Mark Menjivar is a San Antonio-based artist and Associate Professor in the School of Art and Design at Texas State University—San Marcos. His work explores diverse subjects through photography, archives, oral history and participatory project structures. He holds a BA in Social Work from Baylor University and an MFA in Social Practice from Portland State University. He has engaged in projects at venues including the Rothko Chapel, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, The Houston Center for Photography, The San Antonio Museum of Art, The Puerto Rican Museum of Art and Culture, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, and the Krannert Art Museum. Menjivar is currently the artist-in-residence with the Texas After Violence Project, which uses oral history and archives to create dialogue and action around capital punishment in Texas. He is also a member of Borderland Collective, which utilizes collaborations between artists, educators, youth, and community members to engage complex issues and build space for diverse perspectives, meaningful dialogue, and modes of creation around border issues. In 2019, Menjivar was named a Mid-America Arts Alliance Interchange Fellow, along with other “socially engaged artists making an impact in their communities.”

Journalist and sociologist Carlos Martínez García is a member and founder of the Centro de Estudios del Protestantismo Mexicano (Cenpromex), a network of Evangelical researchers who produce studies about Protestantism from different perspectives. Their main goal is to promote and disseminate studies about religious minorities in Mexico and Latin America. The majority of Cempromex founding members are also active members of the interdenominational Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana [Latin American Theological Fellowship] (FTL). Martínez García is also a member of the Editorial Team of the FTL’s Mexican journal Espacio de Diálogo, a publication about Theology, Social Sciences, and the Liberal Arts. A member of the Mennonite Mexican Church and regular contributor to Mexico’s national newspapers, Martínez García is a very well known speaker on topics like religious freedom, specifically issues related to the Mexican region of Chiapas.

Rev. Dr. Amos Yong is Professor of Theology and Mission, and Dean of the School of Mission and Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. His graduate education includes degrees in theology, history, and religious studies from Western Evangelical Seminary (now Portland Seminary) and Portland State University, both in Portland, OR, and Boston University, Boston, MA, and an undergraduate degree from Bethany University of the Assemblies of God. Licensed as a minister with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, he has also authored or edited dozens of scholarly volumes. Among the most recent are Renewing the Church by the Spirit: Theological Education after Pentecost (Eerman, 2020), Pentecostal Theology and Jonathan Edwards (T&T Clark, 2019), and Mission after Pentecost (Mission in Global Community): The Witness of the Spirit from Genesis to Revelation (Baker Academic, 2019). Rev. Dr. Yong and his wife Alma have three children and five grandchildren, and reside in Pasadena, CA.

Héctor Herrera III currently serves as associate pastor at Tokyo Union Church (TUC). He is the son of asylum seekers who escaped the Guatemalan civil war; his family became integrated into a larger international community of Latin American immigrants from 20 different countries at a local Spanish-speaking Baptist church, where Herrera’s Christian identity would form. Herrera holds a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine, and MDiv and MA degrees in Christian Education and Formation from Princeton Theological Seminary. His pastoral experience and ministry include serving as a campus chaplain at Princeton University, a hospital chaplain at Arcadia Methodist Hospital, as a pastoral intern at San Marino Community Church near Los Angeles, and work with children and youth. Herrera also has international experience, having served at the Scotts Kirk in Lausanne, Switzerland and at Youngnak Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea. With strengths in online communication and education, he has helped develop resources in Digital Learning for Princeton Seminary. Herrera aims to continue helping people of all ages and abilities connect with each other and with God as much of TUC’s ministry moves into digital space. Herrera and his wife Marie (childhood friend and high-school sweetheart) are the proud parents of Hector Herrera IV and Margot Herrera.

Dr. Patrick B. Reyes is the author of the bestselling book The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive (Westminster John Knox Press, 2021), and of the award-winning book Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood (Chalice Press, 2018). He is the host of the Sound of the Genuine podcast. A Chicano educator, administrator, and institutional strategist, he is the Senior Director of Learning Design at the Forum for Theological Exploration. He is president-elect of the Religious Education Association and serves on several boards in education and the non-profit sector supporting the next generation of BIPOC leaders and educators. Dr. Reyes holds a Doctorate and Master of Arts from Claremont School of Theology, a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology, and is proud to be a graduate of the California State education system, California State University at Sacramento (Sac State). You can learn more about Dr. Reyes at patrickbreyes.com.

