Dr. Jeff Ming Liou is the National Director of Theological Formation for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He is also an adjunct assistant professor of Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, where he received his PhD in Theology and Culture.  Dr. Liou has written papers and contributed book chapters on race and justice, Asian American Christianity, theological ethics, and political theology. He is the co-author (with Robert Chao Romero) of Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation (Baker Academic, 2023). Ordained in the Christian Reformed Church of North America, Dr. Liou has served as a campus minister, pastor, and university chaplain. 

Dr. Robert Chao Romero is an attorney, ordained minister, and faith-rooted community organizer. He is also associate professor in the UCLA departments of Chicana/o, Central American, and Asian American Studies in Los Angeles, California and as director of the Brown Church Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dr. Romero earned his PhD from UCLA in Latin American history and his Juris Doctor from UC Berkeley. His research explores the little-known history of Asian-Latinos, as well as the role of Christianity in social justice movements in Latin America and among U.S. Latinas/os. Dr. Romero is the author of several books, including The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940 (The University of Arizona Press, 2012); Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity (IVP Academic, 2020); and co-author of Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Faithful and Constructive Conversation (Baker Academic, 2023). The Chinese in Mexico received the Latina/o Studies book award from the Latin American Studies Association, and Brown Church received the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Award for best academic title. 

The Rev. Francisco J. García is a PhD candidate in Theological Studies, Ethics and Action at Vanderbilt University in the Graduate Department of Religion, and a Graduate Research Fellow at the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

A Chicano from Los Angeles, born to Mexican immigrant parents, he also serves as an Assistant Chaplain at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee. Informed by his work in community, faith, and labor organizing, The Rev. García’s doctoral project entails developing theologies/ecclesiologies of organizing—rooted in Latinx, Christian, and interfaith liberation traditions—reimagining the church as a social movement that challenges the pressing structural injustices of our time and constructs alternatives.

Luz E. Herrera is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Experiential Education at Texas A&M School of Law. As dean, Herrera promotes entrepreneurial efforts to address the access to civil justice gap. Before entering academia, Herrera ran her own practice and founded Community Lawyers, Inc., a non-profit organization that encourages access to affordable legal services and develops innovative opportunities for legal professionals in underserved communities. These experiences have influenced her scholarship, which promotes legal “low bono” service-delivery models and post-graduate support programs for lawyers starting their own law firms. Herrera currently serves as a special advisor for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. Prior to her current position, Herrera was the Assistant Dean for Clinical Education, Experiential Learning and Public Service at UCLA School of Law. She has also taught as a visiting clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, as an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, as a visiting professor at Chapman University School of Law, and as a Senior Clinical Fellow at Harvard Law School. In her various academic positions, Herrera encouraged innovation and promoted access to justice through experiential learning. Her honors include an Academic Leadership Award from the Hispanic National Bar Foundation and Notre Dame Law School’s Graciela Olivarez Award. Herrera holds an AB in Political Science from Stanford University and a JD from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Editorial Board of the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

Dr. María Carrión holds a joint appointment in Religion and Comparative Literature at Emory University, where she has organized several conferences, including "Spain Before Spain. Encounters Between Muslims, Jews, and Christians (1500-1700).” She formerly held a Visiting Professorship at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (UPRRP), where she also served as Dean of Graduate Studies at the School of Humanities. Dr. Carríon specializes in the cultural and religious production of Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries, with a particular focus on questions of drama, law, and architecture. She has also published articles and translations on the literature and culture of the Hispanic Caribbean. Her work analyzes religious and cultural matters in the many worlds of latinidad, ranging from Andalusi gardens and religious branding, to devotion and the sacred. Dr. Carrión has presented her work in the US, Spain, South America, Romania, and the former Yugoslavia, and her essays have been published in the US, Spain, France, and South America. Her books include Subject Stages. Marriage, Theatre, and the Law in Early Modern Spain (Toronto University Press, 2010) and Arquitectura y cuerpo en la figura autorial de Teresa de Jesús [Architecture and Body in the Authorial Figure of Teresa de Jesús] (Anthropos, 1994). She is currently working on a digital monograph exploring correspondences of nature and belief in 16th-century European dried gardens. Dr. Carrión holds a BA from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez; two MA degrees from University of Tennessee, Knoxville and one from Yale University, where she also earned an MPhil and a PhD.

