Officers of the AARWR
President
Emily Leah Silverman
Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies of Religion, Graduate Theological Union (GTU)
M.Div. Jewish Studies, Feminist Theology and Philosophy, Harvard Divinity School
Research Interests: Theology of Spiritual Resistance and Compassion, Religious Vision in the Time of Genocide, Women and the Holocaust, Hybrid Religious Identities, Queer Theory, Feminist Theory and Theology
Past President of the AAR/WR (2015-2016); AAR/WR Jewish Studies Unit Founder and Past Chair (2007-2013)
Emily Leah Silverman
Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Studies of Religion, Graduate Theological Union (GTU)
M.Div. Jewish Studies, Feminist Theology and Philosophy, Harvard Divinity School
Research Interests: Theology of Spiritual Resistance and Compassion, Religious Vision in the Time of Genocide, Women and the Holocaust, Hybrid Religious Identities, Queer Theory, Feminist Theory and Theology
Past President of the AAR/WR (2015-2016); AAR/WR Jewish Studies Unit Founder and Past Chair (2007-2013)
Vice President and Program Chair
John M. Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University
Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and Councilmember for the City of West Hollywood
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 M. Erickson
Ph.D., American Religious History, Claremont Graduate University
Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and Councilmember for the City of West Hollywood
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.
Past President
Anna Hennessey
Visiting Scholar, Graduate Theological Union, 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, Graduate Theological Union, 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)
Photo Credit: Kimberly Esslinger
Vice President Elect
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
Regional Coordinator
Jake Nagasawa
PhD candidate, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
MA, 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
PhD candidate, Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
MA, 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 at the 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
- Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Religious Studies Coordinator, Campus and Community Partnerships
- Editor: Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur'an (Brill 2009) & Troubling Topics, Sacred Texts: Readings in Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur'an (De Gruyter 2021)
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
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"
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
Janice Poss
Janice Leah Poss is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Women's and Gender Studies in Religion program at Claremont Graduate University, holds an MA in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University and is Senior Coordinator for the Pat Reif Memorial Lecture at CGU . She is a comparative, interreligious scholar concentrating on women’s issues in Roman Catholicism and Tibetan Buddhism. She has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.. 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.
She has contributed articles to many feminist publications and most recently to ATLA’s series, Women in Religion, Claiming Notability for Women Activists in Religion on Buddhist scholar, Miranda Shaw as part of the larger 1000 Women in Red (Religion) project of the AAR/SBL Women’s Caucus and Wikipedia.
Janice Poss
Janice Leah Poss is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Women's and Gender Studies in Religion program at Claremont Graduate University, holds an MA in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University and is Senior Coordinator for the Pat Reif Memorial Lecture at CGU . She is a comparative, interreligious scholar concentrating on women’s issues in Roman Catholicism and Tibetan Buddhism. She has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.. 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.
She has contributed articles to many feminist publications and most recently to ATLA’s series, Women in Religion, Claiming Notability for Women Activists in Religion on Buddhist scholar, Miranda Shaw as part of the larger 1000 Women in Red (Religion) project of the AAR/SBL Women’s Caucus and Wikipedia.
Student Representative - Southern California & Western Region Student Director
James Berry
Ph.D. Candidate in History of Christianity and Religions of North America at Claremont Graduate University
Research Interests: Religion and International Relations; Humanitarian organizations; Parachurch Organizations; Evangelicalism; Religion and Violence
James Berry
Ph.D. Candidate in History of Christianity and Religions of North America at Claremont Graduate University
Research Interests: Religion and International Relations; Humanitarian organizations; Parachurch Organizations; Evangelicalism; Religion and Violence
Student Representative - Arizona/Nevada
Larry J. Morris III
Ph.D. Student in African American preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary
M.Div and M.T.S at Claremont School of Theology (2019)
Research Interests: Homiletics, Black Religions, Black Theologies, Liberation Theologies, Race, Rhetoric, and Religion, Queer Studies
Website: www.larryjmorris3.com
Larry J. Morris III
Ph.D. Student in African American preaching and Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary
M.Div and M.T.S at Claremont School of Theology (2019)
Research Interests: Homiletics, Black Religions, Black Theologies, Liberation Theologies, Race, Rhetoric, and Religion, Queer Studies
Website: www.larryjmorris3.com
William Martin - Northern California
Masters In Theological Studies student at The Pacific School of Religion in the GTU consortium.
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 at The Pacific School of Religion in the GTU consortium.
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)
Student, Master of Theological Studies, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
Board Member, American Academy of Religion Western Region (Northern California Student Representative)
Co-Chair: Latinx Religions and Spiritualities Unit, American Academy of Religion Western Region
Read my latest co-publication in the Feminist Studies in Religion Blog: Theoëroticism: If This Body Wasn't Alone
Jacob Perez (he/his)
Student, Master of Theological Studies, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
Board Member, American Academy of Religion Western Region (Northern California Student Representative)
Co-Chair: Latinx Religions and Spiritualities Unit, American Academy of Religion Western Region
Read my latest co-publication in the Feminist Studies in Religion Blog: Theoëroticism: If This Body Wasn't Alone