Jennifer L. Aycock I am working in the area of World Christianity with a Religious Practices and Practical Theology concentration. My research focuses on African-initiated Christianity, particularly independent African Christian movements and mission-related churches that formed during the colonial period and on the eve of independence. I am equally interested in migrations of African-led faith communities within American and French contexts. Thus, my work occurs at the intersection of migration, globalization, and transnationalism theories, as well as mission, colonial, and Black Atlantic history. Most broadly, I am interested in understanding how a “new” religion, or religion revisited, namely Christianity, becomes compelling within and across historical and cultural landscapes. How is Christian belief and practice translated across and through local histories, epistemologies, materials and symbols so that imported theological assumptions are subverted and used for transformation and liberation in spaces of contested power and oppression? Second and most simply, how does Christianity and its communities change through movement and migration? My work is also attentive to theories of ethnicity and of race as they are iterated locally and transnationally within religious contexts.

Prior to doctoral studies, I was a director of college ministries in a Presbyterian (PCUSA) church as well as worked and studied in France and Cote D’Ivoire. I received my B.A. from Wheaton College (IL), an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL), and Th.M. at Candler School of Theology.

Evan Bassett  Prior to being at Emory, I earned my B. A. in Religious Studies from Western Kentucky University and my M. A. in Theology (with a concentration in Ancient Near Eastern Studies) from Fuller Theological Seminary. 

I am primarily interested in religio-historical, comparative, and iconographic approaches to the Hebrew Bible. I hope to explore collective memory and amnesia in ancient Israel, and how these processes are reflected in the Hebrew Bible and the iconographic record. I am particularly interested in metaphorical depictions of Yhwh in the Hebrew Bible and how these various depictions may have been used to shape competing stories of Israel’s past.

Courtney Buggs My primary concentration is in Homiletics.  I received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University, and I was a United States Air Force Officer prior to pursuing my Masters of Divinity at Candler School of Theology. 

My interest in homiletics as a discipline began during my time in the military, as I lived and worshiped in several countries outside the United States, and began to consider the methods and practices of preaching in varied geographical areas.  My academic interests include cross-cultural preaching and the ways in which diverse cultural environments impact the person of the preacher.  Additionally, I engage liberative theologies and pedagogies in analyzing the performance, language and practices of preaching, particularly for African American clergywomen.  I am also interested in theological anthropology and theories of epistemology that inform particular homiletical practices.

Eunil David Cho My area of concentration is in Religious Practices and Practical Theology. As a practical theologian, I primarily look into ways to link pastoral theology with psychology, intercultural studies, and congregational studies.  My current research focuses on a narrative approach to pastoral care, with particular attention to seeing how narrative can be used in understanding interpersonal identity formation and experiences of trauma and loss, especially in intercultural settings.

Prior to doctoral studies, I completed my B.A. at the University of Michigan in 2007 and my M.Div. at Emory’s Candler School of Theology in 2015. I also taught middle school social studies for two years. Currently, as an ordination candidate in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I have been serving a multicultural congregation as a minister of education for several years.

Emmy Corey  I received my Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology (’13) and my Bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College (’08).  Though I am an Alabama native, I worked as a Program Director for the Episcopal Service Corps in Pennsylvania for several years before beginning doctoral studies.  At Emory, I am currently an Interfaith Health Program Doctoral Fellow and plan to participate in the Religious Practices Concentration.  Broadly, my research interests are at the intersections of religion and public health in Kenya. More specifically, I would like to explore the ways in which Faith Based Organizations funded by the United States engage religious and cultural difference.  How do every day experiences of difference shape the moral imagination of those who work on the ground in Kenya? How are these experiences translated on an institutional level?  These questions are largely informed by my experiences in Kenya and my ongoing involvement with a Faith-Based Organization there. 

Cara Curtis My work focuses on the question of what it means to try to live a good life in contexts of social vulnerability, material precarity, and existential threat. Specifically, I am interested in how mothers in the United States are working to build families in a landscape marked by economic and social inequality, how this experience becomes intertwined with their existential and spiritual lives, and how factors like class background and racial positionality affect their perspectives and choices. I earned a B.A. from Haverford College (2010) and an M.Div from Harvard Divinity School (2016). In addition to my work in Ethics & Society, I am pursuing a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as a concentration in Religious Practices and Practical Theology.

Keenan Wills Davis is a doctoral student in the Jewish Religious Cultures course of study with a focus on bioethics. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, he studied neuroscience and Jewish studies (interdisciplinary), graduating with highest distinction. He then served as a corps member of Teach For America and for three years taught high school chemistry, physics, biology, and math. Keenan completed his MA in bioethics through Emory University's Center for Ethics with a thesis analyzing the impact of biotechnology on human dignity. His current interests are virtue ethics, moral psychology, and the relationship between humans, nature, and technology.  