Dr. Robin L. Owens is an Associate Professor of Religion at Mount Saint Mary’s University. She brings experience in both corporate and social work settings to the classroom to inform her transformational teaching. When she is not in the college classroom, Dr. Owns teaches, mentors, and coaches high-achieving leaders to help them to discover and express their leadership purpose. She is the host of the popular podcast “Leadership Purpose with Dr. Robin.” Dr. Owens is the author of two forthcoming books—Purpose-Based Decisions: An Inspirational Guide to More Meaning, Purpose, and Passion in Your Leadership, Business or Career (Balboa Press, 2022) and “My Faith in the Constitution is Whole:” Barbara Jordan Signifies on Scriptures (Georgetown University Press, 2022). Dr. Owens holds a PhD from Claremont Graduate University and an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Dr. Raimundo César Barreto, Jr. is an associate professor of World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned a PhD in Religion and Society from Princeton Theological Seminary and holds degrees from McAfee School of Theology/Mercer University and Seminário Teológico Batista do Norte do Brasil. He has taught at the Northeastern Baptist Seminary and at Faculdade Batista Brasileira in Brazil, and also served as Director of Freedom and Justice at the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). He remains involved in ecumenical and interfaith work, contributing in various capacities to the American Baptist Churches USA, the Baptist World Alliance, the National Council of Churches USA, and the World Council of Churches. Dr. Barreto is the general editor of the World Christianity and Public Religion book series (Fortress Press) and one of the conveners of the Princeton Theological Seminary's World Christianity Conference. He has co-edited five books and contributed dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His monograph “Evangélicos e Pobreza no Brasil: Encontros e Respostas Éticas” (São Paulo: Editora Recriar/Editora Unida, 2019) will be published in English by Baylor University Press with the title “Protestantism and Poverty in Brazil: Face-to-Face Encounters and Ethical Responses” (Spring 2023). He is finalizing another monograph, “Base Ecumenism: A Latin American Decolonial Contribution to Ecumenical Praxis and Theology” (Fortress Press, Summer 2023). His impending work also includes the forthcoming book Christians in the City of São Paulo: The Shaping of World Christianity in a Brazilian Megacity (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2024).

Rev. Dr. Yvonne Martínez Thorne is founder and CEO of Cultivating Wholeness Counseling Associates. Located in Pennsylvania and Florida, her faith-based practice provides specialized services for ordained clergy and lay leaders.  She also provides secular and faith-based counseling and psychotherapy to people across faith, race, and culture. Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne served as consultant for Area Ministry and Communications for the Philadelphia Baptist Association.  Her commitment to the church continues in her role as consultant to congregations, ecumenical judicatories, and Christian organizations seeking greater wholeness and wellness. She recently provided disaster relief to clergy and congregations traumatized by natural disasters in Puerto Rico and The Bahamas. She currently serves as faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary, where she offers courses on clergy wellness and on the importance of healthy boundaries in ministry.  Rev. Dr. Martínez Thorne holds an MDiv from Palmer Theological Seminary and an EdD in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.  Rev. Martínez Thorne is ordained clergy of the American Baptist Churches USA. She is married to Rev. Dr. Leo S. Thorne, former associate general secretary for Mission Resource Development for the American Baptist Churches USA.   

Rev. Dr. Orlando Crespo holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational Leadership from the New York Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University. He has served as the National Director of InterVarsity Latino Fellowship since 2000 and is the author of Being Latino in Christ: Finding Wholeness in Your Ethnic Identity (InterVarsity Press, 2003). An ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance since 2011, Dr. Crespo and his wife Maritza helped to plant New Life in the Bronx Church in 1998; he continues to serve there as the Associate Pastor and Children's Ministry Director. He is also active in several Latino Christian organizations including serving on the Board of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and an Executive Leader of the Latino Leadership Circle in NYC.

