Felipe Agredano
Felipe Emmanuel Agredano serves on the Academic Senate at East Los Angeles College, where he is faculty in Chicana/o Studies, Noncredit and Social Sciences Departments, and has lectured in the history of religion, political science, Chicana/o studies, LGBTQA+ courses and United States Citizenship. He holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, dual Bachelor’s degrees from UC Berkeley in political science and ethnic studies, and is most proud of his Associates of Arts degree from East Los Angeles College. He often contributes to global stories on religion and politics for The Harvard Crimson, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, KCAL, including national networks like La Opinión, NBC/Telemundo, PBS, and Univision. A third-generation Apostolic Pentecostal, Agredano grew up and was formed in the Apostolic Church, where his family congregated at Templo Emmanuel, pastored by Bishop Rev. Benjamin Cantú in Highland Park, CA. When he was age 11, the Agredano family moved to Huntington Park and congregated at the Apostolic Church pastored by Rev. Hilario Gámez. There, Agredano directed the local children and youth choirs up until and during his attendance at East Los Angeles College. Later, as a transfer student at UC Berkeley, he was a member of the Union City Apostolic Church, pastored by Rev. Adam López, Jr. Agredano, and participated in the initial three productions of NorCal Mass Choir live-recordings, as well as the award-winning production team of “Nuestro Canto,” a history of the Apostolic Church in song. Agredano also attended the Apostolic Church of Oakland under Rev. Art Oceguera, directing the youth, church, and the ladies’ “Dorcas" choirs. Agredano attended Harvard Divinity School, where his advisor and greatest mentor was Rev. Dr. Cornel West. Agredano also joined the Harvard University Kuumba Singers and frequented various Apostolic congregations in the Boston area, such as the United Pentecostal Church (UPCI), Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW), and eventually congregated at Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After coming out, and coming back to California, Agredano founded an online community congregation of LGBTQ+ Apostolics/Pentecostals and attended Founders Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles (MCC-LA), where he served on the Pentecostal praise team. In Los Angeles, he served on the Azusa Street Centennial Committee. In 2020, he founded Apostolics Pentecostals for President Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, creating a global platform for discussion of church, race, and politics. Agredano has presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies and at the National Association for Chicana/Chicano Studies.
