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Powering Pluralism Network: Racial Justice & Religion Cohort MembersPJ Andrews // pjandrews@usbnc.orgRace Discourse OfficerBaha’is of the United States Office of Public AffairsPJ coordinates the office’s collaboration with individuals, organizations, andagencies in the U.S. engaged in public discourses and policy advocacydirected toward racial justice and racial unity. Prior to joining the office in2017, PJ worked in ethical culture development for the Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU), in government relations for national serviceprograms with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS),as a case manager for U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen, and supportedthe work of the International Teaching Centre at the World Center of theBahá’í Faith in Haifa, Israel. PJ holds a M.Ed in Human Development andPsychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA inAmerican Studies from Tufts University.The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas // kdouglas@uts.columbia.eduDean Episcopal Divinity School – Union Theological Seminary & CanonTheologian – Washington National CathedralThe Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas serves as the Dean of theEpiscopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and the Bill andJudith Moyers Chair in Theology at Union. She also serves as the CanonTheologian at the Washington National Cathedral and Theologian inResidence at Trinity Church Wall Street.Dr. Brittney Cooper // brittneyccooper@gmail.comAssociate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and AfricanaStudiesRutgers UniversityBrittney Cooper is Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and SexualityStudies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University. She is a Black feministscholar, author of the New York Times bestselling book Eloquent Rage: ABlack Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, and a licensed minister.
Kaitlin Curtice // kaitlincurtice@gmail.comEssayist, Poet, and Public SpeakerThe Aki InstituteKaitlin Curtice is a poet, author, public speaker, and founder of the AkiInstitute for Peace and Justice. As an enrolled citizen of the PotawatomiNation and someone who has grown up in the Christian faith, Kaitlin writeson the intersection of Indigenous spirituality, faith in everyday life, anddecolonization within the church.Hebah Farrag // farrag@usc.eduAssistant Director for ResearchUSC Center for Religion and Civic CultureHebah Farrag is the assistant director of research at the USC Center forReligion and Civic Culture, where she manages large grant-based researchprojects while pursuing her own research on religion, social change, and newspiritual communities. Her current research focuses on spiritual exemplars,measuring impact in faith-based community groups and spirituality in themovement for Black lives.Nina M. Fernando // nina.fernando@s2scampaign.orgExecutive DirectorThe Shoulder to Shoulder CampaignNina M. Fernando serves as Executive Director at The Shoulder to ShoulderCampaign, a multifaith coalition of religious denominations and faith-basedorganizations committed to dismantling anti-Muslim discrimination andviolence in the United States and building a society where all are treatedwith dignity and respect. Nina is a Sri-Lankan Californian raised Catholic. Herintersectional identities have informed her work as a multifaith communityorganizer, activist, vocalist, and songwriter.
The Reverend Stephen A. Green // stephenagreen1@gmail.comPastorMetropolitan AME Church (Harlem, NY) & Chair – Faith for Black LivesRev. Stephen A. Green is the Pastor of Metropolitan AME Church, Harlem,NY and Chair of Faith for Black Lives. Rev. Green is one of the nation’sleading thought leaders on faith, social justice, and organizing. As anActivist and Pastor, Rev. Green is leading the next generation of voices.He’s out front on social issues and racial equality and strives daily to livecourageously through his commitment to do justice and walk humbly withGod.The Reverend Alvin Herring // aherring@faithinaction.orgExecutive DirectorFaith in ActionThe Rev. Alvin Herring is Executive Director of Faith in Action, formerlyPICO National Network, an international network of more than 40federations and local groups in 21 states and three countries. Prior toassuming this leadership role, Rev. Herring worked as the director forracial equity and community engagement for the W.K. KelloggFoundation, the fifth largest foundation in the world. While serving in thisrole, he advanced racial justice by ensuring groups leading racial justicework they had resources to propel their campaigns and initiatives.The Reverend Dr. Charles (Chaz) Howard // choward@upenn.eduUniversity Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity & CommunityUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe Rev. Charles (Chaz) Lattimore Howard, PhD is an Episcopal Priest andserves as The University Chaplain and The Vice President for Social Equity& Community at the University of Pennsylvania. His writing has beenfeatured in a wide range of publications and he is the author of five booksincluding most recently Pond River Ocean Rain and The Bottom: ATheopoetic of the Streets. He shares life with his beloved wife, Dr. Lia C.Howard and their three daughters.
The Reverend Amber Lowe // amberlouisalowe@gmail.comAssistant Pastor –West Mitchell Street CME Church (Atlanta, GA), PoliticalConsultant, Community Organizer, PhD StudentThe Rev. Amber Lowe is an ordained Elder in the Christian MethodistEpiscopal Church and currently serves as the Assistant Pastor at WestMitchell Street CME in Atlanta, GA. In August, Amber will begin her firstyear at Indiana University (Bloomington) in pursuit of a PhD in ReligiousStudies. Amber’s professional background is in campaign politics andcommunity organizing. She also runs a blog titled “Truth Is Trouble.”Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner // jpesner@rac.orgDirectorReligious Action Center of Reform JudaismRabbi Jonah Dov Pesner serves as the Director of the Religious ActionCenter of Reform Judaism. He has led the Religious Action Center since2015. Rabbi Pesner also serves as Senior Vice President of the Union forReform Judaism, a position to which he was appointed in 2011. Namedone of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek magazine, heis an inspirational leader and tireless advocate for social justice.Dr. Anthony Pinn // pinn@rice.eduAgnes Cullen Arnold Professor of HumanitiesRice UniversityDr. Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities andProfessor of Religion at Rice University, where he also directs the Centerfor Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning and the Center forAfrican and African American Studies. He is a fellow of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences (2021) and a Professor Extraordinarius atthe University of South Africa.
