Officers of the AARWR
President
Anna Hennessey
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, University of California, Berkeley
PhD. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, 2011
Research interests: religious, artistic, and philosophical dimensions of birth; abstract concepts of birth and genesis in the formation of cultural/national identity; visualization and birth; cross-cultural approaches to birth
Author of Imagery, Ritual, and Birth: Ontology Between the Sacred and the Secular (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018)
Anna Hennessey
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, University of California, Berkeley
PhD. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara, 2011
Research interests: religious, artistic, and philosophical dimensions of birth; abstract concepts of birth and genesis in the formation of cultural/national identity; visualization and birth; cross-cultural approaches to birth
Author of Imagery, Ritual, and Birth: Ontology Between the Sacred and the Secular (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018)
Vice President/Program Chair
Roy Whitaker
Roy Whitaker
- Academic Position: Assistant Professor of Black Religions and American Religious Diversity at San Diego State University since 2014
- Education: Ph.D. in Religious Studies, with a specialization in Philosophy of Religion and Theology, from Claremont Graduate University in 2014
- Research Interests: Religious Pluralism: Martin Luther King Jr; Hip Hop Religion; Race and Religion; New Religious Movements; Africana and Continental Philosophy of Religion
- Author: “‘Our Loyalties Must Become Ecumenical’: Martin Luther King Jr. as a Pluralist Theologian.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 51, no. 3 (Summer 2016): 402–22
Vice President Elect
John Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University and Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.
Received Dual MA Degrees in Women's Studies in Religion and Applied Women's Studies from Claremont Graduate University in 2011.
Research interests: LGBT History, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, American Religious History, Government, Policy, and Religion.
John Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University and Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.
Received Dual MA Degrees in Women's Studies in Religion and Applied Women's Studies from Claremont Graduate University in 2011.
Research interests: LGBT History, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, American Religious History, Government, Policy, and Religion.
Regionally Elected Coordinator
Jonathan H. X. Lee
Jonathan H. X. Lee
- Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2009
Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University - Research interests: Asian/Asian American Religions, Pilgrimage, Rituals, and Folklore
Regional Representative - Arizona/ Nevada
Souad T. Ali
Souad T. Ali
- Associate Professor at Arizona State University
- Head of Classics and Middle East Studies and Director of Arabic Studies
- Author of A Religion, Not A State: Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq’s Islamic Justification of Political Secularism (University of Utah Press 2009)
Regional Representative - Hawaii/ Pacific Islands
Joseph Kim Paxton
Joseph Kim Paxton
- Ph.D. student in Practical Theology at the Claremont School of Theology
- Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Sierra States University
Research interests: Trauma and pastoral care, coping, spiritually-integrative psychotherapy, thriving, and group conflict.
Regional Representative - Northern California
Thien-Huong Ninh
Thien-Huong Ninh
- Assistant Professor of Sociology at Cosumnes River College
Research interests: Religion, Race and Gender; Immigrant Religion; Asian Religious Diasporas; East Asian New Religious Movements.
Website: thninh.wordpress.com
Photo Credit: Kimberly Esslinger
Regional Representative - Southern California
Marie Cartier
Marie Cartier
- Dr. Cartier has a Ph.D. in Religion with an emphasis on Women and Religion from Claremont Graduate University
- Author of the critically acclaimed book Baby, You Are My Religion: Women, Gay Bars, and Theology Before Stonewall (Routledge 2013)
- She is a senior lecturer in Gender and Women’s Studies and Queer Studies at California State University Northridge, and in Film Studies at Univ. of CA Irvine
Queer Advocate
Anjeanette LeBoeuf
Anjeanette LeBoeuf
- Ph.D., Women Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate University
- Research interests: Popular Culture and Religion, South Asian Religions with emphasis on Hinduism, and Feminist and Queer Theory
- She is a permanent contributor to the academic blog FeminismandReligion.com
Women's Caucus Liaison
Yuria Celidwen
Yuria Celidwen
- Ph.D. candidate in Mythological Studies and Depth Psychology at Pacific Graduate Institute, and a graduate in Contemplative Science from the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science (2014).
Research interests: Ethics and Compassion within World Mythologies and Mystical Traditions from an interdisciplinary approach that joins reason and emotion, scientific inquiry and contemplative practices for social and environmental justice. She co-chairs the Indigenous Religions Unit at the AAR-WR, and works as chief production editor (Spanish) for the United Nations, New York.
Diversity and Inclusion Advocate
Sakena Young-Scaggs
Sakena Young-Scaggs
- Ph.D. in Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University, 2019
- Faculty, Barrett Honors College, ASU
- Dissertation: "Afrofuturism, Womanist Phenomenology, and the Black Imagination: A Liberative Revisioning of Black Humanity"
Student Representative - Southern California & Western Region Student Director
James Berry
Ph.D. Student in History of Christianity and Religions of North America at Claremont Graduate University
Research Interests: Religion and International Relations; Charity; Parachurch Organizations; Evangelicalism; Religion and Violence
James Berry
Ph.D. Student in History of Christianity and Religions of North America at Claremont Graduate University
Research Interests: Religion and International Relations; Charity; Parachurch Organizations; Evangelicalism; Religion and Violence
Student Representative - Northern California
Jacob Perez
M.T.S. Student at Pacific School of Religion
Co-Chair, Latinx and Latin American Religions Unit (AARWR)
Research Interests: Liberation Theologies & Eschatologies; Post-Pentecostalism; Pedagogical Strategies in Theological Education
Jacob Perez
M.T.S. Student at Pacific School of Religion
Co-Chair, Latinx and Latin American Religions Unit (AARWR)
Research Interests: Liberation Theologies & Eschatologies; Post-Pentecostalism; Pedagogical Strategies in Theological Education
Conference Manager (ex-officio, non-voting, not a board position)
Joseph Kim Paxton
Joseph Kim Paxton
Student Representative - Arizona
Vacant
Vacant
Past President
Vacant
Vacant