Brittany Fiscus Van-Rossum - Bio Forthcoming

Rachelle Renee Green My area of study resides in Person, Community, and Religious Life concentrating in Practical Theology and Religious Education. My bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and I spent several years working as a marketing manager in corporate America focusing intently on the needs of women and families of color. Following that career, I received an MA in Practical Theology from Regent University (2011) and an Mdiv from Candler School of Theology (2014). Throughout my theological studies, I have concentrated on liberation theologies and pedagogies which were utilized in my work as a theological instructor in a state prison for women and as a resident in the University Chaplain’s Office focusing on inter-religious learning. As such, my desired areas of research stem from a compelling sense of urgency and responsibility to teach and write practical theology that focuses intently on the lives of marginalized women, particularly those who are and have been imprisoned. I desire to utilize feminist and womanist theology and ethics, liberation pedagogies, and strategies of caring for marginalized populations, to construct a womanist practical theology that facilitates teaching and caring for women in prison and beyond

Hyun Woo Kim  Prior to doctoral studies, I earned my B.A. from Yonsei University in Korea, M.Div. from Candler School of Theology, and S.T.M. from Yale Divinity School. My STM thesis title is “A Socio-Rhetorical Function of the Danielic Resurrection as Source for Moral Discernment.”

My current research interests include an exploration of the socio-rhetorical situation of the Hebrew Bible, iconographic metaphors (i.e., figures and symbols or practices and realities that fund the rhetoric and imagination of the authors of the Bible), and their formative influence on moral selfhood of the reading community. 

Emily “Michelle” Ledder  concentration in Homiletics and Pedagogy.  In addition to my primary discipline, I teach workshops for the Jones Program of Ethics and am enrolled in the Religious Practices and Practical Theology Concentration. I earned my B.A. in Theology and Philosophy from Eastern Nazarene College in 2007. My M.Div., with a concentration in Theology and Ethics, was completed in 2010 at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. My research interests include liberative and subversive pedagogies; the relationships between power, agency, and transformation; multicultural homiletical theories and practical theologies; and practical theories of epistemology. My dissertation project will focus on using the prophetic from prophetic preaching to interrogate teaching methods and methodologies for multicultural deficiencies and to construct multicultural competencies.

Aalekhya Malladi  My research interests are mainly in bhakti (devotional) narratives, specifically, those centered on/written by women. I am particularly interested in studying a Telugu poet, Tarigonda Vengamamba, whose versatile compositions have earned her the title “Telugu Mīra”. I will study Vengamamba’s compositions, which provide a unique female perspective on bhakti and yoga. I also hope to extend my research to examine how her life-story and compositions are received in the modern day. I am interested in pursuing a certification in Women and Gender Studies, and concentrate in Religious Practices and Practical Theology. 

I received by B.A. in Comparative Literature and African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures from Rutgers University, New Brunswick (2014), where I wrote my honors thesis about women’s narratives in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata. I received my M.A. in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University (2016). My M.A. thesis focused on gender representations in pre-modern Telugu texts. I am proficient in Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit, and French, and have training in classical Carnatic music. 

Keith Menhinick - Bio Forthcoming

Rev. David. H. Messner  My area of concentration is Religious Practices within Ethics and Society.  My research interests focus on the expression of ethical ideals and commitments within economic exchanges and institutions and how religious communities might shape individuals as economic actors. I’m an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and care about building collaborative and thriving liberal religious communities. My earlier professional career was in business, working in management consulting, strategic planning and the development of international corporate partnerships. I earned an MDiv from the University of Chicago with an emphasis on theology and religious ethics, an MBA from Yale University concentrating in strategy and organizational behavior, and a BA in psychology from Reed College focusing on decision making under uncertainty.

Siti Sarah Muwahidah  Her study concentrations are in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding as well as in Political Theology and Theory of Practice. She received an MA in Religious Studies from Florida International University, in the United States and another MA in Religious Cross-Cultural Studies from Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. She has been actively engaged in and has managed programs in human rights, interfaith and peacebuilding among elite and grassroots groups, especially during her tenure at MAARIF Institute for Culture and Humanity, Jakarta. She serves as a board member and program director for an Atlanta NGO, Building Understanding.  She is a Fulbright Presidential Fellow (2010) and Asian Public Intellectual Fellow (2009).  Currently, she is conducting her dissertation fieldwork on Sunni-Shī'i relations in Indonesia. Since 2004, she has conducted research on conflict and peacebuilding issues in Southeast Asia, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Her research interests include: Sunni and Shī'i dynamics, interfaith dialogue, religion and peacebuilding, Islam and human rights, religion and science, religion and ecology, as well as women and religion.

Hyemin Na (Practices concentration), and I am also pursuing a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I have a BA from Harvard in Visual Environmental Studies and an MDiv from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. My current research interests are as follows: Digital Cultures, Visual Cultures, Religious Practices, Postcolonial Theory, and Feminist Theory. 