Nicole Pressley // Npressley@uua.orgField and Programs DirectorUnitarian Universalist AssociationNicole Pressley is a Black, queer, faith organizer and storyteller. Shebelieves that connecting faith and social justice can chart new terrain forimaginative and loving justice movements. Nicole is currently the Fieldand Programs Director at the Unitarian Universalist Association. She holdsa degree in African American Studies from Northwestern University.The Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero // salguerog@gmail.comPresidentNational Latino Evangelical CoalitionThe Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero is pastor of The Gathering Place, a Latinoled multi-ethnic Assemblies of God congregation in Orlando, Florida.Salguero is also the president and founder of the National LatinoEvangelical Coalition (NALEC), a national coalition of several thousandevangelical congregations in the United States. He was the formerDirector of the Hispanic Leadership Program (HLP), and the Institute forFaith and Public Life at Princeton Theological SeminaryTahil Sharma // tsharma@uri.orgRegional Coordinator for North AmericaUnited Religions InitiativeTahil Sharma is an interfaith activist based in California, born to a Sikhmother and a Hindu father. Following the events of the Oak CreekGurudwara shooting in Wisconsin by a white supremacist, Tahil has beenactive at the intersections of faith, identity, and justice for almost adecade. He serves on the board of Sadhana: A Coalition of ProgressiveHindus and as an Interfaith Minister in Residence for the EpiscopalDiocese of Los Angeles.
Kia Smith // kia@kiaspeaksalso.comVice President of CommunicationsFaith in Public Life & Divinity StudentKia creates content at the intersection of culture, faith, and justice in order tobuild inclusive communities. From digital campaigns and multimedia projects tothought-provoking articles, visuals and speeches, Kia tells stories that challenge,provoke, and move audiences into action. She earned a B.A. in English fromSpelman College and graduated from Kennesaw State University with an M.A.in Professional Writing. She is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity fromChicago Theological Seminary.The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis // liz.theoharis@gmail.comDirector – Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice (UnionTheological Seminary)Co-Chair – Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral RevivalRev. Dr. Liz Theoharis is the Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights,and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and Co-Chair of the PoorPeople's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Liz is the editor of We CryJustice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People’s Campaign (Broadleaf Press,October 12, 2021). She is the author of Always with Us?: What Jesus Really Saidabout the Poor (Eerdmans, 2017) and co-author of Revive Us Again: Vision andAction in Moral Organizing (Beacon, 2018). Liz is an ordained minister in thePresbyterian Church (USA) and teaches at Union Theological Seminary in NewYork City.Ekemini Uwan // sistamatictheology@gmail.comPublic Theologian, co-host of Truth’s Table PodcastEkemini Uwan is a public theologian and co-host of Truth’s Table Podcast. Shereceived her Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary(WTS) in Philadelphia, PA. In 2021, she earned the IMPACT Award from TheInstitute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience for her work withTruth’s Table Podcast. Her writings have been published in The Atlantic, TheWashington Post, Huffington Post Black Voices and her insights have beenquoted by NPR, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The NewYorker.
Imam Dawud Walid // dwalid@cair.comImam & Executive DirectorCouncil on American-Islamic Relations Michigan ChapterImam Dawud Walid currently serves as the Executive Director of the Michiganchapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) which is abranch of America's largest civil liberties and advocacy organization forAmerican Muslims, as well as member of the Michigan Muslim CommunityCouncil Imams Committee and a senior fellow at Auburn Seminary based inNew York. Dawud is also the author of the books: Towards Sacred Activism andBlackness and Islam. He works to further develop the leadership capacity ofgrassroots individuals and communities to advocate for their core concerns.Rozella Haydée WhiteTask Force Facilitator, #LoveBigCoach, OwnerRHW ConsultingRozella Haydée White, in addition to facilitating the Inclusive America Project’sRacial Justice & Religion Task Force, is the #LoveBigCoach and owner of RHWConsulting LLC, an agency focused on accompanying clients as they align theirbeing, beliefs, and behaviors in order to deconstruct and dismantle systems,structures, and social constructs that inhibit justice and liberation. Rozella is apublic theologian, spiritual life and leadership coach, inspirational speaker, andwriter focused on nurturing love that is life-giving, justice seeking, andsustaining so that all can thrive.
American Studies from Tufts University. The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas // kdouglas@uts.columbia.edu Dean Episcopal Divinity School - Union Theological Seminary & Canon Theologian - Washington National Cathedral The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas serves as the Dean of the
