.

Dr. Elizabeth Tamez Méndez is Founder and Executive Director of New Gereration3, an international organization dedicated to training leaders, conducting research, and providing consulting services. She is a specialist in multicultural youth development and strategic planning, has 25 years of diverse ministerial experience, is ordained in the Baptist church, and holds a PhD in Leadership. Part of her work includes teaching youth development courses at various universities and seminaries, fulfilling speaking commitments, and publishing in articles, blogs, and edited books. She was awarded Emory University's "Nuestra Herencia Honorary Recognition" award for paving the way in the work with the Hispanic/Latinx community and the church. Originally from Mexico, she is passionate about developing young leaders! Contact her at elizabeth.tamez@ng3web.org.

Dr. Melissa Pagán is Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Dr. Pagán is a lay Catholic decolonial feminist ethicist. She holds a PhD in Religion, Ethics, and Society from Emory University. Her areas of research include analyses of the logics of global coloniality in the increasing militarization of both physical and ideological borders between persons and issues of race, gender, and sexuality in Catholic Social Thought. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and as a co-convener of the Latina/o Theology Consultation of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA).

Dr. Jeremy Cruz is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. He earned his BA in history from the University of California, Riverside, then studied at Loyola Marymount University and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, before earning an MDiv and PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College. Dr. Cruz has also gained insight into the role of religion in society by working as a faith-based community organizer, and as a lay ecclesial minister in his native California. He joined the St. John’s University faculty in 2014 and teaches courses in ethics and theology, as well as the capstone course for the undergraduate minor in Social Justice: Theory and Practice in the Vincentian Tradition. His current research focuses on justice for farmworkers and moral theories of social equality. As a practitioner of moral advocacy, Dr. Cruz volunteers with religious communities as they advocate for the rights and well-being of U.S. farmworkers.

Dr. Lauren Frances Guerra is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She is of Guatemalan-Ecuadorian descent and an active member of the Roman Catholic Church. She earned her doctorate in Systematic and Philosophical Theology from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Her research interests include U.S. Latinx Theology, Theological Aesthetics, and Ethnic Studies. She approaches the theological task with the complexities of race, class, and gender in mind. Popular Religion and community-based art inform her theologizing. Her long-term goal is to serve as an advocate for the U.S. Latinx community through her academic work.

Rev. Eli Valentin serves as pastor of the Bridge Church of God in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In addition to his pastoral ministry, he has been a lecturer at Union Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary, and Hunter College (CUNY). Valentín has served as a political advisor to numerous elected officials across the country and is the editor of Sermons from the Latino/a Pulpit and the author of the forthcoming Reinhold Niebuhr: A Political Life.

Dr. Margarita Benítez is Executive Director of Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. She holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy, and graduate degrees in Hispanic Studies from Vassar College (BA), Middlebury College (MA), and Columbia University (PhD). Her lifelong involvement with higher education began at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), where she was born and raised. At UPR, Dr. Benítez was a professor of literature and humanities, as well as chancellor of UPR’s Cayey Campus, and acting chancellor of UPR’s Humacao campus. After moving to Washington, DC in 1997, she held a number of senior positions in higher-education organizations, such as the Office of Postsecondary Education in the US Dept. of Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Excelencia in Education, The Education Trust, and the American Council on Education. Dr. Benítez has presented and published multiple papers on topics related to higher education, accreditation, women's issues, and Hispanic literature and culture in the U.S. In addition, she has taught at Columbia University, Fordham University, SUNY/Albany, and several universities in Spain. In 2018, Dr. Benítez returned to Puerto Rico after being appointed executive director of the Puerto Rico Endowment for the Humanities, the first woman to lead the nonprofit organization.

Rev. Dr. Melinda Contreras-Byrd is a NJ state licensed psychologist who specializes in issues of "race", gender, ethnicity and faith. She is a graduate of the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and Princeton Theological Seminary, and she presently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd has been a professor of Psychology, Christian and Pastoral Counseling, and Black Studies. For six years, she served as the Special Services Advisor to the Office of the Dean of Students at Princeton University and has served as Chaplain for the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd is an ordained Elder and assistant pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is founder of Solidaridad, a mental-health/clergy wellness partnering initiative between pastors in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, where she is Dean of the AME Ministerial Institute. A poet and author, Rev. Dr. Contreras-Byrd’s most recent book is entitled Saving the Lives of Black and Latinx Pastors: A Self Care Study (Red Sea Press, 2019). 

Kamaria Milagros Byrd is a licentiate in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She received her Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Rider University and is presently a first year student at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. Jorge Juan Rodríguez V, the son of two Puerto Rican migrants, grew up with his parents, grandmother, and uncle in a small affordable housing community in urban Connecticut. His story of diaspora, translanguaging, race, and religion propelled his academic journey, leading him to degrees in biblical studies, social theory, liberation theologies, and a PhD in History from Union Theological Seminary. His scholarship examines the intersections of race, religion, and social movements with a particular focus on Black and Brown religious activism in the 20th century, including groups like the New York Young Lords. Dr. Rodríguez is an administrator and educator. In addition to his role as Visiting Assistant Professor of Historical Studies at Union Theological Seminary, he serves full-time as the Associate Director for Strategic Programming at the Hispanic Summer Program, a nonprofit that creates year-round educational spaces for Latinx graduate students of religion. Additionally, Dr. Rodríguez frequently consults with universities and organizations across the country to help them imagine and build more just economic, curricular, and labor systems in their institutions. Learn more about his work at www.jjrodriguezv.com and follow him on Twitter at @jjrodv.

Dr. Lloyd D. Barba is Assistant Professor of Religion and core faculty in Latinx and Latin American Studies at Amherst College. He holds a PhD from University of Michigan, an MA from University of Michigan, and a BA from University of the Pacific. He has published essays on the history of race and religion, Pentecostalism, Catholicism, the Sanctuary Movement, and material religion. Dr. Barba is the author of Sowing the Sacred: Mexican Pentecostal Farmworkers in California, 1916-1966 (Oxford University Press, 2022).

Rev. Dr. Joanne Solis holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership and Development, with an emphasis on Ecclesial Leadership. Dr. Solis is the co-founder of CaminoRoad, a development company that focuses on increasing the cultural responsiveness of individuals and organizations. She is a consultant, multi-ethnic coach, qualified administrator of the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory), and she teaches leadership courses at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Solis is an entrepreneurial, visionary strategist who travels extensively, speaking on topics related to leadership, cultural competency, and educational equity.

Dr. Matilde Moros is Assistant Professor of Gender Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a theological social ethicist working in the field of gender, sexuality and women's studies. The ethics of resistance and subversion of hegemonic world-views and narratives of power lead her teaching and learning toward a counter-narrative method of decolonial, transnational feminist ethics. Feminist social ethics must respond to sexual and gender violence and the multiple intersections of which race and its various social constructions has led to the exclusion from centers of power of many peoples, including Latin-American and Latinx communities. Dr. Moros conducts research on the communal and historical effects of organized resistance to gendered and sexual violence has led her to an approach to liberation ethics in which recovery of resistance methods has become the primary focus.