Rev. Joi R. Orr is a progressive minister, advocate, and Graduate Fellow at Emory University in the Graduate Division of Religion.  Graduating in 2004, Joi received a B.A. in Philosophy and Comparative Religion from the University of Maryland College Park.  In 2006, she earned the AmeriCorps Siegel Education Award for her service with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd where she practiced living simply so that others may simply live. Later, in 2010, she graduated from Howard University School of Divinity.

As a doctoral student in Christian Ethics and Society, Joi is interested in the efficacy of faith based social justice organizations and social movement theory. She aspires to become seminary faculty and serve as a strategist for progressive faith based nonprofits.


Ved Patel My primary focus is on Hinduism, and a secondary focus on Islam. My primary area of interest is Hindu devotional movements in late medieval and early colonial India, specifically in Gujarat. Currently, I am exploring the emergence of service practices in the Swaminarayan Sampraday and Pushtimarg. My research is supported by the Religious Practices and Practical Theology concentration, and I also serve as the Religious Life Scholar for Hindu traditions at Emory. I completed my BA at the University of California, Irvine in Religion and then went on to complete two MA degrees in Religion at the University of Florida (2012) and Oxford University (2014).

R. Nick Peterson Concentration in Religious Practices and Practical Theology.  My research interests focus on issues of race and racism within liturgical contexts.  My work explores how racial identities are constructed, performed, affirmed, and disavowed within liturgical practice and worship.  I am also interested in the legacy of white supremacy in Christian worship and how antiracist social movements can inform the construction of radically inclusive Christian liturgies.  Prior to my time at Emory, I pastored Capital Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA and was the worship coordinator and an adjunct at Lancaster Theological Seminary. I hold a B.A. in Africana Studies and Business Management from Franklin & Marshall College and a M.Div from Lancaster Theological Seminary.  I am currently pursuing ordination in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Lisa Hoelle Portilla - Bio Forthcoming

Diana (Rodriguez) Click My research in Theological Studies draws upon women’s voices within Latino/a theologies, Christian mysticism, Global theology, and World Christianity. In my studies, I am principally concerned with how theology done in conversation with the history of Latino/a communities (esp. Puerto Rican women) contributes to fuller Christian understandings of doctrines of revelation, theological anthropologies, and pneumatologies. The passion I have for vocational work in theological education remains informed by the conviction that diverse cultural expressions of Christian theology are key sources for Christian theological epistemology. My educational background includes a B.A. in Humanities and Bible from Johnson University Florida and a M.Div. from Candler School of Theology.

Won Chul Shin - Bio Forthcoming

Summar Shoaib My primary focus on Islam and secondary focus on Hinduism. I completed my BS in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology and my MA in Near Eastern Studies from New York University. My research interests include Islam and gender, women's religious ritual and performance in South Asia, devotional literature, and deconstructing categories of orthodoxy and popular religion. My dissertation work at Emory focuses on Minhaj-ul Qur’an, a Sufi transnational organization, and the ways in which female members work to establish authority. I am part of the Ethnographic Forum and the Concentration in Religious Practices and Practical Theology.

Upali Sraman  Before coming to Emory Upali graduated from Harvard with a Master of Divinity degree in 2016. He was born in Bangladesh but did all his studies in Sri Lanka, having graduated with a B.A degree  with Sanskrit major at Peradenya University. After completing his studies at Peradeniya he spent a Fall semester in 2011, at the Goettingen University of Germany. He also completed an M.A. (Buddhist Studies) at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy. Officially within the West and South Asian Religions (WSAR) track, Upali Sraman primarily focuses on Buddhism and his secondary field of interest includes religion in South Asia. 

Nelly Wamaitha - Bio Forthcoming

Sara Williams I am pursuing concentrations in Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding and Religious Practices. Prior to my doctoral studies I earned an Master of Religion from Yale Divinity School and a Master of Social Work from the University of Georgia. My dissertation, tentatively titled "Moral Apprentices at the Margins: Come and See Programs and the Making of the Middle Class American Christian Ethical Self", focuses on the kinds of meaning middle class American Christians make from journeys to the margins and their encounters with structurally marginalized persons. My project asks how such meaning is shaped by various forms of privilege, whether encounters engender a deeper level of reflexivity around complex disparities of power and privilege, and how middle class American Christians integrate the meaning they make from journeys to marginalized contexts into everyday ethical life at home. I probe these questions through an in-depth ethnographic case study of “Come and See” programs, alternative Holy Land tours designed to expose American Christians to political realities for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Israel and to facilitate connections between Palestinian and American Christians. My passion for social ethics emerges from several years of domestic and international social justice work with a variety of nonprofits and NGOs.

Rachel Wrenn is a PhD student in the Hebrew Bible program at the Laney Graduate Division of Religion. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in French Literature and Languages at Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, WA) and a Masters of Divinity from Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN). She is interested in Biblical poetry, narrative, and stories that address women and women's issues. She is also pursuing the Religious Practices emphasis and exploring how insights from embodiment theory, CSR, anthropology and psychology can benefit the study of the Hebrew Bible.