Dr. Jose L. Saldivar, Jr. is a first-generation college graduate who holds BA (Chicana/o Studies) and MEd (Social Sciences of Education) degrees from Stanford University, and a PhD (Cultural Studies in Education) from The University of Texas at Austin. He is an educational consultant and coach, specializing in college, career, and life readiness coaching, and faculty development. Dr. Saldivar, a Rio Grande Valley native, is a full-time faculty member at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the founder of CREO (College and Career Readiness and Educational Opportunity Consultants), which provides college, career, and life readiness consulting services to a variety of clients, including K-12 institutions, higher education, community organizations, and private companies. As part of CREO’s initiatives, Dr. Saldivar hosts The Way to College Podcast.

Fr. Lorenzo Lebrija is the chief innovation officer of Virginia Theological Seminary and the executive director of TryTank Research Institute, which focuses on advancing theological research to meet the evolving needs of the church in the modern world.  Before launching TryTank, Fr. Lorenzo was the Chief Development Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He also served as the Pastor on behalf of the Bishop at St. John's Episcopal Church in San Bernardino, CA, and as priest associate at St. Athanasius Episcopal Church at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Los Angeles.  

Before entering seminary, Fr. Lorenzo was president and CEO of Seraphic Fire & Firebird Chamber Orchestra, Miami's professional choral and orchestral ensemble. He was also the Miami Program Director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation responsible for the Knight Arts Challenge, and was General Manager for RadioActiva Hispanic Radio and Editor/Director of Operations for Miami's Community Newspapers. 

Fr. Lorenzo holds an MDiv from the General Theological Seminary in New York City and is currently finishing the doctoral program at Virginia Theological Seminary. He also has an MBA and a B.A. from Florida International University, has completed the full training at the Fundraising School at Indiana University, is a Certified Foresight Practitioner from the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, CA, has a certificate in Design Thinking from IDEO in Palo Alto, CA, and is a graduate of Rice University's Executive Education Program. He is the author of How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021).

Dr. Ahida (Calderón) Pilarski is Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Saint Anselm College (NH). Her research focuses on the intersection of culture and gender in biblical interpretation, especially in Latina and Mujerista Biblical Hermeneutics. Her scholarly service to empower Latine (and Latina) communities includes, among others, being a member of the Editorial Board of the Wisdom Commentary Series (WCS), a member of the Steering Committee of HTI (Hispanic Theological Initiative), a member of the Committee for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession at SBL (Society of Biblical Literature), a member of the Advisory Committee of Raíces Latinas at Boston University School of Theology, and the honor of having taught so far three courses at the HSP (Hispanic Summer Program). In June of 2022, she was elected Vice President of ACHTUS (Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States).

She holds a BA in Theology from the Facultad de Teología Pontificia y Civil de Lima (Perú); an MA in Old Testament from Catholic Theological Union; a ThM in Old and New Testaments from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago; an MLA from The University of Chicago; and a PhD in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Dr. Pilarski has published many papers on the prophets, lamentations, migration, Latine and Latin American biblical hermeneutics, decolonial thinking and the Global South, and feminist critical inquiry. She has edited or co-edited Daughters of Wisdom: Women and Leadership in the Global Church (Wipf and Stock, 2023); 2 Kings [Wisdom Commentary Series] (Liturgical Press, 2019); Judges [Wisdom Commentary Series] (Liturgical Press, 2018); By Bread Alone: Reading the Bible through the Eyes of the Hungry (Fortress Press, 2014), and Pentateuco: Introducción al Antiguo Testamento/La Biblia Hebrea en Perspectiva Latinoamericana (Editorial Verbo Divino, 2014).

Dr. Nely Galán is a self-made media and real-estate entrepreneur. She was born in Santa Clara, Cuba and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. Dr. Galán became the first Latina President of Entertainment for a U.S. television network—Telemundo—and an Emmy Award-winning producer of over 700 television shows in English and Spanish, including the hit reality series The Swan for 20th Century Fox, produced through her multimedia company Galan Entertainment. The company has created more than 700 television shows in English and in Spanish, helping to launch over 10 television channels around the world for companies like HBO, ESPN, FOX, MGM, and Sony. She holds a master’s and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a focus on the psychology of money in multicultural communities.

