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)
2020-2021 Interim Vice President/Program Chair
Emily 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 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 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.
2020-2021 Regionally Elected Coordinator
Hester Oberman
Ph.D. University of Arizona, Lecturer
Hester Oberman
Ph.D. University of Arizona, Lecturer
- Research Interests: Critical Health and Medical Humanities
- Teaching: Psychology of Religion, Spirituality, and Atheism; Religion, Science, and the Question of God; the History of Medicine, Religion, and Western Healing Traditions.
- Past President of the AAR/WR (2015-2016), AAR/WR Psychology, Culture, and Religion (PCR) Unit Chair, Past AAR/WR Religion and Social Sciences Unit Chair
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 - 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. 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
- Ph.D. Candidate, Practical Theology at the Claremont School of Theology
- Research Interests: Trauma studies, mass shootings, theodicy, spiritual struggle, spiritually-integrative approaches to care and counseling, the integration of (clinical and social) psychology and (practical and pastoral) theology.
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.
Student Representative - Arizona
Vacant
Vacant
Regional Representative - Hawaii/ Pacific Islands
Vacant
Vacant