Officers of the AARWR
Photo Credit: Kimberly Esslinger
President
Marie Cartier
Marie Cartier
- Ph.D., Religion with an emphasis on Women and Religion, Claremont Graduate University
- Author of the critically acclaimed book Baby, You Are My Religion: Women, Gay Bars, and Theology Before Stonewall (Routledge 2013)
- Senior Lecturer in Gender and Women’s Studies and Queer Studies at California State University Northridge, and in Film Studies at University of CA Irvine
Vice President and Program Chair
Sakena Young-Scaggs
Sakena Young-Scaggs
- Ph.D. in Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University, 2019. Dissertation: Afrofuturism, Womanist Phenomenology, and the Black Imagination: A Liberative Revisioning of Black Humanity
- Senior Associate Dean for Religious & Spiritual Life and Pastor of Memorial Church
Past President
John M. Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University
Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, and Marketing for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and Mayor Pro Tempore for the City of West Hollywood
Dual MA Degrees in Women's Studies in Religion and Applied Women's Studies from Claremont Graduate University in 2011 and a Ph.D. in American Religious History with a focus on LGBTQ issues in Religion in 2019 from Claremont Graduate University.
Research interests: LGBT History, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, American Religious History, Government, Policy, and Religion.
John M. Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University
Vice President of Public Affairs, Communications, and Marketing for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and Mayor Pro Tempore for the City of West Hollywood
Dual MA Degrees in Women's Studies in Religion and Applied Women's Studies from Claremont Graduate University in 2011 and a Ph.D. in American Religious History with a focus on LGBTQ issues in Religion in 2019 from Claremont Graduate University.
Research interests: LGBT History, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Masculinity Studies, American Religious History, Government, Policy, and Religion.
Vice President-Elect
Dr. R.D. Sherma, Ph.D.
MA and Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University.
Founding Director & Associate Professor, Center for Dharma Studies; Core Doctoral Faculty; Co-chair:
Sustainability 360 Initiative, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.
Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Dharma Studies: Asian and Transcultural Religion, Philosophy, & Ethics
(Springer). Author/editor—nine volumes, including Religion & Sustainability: Interreligious Resources,
Interdisciplinary Responses; Woman & Goddess in Hinduism; An Emancipatory, Ecofeminist, Hindu
Ecotheology of Shakti.
Research: Environmental Humanities, Ecosocial Justice, Interreligious Studies, Hindu Theology, Yoga
Philosophy, and Philosophy of the Divine Feminine.
Dr. R.D. Sherma, Ph.D.
MA and Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University.
Founding Director & Associate Professor, Center for Dharma Studies; Core Doctoral Faculty; Co-chair:
Sustainability 360 Initiative, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA.
Co-Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Dharma Studies: Asian and Transcultural Religion, Philosophy, & Ethics
(Springer). Author/editor—nine volumes, including Religion & Sustainability: Interreligious Resources,
Interdisciplinary Responses; Woman & Goddess in Hinduism; An Emancipatory, Ecofeminist, Hindu
Ecotheology of Shakti.
Research: Environmental Humanities, Ecosocial Justice, Interreligious Studies, Hindu Theology, Yoga
Philosophy, and Philosophy of the Divine Feminine.
Regional Coordinator
Jake Nagasawa
Ph.D., Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara (2021)
M.A., Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara (2017)
Research Interests: ancient and medieval Tibetan Buddhism, Asian American Buddhism in the contemporary U.S.
Co-Chair, AAR/WR Buddhist Studies Unit
Jake Nagasawa
Ph.D., Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara (2021)
M.A., Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara (2017)
Research Interests: ancient and medieval Tibetan Buddhism, Asian American Buddhism in the contemporary U.S.
Co-Chair, AAR/WR Buddhist Studies Unit
Regional Representative - Arizona
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. Practical Theology, Claremont School of Theology
- Research Interests: Trauma, mass shootings, theodicy, spiritual struggle, spiritually-integrative approaches to care and counseling, the integration of (clinical and social) psychology and (practical and pastoral) theology.
Regional Representative - Nevada
Roberta Sabbath
Roberta Sabbath
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas English Department faculty
- Sabbath focuses on the cultural implications of religious practice and is author of Sacred Body: Readings in Jewish Literary Illumination (Rowman & Littlefield, Lexington Books Jewish Studies Series, 2023); editor, Vegas Strong: Bearing Witness 1 October 2017 (University of Nevada Press, 2023); editor, Troubling Topics, Sacred Texts: Readings in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur’an. (De Gruyter Press, 2021); and editor, Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an as Literature and Culture (Brill Publishers, 2009).
Regional Representative - Northern California
Valerie Miles-Tribble
Ph.D., Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
D.Min., San Francisco Theological Seminary / Graduate Theological Union
Professor of Ministerial Leadership & Practical Theology at Berkeley School of Theology / GTU
Publication: Change Agent Church in Black Lives Matter Times: Urgency for Action
Specialty Areas: Womanist Theology / Ethics, Public Theology, Leadership Development & Org Change, and Practical Theology.