Dr. Galán’s New York Times-bestselling book SELF MADE: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way (Spiegel & Grau, 2016; published in English, Spanish, and Mandarin) is an entrepreneurship-for-women manifesto that coined the phrase “Don’t buy shoes; buy buildings.” Her digital platform Becoming Self Made offers financial literacy content, including webinars and stories of self-made women of color. Money Maker/Mi mundo rico with Nely Galán (Money News Network), which targets listeners who have traditionally been denied a seat at the table, is the only business and entrepreneurship podcast for a mainstream audience with episodes in English and in Spanish. Dr. Galán is the founder of the 501c3 nonprofit The Adelante Movement, a national motivational tour and digital platform that unites and empowers Latinas socially, economically, and politically. Currently, Dr. Galán serves on the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Advisory Board; formerly, she served as a board member of the Smithsonian Institute and of The Hispanic Scholarship Fund. She is the mom of Lukas Rodríguez and is based in Miami Beach, Florida.

Dr. Vincent L. Wimbush is an internationally recognized scholar of religion, intellectual leader, and academic gadfly, with more than thirty years of advanced graduate-level teaching and research experience. He is author/editor of more than twelve books, including White Men’s Magic: Scripturalization as Slavery; MisReading America: Scriptures and Difference (Oxford University Press, 2012), Theorizing Scriptures; and African Americans and the Bible (Rutgers University Press, 2008), and scores of articles and essays. He is founding director of The Institute for Signifying Scriptures (ISS), an international scholarly organization, and is conceptualizer and director of several collaborative trans-disciplinary research projects, including a documentary film Finding God in the City of Angels (2010), on the ethnography of scriptures. Recipient of numerous awards and research grants, he is past president of the Society of Biblical Literature. Dr. Wimbush’s general teaching and research interests focus on the trans-disciplinary and comparative study of “scriptures” as sharp wedge for critical research and theorizing in the politics of language, social formation, consciousness, and orientation. His particular area of expertise turns around the uses of scriptures in the historical and contemporary circum-Black Atlantic as window onto the larger comparative phenomena and dynamics of scripturalizing and scripturalization.

Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo is Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in Theology, June Callwood Professor in Social Justice, Special Advisor on Indigenous Issues, and convenor of the Indigenous Advisory Circle at Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. His work focuses on the history and impacts of Residential Schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Calls to Actions; Indigenous interactions with Christianity and the Church; and building community relationships. As well, he is interested exploring the impacts of educational systems and teaching methods on individuals and communities.  His teaching focuses on the use of personal stories, experiences and worldviews to make connections. 

Previously, Hamilton-Diabo served as Director of the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (Provost’s Office and Human Resources & Equity) at the University of Toronto.  He has also taught at the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now the Martin Luther University College) at Wilfred Laurier University.  Prior to entering post-secondary education, he was an ESL (English as a Second Language) Instructor with LINC (Language Instruction to Newcomers to Canada) and coordinated a Basic Skills and Career Program for adults at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. 

Hamilton-Diabo is Mohawk from Kahnawake, a First Nations community outside of Montreal.  He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Concordia University; a Bachelor of Education from York University; and a Master of Theological Studies from Emmanuel College at Victoria University in the University of Toronto. He is the co-author (with Tom Reynolds) of the essay "Two Ears, One Mouth: Theological Education Towards Respect," published in A Quest for Respect: The Church and Indigenous Spirituality (Mennonite Church Canada, 2017).

Reyna Grande holds a BA in Creative Writing and Film & Video from the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. She is the author of the bestselling memoir The Distance Between Us (Atria, 2012) and the sequel, A Dream Called Home (Atria, 2018). Her other works include the novels Across a Hundred Mountains (Atria, 2006), Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square Press, 2009), and The Distance Between Us Young Readers’ Edition (Aladdin, 2016). Her books have been adopted as the common-read selection by schools, colleges, and cities across the country. Her two most recent books are A Ballad of Love and Glory (Atria, 2022), a novel set during the Mexican-American War, and an anthology by and about undocumented Americans titled Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival and New Beginnings (HarperVia, 2022). Grande has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and a Latino Spirit Award. In 2012, she was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Awards, and in 2015, she was honored with a Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature. The young readers’ version of The Distance Between Us received a 2017 Honor Book Award for the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, a 2016 Eureka! Honor Awards from the California Reading Association, and a 2017 International Literacy Association Children’s Book Award. Writing about immigration, family separation, language trauma, the price of the American Dream, and her writing journey, Grande has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, CNN, “The Lily” at The Washington Post, and Buzzfeed. In March of 2020, she appeared as a guest on Oprah’s Book Club television program.