Rev. Maritza Crespo holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University (1984) and became a licensed Massage Therapist in 2011. As a Church Planter, she has served as Worship Leader at New Life in the Bronx since 1998, and has been a member of the Urbana Missions Conference Worship Team in 2009 and many other worship teams over the years. Her passions are spending time with family, gardening, cooking from scratch, and staying in touch with friends she's had for decades.

Rev. Miluska (Milly) Aquije is many things. As an educator, a spiritual advisor, a mentor, and a Dreamer—among so much else—Rev. Aquije supports her community with a unique passion and vibrancy. Her current professional experience includes serving as the Discipleship Pastor with Reconcile Brooklyn and as the founder of Hoping Greatly, where she uplifts others through her story of resilience as an undocumented immigrant. She holds degrees from Nyack College and Hunter College, as well as being a licensed clergy with the Evangelical Covenant Church. Rev. Aquije has served church plants in youth ministry since 2005, has been active in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) campus ministry, and is co-founder as an IVCF alumni of The Mentor Movement. She worked in higher education administration at Hunter College, served as an enrollment manager, faculty, and youth seminary coordinator for City Seminary of New York (CSNY). As part of CSNY, she was a researcher with Dr. Maria Liu Wong & Dr. Geomon George on “Engaging the Present and Envisioning the Future: Leadership Development in an Urban Youth Seminary.” In her free time, she can be found catching up on anime, and coaching the next generation over a delicious NYC meal discovery. More about Rev. Aquije's journey can be found at hopinggreatly.com.

Joshua Robbins is the author of Praise Nothing (University of Arkansas Press, 2013), part of the Miller Williams Series in Poetry, and his recognitions include the James Wright Poetry Award, the New South Prize, selection for Best New Poets, and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship in poetry from the Sewanee Writers' Conference. He received MFA in creative writing from the University of Oregon and a PhD in English from the University of Tennessee. Robbins is Associate Professor of English at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Rev. Dr. Tito Madrazo is a Program Director in the Religion Division at Lilly Endowment Inc. Previously, he served as the founding director of the Hispanic-Latino/a Preaching Initiative at Duke Divinity School, and as a Missional Strategist in Duke's Hispanic House of Studies. Dr. Madrazo also pastored congregations in Texas and North Carolina for 18 years.

A native of Venezuela, Dr. Madrazo is a graduate of Baylor University, Gardner-Webb University, and Duke Divinity School. In addition to his academic and ministerial work in the United States, Madrazo has also taught extensively in Latin America. He recently published Predicadores: Hispanic Preaching and Immigrant Identity (Baylor University Press, 2021), an ethnographic exploration of the identity and preaching of first-generation, Protestant pastors in North Carolina.

Tyler B. Davis is a lecturer in theology at St. Mary’s University and University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. He holds a PhD in theological studies from Baylor University and a MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has published work in the Journal of Africana Religions, Religions, and other academic and popular outlets. His current research examines the significance of a black oral tradition about a tornado in Waco, Texas as an expression of liberation theology.

Rev. Dr. Tony Tian-Ren Lin is a Research Professor at New York Theological Seminary. He is a cultural sociologist whose scholarship focuses on the intersection of religion, immigration, race, and ethnicity. He is the author of Prosperity Gospel Latinos and Their American Dream (University of North Carolina Press, 2020), which Publisher’s Weekly praises as a “well-reasoned,” “evocative debut” that “immerse[s] readers in the lives of his subjects.” He was previously a Research Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia where he held numerous academic and administrative positions. Rev. Dr. Lin was born in Taiwan and grew up in Argentina. He holds a bachelor degree from Boston University, a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Master and Doctor of Philosophy in sociology from the University of Virginia. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister who has served churches in New Jersey and Virginia. His work has been featured in The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, LatinoUSA, WNYC, and other venues.