Valerie Miles-Tribble
Ph.D., Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
D.Min., San Francisco Theological Seminary / Graduate Theological Union
Professor of Ministerial Leadership & Practical Theology at Berkeley School of Theology / GTU
Publication: Change Agent Church in Black Lives Matter Times: Urgency for Action
Specialty Areas: Womanist Theology / Ethics, Public Theology, Leadership Development & Org Change, and Practical Theology.
Diversity and Inclusion Advocate
Purushottama Bilimoria
Ph.D., La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Thesis: Indian Doctrine of Testimony
Principal Fellow, School of Philosophical and Historical Studies, The University of Melbourne
2021-2023 Principal Investigator (“Leading Lab Scientists”), RUND University, Moscow
Co-Editor in Chief of Sophia: International Journal in Philosophy and Traditions (Springer) and the Journal of Dharma Studies (Springer).
Specialties: Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion (Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh), Philosophy (Analytic-Critical), Phenomenology and Continental Thinking, Asian and World Philosophies, Comparative Ethics and Political Philosophy, Sanskrit and Indology, Jainism and Gandhi’s Moral Philosophy and American Civil Rights Movements
Purushottama Bilimoria
Ph.D., La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Thesis: Indian Doctrine of Testimony
Principal Fellow, School of Philosophical and Historical Studies, The University of Melbourne
2021-2023 Principal Investigator (“Leading Lab Scientists”), RUND University, Moscow
Co-Editor in Chief of Sophia: International Journal in Philosophy and Traditions (Springer) and the Journal of Dharma Studies (Springer).
Specialties: Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion (Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh), Philosophy (Analytic-Critical), Phenomenology and Continental Thinking, Asian and World Philosophies, Comparative Ethics and Political Philosophy, Sanskrit and Indology, Jainism and Gandhi’s Moral Philosophy and American Civil Rights Movements
Queer Advocate
Anjeanette LeBoeuf
Anjeanette LeBoeuf
- Ph.D., Women Studies in Religion, 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
Janice Poss
Ph.D. Candidate, Claremont Graduate University, Women's and Gender Studies in Religion
M.A. Pastoral Theology, Loyola Marymount University
BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Senior Coordinator, Pat Reif Memorial Lecture at CGU.
Poss is a comparative, interreligious scholar concentrating on women’s issues in Roman Catholicism and Tibetan Buddhism. She teaches on Thematic Bible Topics and the Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate.
Research Interests: Intersection of aesthetics, ethics, feminism, praxis, social justice, activism, international peace-building and women’s leadership.
Her recent article, "Women Healing the Globe, Preserving the Tibetan Plateau," published in the Journal of Feminist Theology honors Rosemary Radford Ruether's eco-feminist work,Women Healing Earth. For the last five years, she has worked on the Women in Religion project -- co-sponsored by the AAR/SBL Women's Caucus and Wikipedia -- bringing notability to underrepresented women to the Wikipedia platform.
Janice Poss
Ph.D. Candidate, Claremont Graduate University, Women's and Gender Studies in Religion
M.A. Pastoral Theology, Loyola Marymount University
BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Senior Coordinator, Pat Reif Memorial Lecture at CGU.
Poss is a comparative, interreligious scholar concentrating on women’s issues in Roman Catholicism and Tibetan Buddhism. She teaches on Thematic Bible Topics and the Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate.
Research Interests: Intersection of aesthetics, ethics, feminism, praxis, social justice, activism, international peace-building and women’s leadership.
Her recent article, "Women Healing the Globe, Preserving the Tibetan Plateau," published in the Journal of Feminist Theology honors Rosemary Radford Ruether's eco-feminist work,Women Healing Earth. For the last five years, she has worked on the Women in Religion project -- co-sponsored by the AAR/SBL Women's Caucus and Wikipedia -- bringing notability to underrepresented women to the Wikipedia platform.
Student Representative - Arizona/Nevada
Larry J. Morris III
Ph.D. Student, African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric, Christian Theological Seminary
M.Div and M.T.S, Claremont School of Theology (2019)
Research Interests: Homiletics, Black Religions, Black Theologies, Liberation Theologies, Race, Rhetoric, and Religion, Queer Studies
www.larryjmorris3.com
Larry J. Morris III
Ph.D. Student, African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric, Christian Theological Seminary
M.Div and M.T.S, Claremont School of Theology (2019)
Research Interests: Homiletics, Black Religions, Black Theologies, Liberation Theologies, Race, Rhetoric, and Religion, Queer Studies
www.larryjmorris3.com
Student Representative - William Martin - Northern California
Masters in Theological Studies student, Pacific School of Religion (GTU)
M.A. in Humanities (1993) and M.S in Counseling (1995), San Francisco State University
Research Interests:
Dionysian Christology. Queer Theology. The Pneumatic Spirit. The Eucharistic Table of Memory & The Theology of Memory. Tantric Tibetan Buddhism & The Divinity of Materiality. The Theology of Trickster Shapeshifting.