Rev. Alex Evangelista is the Designated Pastor at the Church On The Mall in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania and former Associate Pastor of Christian Formation and Technology Ministries at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. He was born to two Salvadorean immigrant parents in Calgary, Alberta. At the age of five, his family moved to Tulare, CA. He spent his adolescence at the church, which empowered him and led him to affirm that he was being called to ministry. Rev. Evangelista holds a BA in Theology/Biblical Studies from Azusa Pacific University and an MDiv and an International Certificate in Youth, Theology, and Innovation, both from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). After his undergraduate studies, he worked as a Program and Outreach Intern at the first nonprofit immigration resource center of the San Gabriel Valley in Monrovia, CA, during which he began to see how his theology in action could make a difference in people’s lives. He later accepted the call to serve as Assistant Student Minister at Mannofield Church in Aberdeen. Rev. Evangelista has also served as Seminary Intern at San Marino Community Church; and as Chaplain Intern at Penn Medicine Princeton Health and at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital. Passionate about Latin music, he plays guitar and bass, and enjoys spending time either teaching other people how to dance or dancing to bachata and salsa at home with his fiancé Andrea or away (he led dance-fitness courses at PTS and learned L.A. salsa from a Polish dance teacher in Aberdeen, Scotland). The couple’s cat is named after King Nebuchadnezzar, though Nebbie is the name he meows to.

Norma Ortíz McCormick is a retired educator who served in the public education sector for 28 years. For 18 of those years, she served at the regional non-profit Region One Education Service Center, which provides educational opportunities to the 38 districts and 10 charter systems served. During her tenure, she occupied various roles, the latest as Director of the Office of College, Career and Life Readiness, where she supported the growth of staff from 13 to 50. Additionally, she directly managed the Center for Excellence in College and Career Readiness, providing ongoing leadership and support. As an administrator for various multi-million dollar federal grants, McCormick also served as the budget manager, ensuring that local, state, and federal guidelines were followed. During her years at Region One, McCormick, along with the leadership team, was able to secure nearly $200 million in funding.  Brought up in poverty on the Texas/Mexico border, McCormick was an altar server and a member of the youth group at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas. In 2008, she joined the Episcopalian Church and, in 2021, was received as a “Daughter of the King” at St. Matthew’s Church in Edinburg, Texas. After retirement, McCormick and her husband Michael of 25 years followed God’s guidance and moved to Nevada, where she joined the Trinity Episcopalian Cathedral, continuing her work as a “Daughter of the King,” and is a national education consultant who also provides business-strategy coaching to select clients. The McCormicks have two adult daughters and currently live with their pets in Reno, Nevada, enjoying God’s creations, especially North Lake Tahoe. 

Rita Gail Cedillo was born in Austin, Texas to Ernestina and Ramiro Rodríguez, Pastor Emeritus of the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus. There, Cedillo began her ministry at the age of 16 as a Sector Youth President, then as District Youth Treasurer, Federation Ladies Vice-President, Federation Ladies President, Treasurer, National Ladies Treasurer, and National Ladies President. Together, she and her husband Rufino Cedillo, Jr. have continued to work in God’s Kingdom on the local, district, and national levels. She has also taught several classes at South Texas District International Bible College. In 2013, the Cedillos were called to be Pastors at New Beginnings Apostolic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, where they served for eight years. In 2021, the Lord called them to be Missionary Presidents in Paraguay, where they serve in expanding the gospel of Jesus Christ; with servants’ hearts, they also serve the people in Paraguay, the majority of whom are underrepresented and underserved. Cedillo holds a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies (with a minor in Bilingual/Bicultural) and in Theology; a Master’s in Education, and a Mid-Management Certificate. Her hobbies include singing, traveling with friends and family, and bike riding and swimming.