Dr. João Chaves is Assistant Professor of Evangelism and Mission at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Associate Director for Programming at the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI). He holds a PhD in Religion from Baylor University, and has presented and published his research broadly, both in English and in Portuguese. Dr. Chaves is the author of four books, including Migrational Religion: Context and Creativity in the Latinx Diaspora (Baylor University Press, 2021) and The Global Mission of the Jim Crow South: Southern Baptist Missions and the Shaping of Latin American Evangelicalism (Mercer University Press, 2022). His forthcoming book, co-written with Mikeal Parsons, is titled Remembering Antônia Teixeira: A Story if Missions, Violence, and Institutional Hypocrisy (Eerdmans, 2023). He has contributed to numerous book reviews, peer-reviewed articles, and chapters in larger works. His ongoing projects include editing “Christianity, Race, and Ethnicity: Latinx Critical Conversations on Identity Construction and Religious Participation” for Perspectives in Religious Studies (Winter 2022) and co-editing, with T. Laine Scales, the forthcoming book Baptists and the Kingdom of God (Baylor University Press, 2023). Dr. Chaves is also co-editor for the Perspectives on Baptist Identity book series, published by Mercer University Press, and works with the Editorial Board for the HTI Series on Religion and Theology En Conjunto, a book series published by Baylor University Press.

Frank Yamada is the sixth executive director of the Association of Theological Schools. He brings to this role years of leadership experience in theological education and in communities of faith. He has written about and speaks on the future of theological education. Before coming to ATS, he was the tenth president of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and was an active Hebrew Bible scholar with a focus on cross-cultural and feminist hermeneutics.

An active biblical scholar, Yamada has authored and edited books and articles on cross-cultural and feminist hermeneutics. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, where he has served as a chair and as a steering committee member of the Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics Group, the Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section, and the Committee for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession. In addition, he was a member of the Ethnic Chinese Biblical Colloquium and the American Academy of Religion, and he was the cochair for the Managing Board of the Asian Pacific Americans and Religion Research Initiative annual conference.

A graduate of Southern California College, Yamada earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and has written and spoken on the future of the church and theological education.

Dr. Jonathan Calvillo is Assistant Professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University School of Theology. His teaching and research center on the sociological study of religion, race and ethnicity, and immigration. His scholarship examines how religious affiliation influences ethnic identity construction among Latinxs. His new book, The Saints of Santa Ana, from Oxford University Press, examines how practices of lived religion shape ethnic identity among Catholic and evangelical Mexican immigrants. Through his ethnographic research at numerous churches, Dr. Calvillo has contributed to the Latino Protestant Congregations project, which spotlights themes of worship practices, ethnic identity, and community engagement in Latinx churches. Additionally, he has conducted neighborhood-based research within urban, Latinx communities, examining how lived religion shapes collective identities. Alongside his qualitative research, he is currently conducting archival research on Latinx congregations and religious movements. Finally, Dr. Calvillo is conducting an oral history project on hip hop, ethnoracial identities, and spirituality among Latinxs. Born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Calvillo is a second-generation Mexican American. He resides with his partner Nani and their three children in the city of Boston, MA.

Dr. Santiago Slabodsky holds the Kaufman Chair in Jewish Studies at Hofstra University-New York. He is co-director of the trilingual journal Horizontes Decoloniales/ Decolonial Horizons and convener of the Liberation Theology and Decolonial Thought program at the Center for Global Dialogue. He served as convener of the PhD program in Religion, Ethics and Society at Claremont School of Theology and as associate director of the Center for Race, Culture and Social Justice at Hofstra University. Dr. Slabodsky holds a BA from Universidad de Buenos Aires, an MA from Duke University, and a PhD from University of Toronto. His book Decolonial Judaism: Triumphal Failures of Barbaric Thinking (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) received the 2017 Frantz Fanon Outstanding book award by the Caribbean Philosophical Association.

Victoria Pérez Rivera is a PhD student at the University of Southern California and an adjunct Bible professor at Latin American Bible Institute College (LABI) College. She obtained her Associates degree from LABI College, Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Vanguard University, and her Master's Degree in Theological Studies from Duke University. Her areas of academic interest include reception history of Pauline literature, ancient Greco-Roman culture, race, ethnicity and gender. She teaches classes such as New Testament, Biblical Exegesis, and Gender Issues in the Church.