Student Trustee, PSR Board Of Trustees
Masters in Theological Studies student, Pacific School of Religion (GTU)
M.A. in Humanities (1993) and M.S in Counseling (1995), San Francisco State University
Research Interests:
Dionysian Christology. Queer Theology. The Pneumatic Spirit. The Eucharistic Table of Memory & The Theology of Memory. Tantric Tibetan Buddhism & The Divinity of Materiality. The Theology of Trickster Shapeshifting.
Student Trustee, PSR Board Of Trustees
Susan M Maloney, SJNM
Honorary Board Member (non-voting)
In 2013, the AAR/WR board unanimously voted Susan M Maloney, PhD, as an honorary board member (non-voting) for her longterm commitment to the AAR/WR. In this capacity, she serves as a volunteer facilitator and advisor to the AAR/WR board. In four decades of service to our region, she has held many positions: President, Vice-President, Chair of the Women and Religion Unit. As AAR/WR Regional Coordinator, she served on the National AAR board for five years. Under Susan's wise leadership, the AAR/WR re-organized and became an independent and fiscally successful entity, which continues to benefit AAR/WR today. As a scholar/activist, her writings focus on women and religion, and religious communities. She chaired the M.A. Program in Feminist Spirituality at Immaculate Heart College and taught at the University of Redlands. As a member of NUNS on the BUS, a social justice lobby of progressive Catholic sisters committed to social justice, she advocates for women and families, immigration reform and healthcare for all.
Honorary Board Member (non-voting)
In 2013, the AAR/WR board unanimously voted Susan M Maloney, PhD, as an honorary board member (non-voting) for her longterm commitment to the AAR/WR. In this capacity, she serves as a volunteer facilitator and advisor to the AAR/WR board. In four decades of service to our region, she has held many positions: President, Vice-President, Chair of the Women and Religion Unit. As AAR/WR Regional Coordinator, she served on the National AAR board for five years. Under Susan's wise leadership, the AAR/WR re-organized and became an independent and fiscally successful entity, which continues to benefit AAR/WR today. As a scholar/activist, her writings focus on women and religion, and religious communities. She chaired the M.A. Program in Feminist Spirituality at Immaculate Heart College and taught at the University of Redlands. As a member of NUNS on the BUS, a social justice lobby of progressive Catholic sisters committed to social justice, she advocates for women and families, immigration reform and healthcare for all.
Conference Manager (non-voting)
Jacob Perez (he/his)
MTS - Theological Studies, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
Co-Chair: Latinx Religions & Spiritualities Unit, American Academy of Religion Western Region
Jacob Perez has been published in the Feminist Studies in Religion Blog, “Theoëroticism: If This Body Wasn’t Alone".
Additionally, Perez is a Marketing Director for a family-owned pizza chain in Northern California, Mary’s Pizza Shack. He brings 7+ years of event and event marketing expertise to the Conference Manager position and has recently launched a branding and marketing consultancy.
Jacob Perez (he/his)
MTS - Theological Studies, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
Co-Chair: Latinx Religions & Spiritualities Unit, American Academy of Religion Western Region
Jacob Perez has been published in the Feminist Studies in Religion Blog, “Theoëroticism: If This Body Wasn’t Alone".
Additionally, Perez is a Marketing Director for a family-owned pizza chain in Northern California, Mary’s Pizza Shack. He brings 7+ years of event and event marketing expertise to the Conference Manager position and has recently launched a branding and marketing consultancy.
Webmaster
"Joey" Alan Le
Ph.D., Theological Studies, Regent University. Dissertation - Limitless Beauty: Human Dignity and the Spirit’s Renewal of the Image of God
M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary
B.A., Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley
“The Hospitality of the Spirit in Encanto,” The Spirit & the Screen: Pneumatological Reflection on Contemporary Cinema, ed. Chris E.W. Green and Steven Félix-Jäeger (Lexington Books), under contract.
“Martial Arts in Search of Transcendence: Beauty, Truth, and Goodness in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies XXXIV No. 1/2 (2022), pending publication.
Director of Spiritual Formation at First Covenant Church, Oakland
Philosophy Interest Group Co-Leader at The Society for Pentecostal Studies
Research Interests: Social Justice, Theological Aesthetics, Pneumatology, Human Rights, Human Dignity, Shalom, Joy, Human Flourishing
"Joey" Alan Le
Ph.D., Theological Studies, Regent University. Dissertation - Limitless Beauty: Human Dignity and the Spirit’s Renewal of the Image of God
M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary
B.A., Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley
“The Hospitality of the Spirit in Encanto,” The Spirit & the Screen: Pneumatological Reflection on Contemporary Cinema, ed. Chris E.W. Green and Steven Félix-Jäeger (Lexington Books), under contract.
“Martial Arts in Search of Transcendence: Beauty, Truth, and Goodness in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies XXXIV No. 1/2 (2022), pending publication.
Director of Spiritual Formation at First Covenant Church, Oakland
Philosophy Interest Group Co-Leader at The Society for Pentecostal Studies
Research Interests: Social Justice, Theological Aesthetics, Pneumatology, Human Rights, Human Dignity, Shalom, Joy, Human Flourishing