Edgar Sandoval is a National Correspondent for The New York Times, writing about Texas and the nuances of the U.S. Latino experience. A graduate of the University of Texas Pan-American, he began his career in journalism at The McAllen Monitor, his hometown newspaper, where he wrote obituaries while still in college. He went on to complete a training program at The Los Angeles Times, then worked as a reporter for The Morning Call in Allentown, PA, and at The South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. He spent almost three years writing about the assimilation of Latino immigrants in Pennsylvania; the articles are anthologized in The New Face of Small-Town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania (Penn State University Press, 2010). The Nieman Storyboard Notable Narrative blog, affiliated with Harvard University, featured his 2004 Sun-Sentinel story about mothers behind bars, “Learning Their Lessons.” Sandoval worked for the New York Daily News for a decade, before joining The New York Times in 2019.

T.I. Frazier is a writer of inspirational books and children’s stories. Born on the East Coast and partly raised in Southern California, Frazier served ten years with the United States Army National Guard in various roles, including Chaplain Assistant, and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Calvin University and an MBA from Western Governor’s University. He has worked in a variety of financial-related roles, including business banking, private banking, analysis, and procurement in the healthcare and food industries. Currently, Frazier works for a trust company as he continues to write, teach, motivate, and serve others, empowering them to strive past the unknown and to explore their passions. He is the author of Faith Arising (Timothy Frazier, 2022), the forthcoming devotional Faith Growth Stages (Timothy Frazier, 2023), and the children’s book Lauren the Cow (Timothy Frazier, 2022). He lives with his family in Michigan; when he isn’t running around, playing with his three-year-old son and wife Lauren, he may be on a farm with his faithful dog Rocky and cat Al.

Sandra Cisneros is a celebrated poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, performer, and artist. Her numerous awards include NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, a MacArthur Fellowship, national and international book awards, including the PEN America Literary Award, and the National Medal of Arts. More recently, she received the Ford Foundation’s Art of Change Fellowship, was recognized with the Fuller Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, and won the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature; recently, she was honored by the Poetry Foundation with a 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, one of the most prestigious awards given to American poets and one of the nation’s largest literary prizes, in recognition of her outstanding lifetime achievement. In addition to her writing, Cisneros has fostered the careers of many aspiring and emerging writers through two nonprofits she founded: the Macondo Foundation and the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Foundation. As a single woman, she made the choice to have books instead of children. A citizen of both the United States and Mexico, Cisneros currently lives in San Miguel de Allende and makes her living by her pen. She has authored over ten books in different genres and translations, including the acclaimed, best-selling The House on Mango Street (Knopf, 1994) and, most recently, the poetry collection Woman Without Shame (Knopf, 2022).

Ray Santisteban has worked for the past 26 years as a documentary filmmaker, teacher, and film curator. His work consistently gravitates toward political subjects and artist profiles, addressing the themes of justice, memory, and political transformation. A graduate of NYU’s Film and TV production program, he has explored a variety of subjects, including the New York-based Black Panther leader Dhoruba Bin Wahad (Passin' It On, co-producer), the roots of Puerto Rican poetry (Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 1994, director, producer, editor), and Chicano poetry (Voices from Texas, director/producer). Santiesteban was senior producer of Visiones: Latino Art and Culture in the U.S.., a three-hour PBS series nationally broadcast in 2004. Honors he has garnered include a 1992 Student Academy Award, a 1993 New York Foundation for the Arts Media Fellowship, a 1996 “Ideas In Action” Award from the National Tele-Media Alliance, a 1996 “Faculty of the Year” Award from the Chicano Studies Program at University of Wisconsin–Madison, a 2005 Rockefeller Film and Video Fellowship, a 2008 and 2016 San Antonio Artists Foundation Filmmaker Award, and a 2016 Tobin Award for Artistic Excellence. Santiesteban is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Eve Fairbanks writes about change: in cities, countries, landscapes, morals, values, and our ideas of ourselves. A former political writer for The New Republic, her essays and reportage have been published in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian, among other outlets. Born in Washington, DC, and raised in Virginia, she has lived in Johannesburg, South Africa, for thirteen years. She holds a BA in Political Science and Government from Yale University. The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning (Simon & Schuster, 2022) is her debut, winner of the 2023 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction.