Meet Our Students

JDP Current Students

The JDP student body includes students from various religious, racial, geographic, gender, and other backgrounds. This celebrated diversity opens up new ways for intersectional approaches to students' academic engagement and shared lived experience. 

As of Fall quarter of 2024, JDP student demographics are as follows:

• In total, 53 active students

• 22 (42%) identify as women

• 11 (21%) are international

• 21 (40%) identify as students of color

• The average age of the incoming class is 33 - 34 years old.

Check out our student profiles below.

• Deeptangshu Das
  

  Born in the hilly and rainy state of Assam in north-east India, Deeptangshu Das (he/him) completed his BA, MA and M.Phil in English literature from the University of Delhi, India. He has taught at Vivekananda College (University of Delhi) from 2013-17 and at Dibrugarh University (Assam) since July 2017 as Assistant Professor (currently on Study Leave). His primary research interests include the ‘Study of the Representation of Hindu Goddesses in Literary and Popular Visual Cultures’, Gender Studies, and Cultural Studies.
  
  Email: deeptangshudas@gmail.com 

• Clarence W. Davis
  

  I am passionate about my dissertation topic - urban poverty and theology. I am a former Baptist pastor, having served the Church for 15 years as pastor and 15 as an associate pastor. I love my hometown, Detroit! 

  I am also in the early stages of starting a non-profit organization called, the Anti-Poverty League. The Anti-Poverty League focuses on the needs of the working poor, particularly ages 19-24, and 50-65.

  
  Email: Clarence.davis@du.edu 

• Kevin Grane
  

  Mr. Grane most recently received his Masters in Religious Studies with an emphasis in Critical Theory from the University of Denver in 2023. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's in religious studies in 2021. During this time, he studied at the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity as well as serving two summer terms at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Areas of study include comparative lived religion and critical theory of religion. Kevin is a licensed pastor currently serving at a non-denominational protestant church.
  
  Publication:
  “Evolution of Gender Hierarchy in Western Protestantism.” Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory; a Whitestone publication. Spring 2023.
  
  Academic Presentation:
  “Cherubim in Antiquity: A Test Case in Greco-Christian Dialogue.” American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain Regional, 2022.
  
  Email:
  kev.grane@du.edu

• Matthew Gruchow
  

  Former newspaper and magazine journalist turned critical care paramedic. I hold a master's degree in Theology and History, and am pursuing my Ph.D. to focus on the intersections of science in religion, (especially space), particularly around psychedelics, rites/rituals, and new religious movements. I have taught college English, Composition, News Reporting and Writing, Intro to Philosophy and was a GTA for Media Ethics with Dr. Lynn Schofield-Clark.

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • "Psychedelic Christianity: A Case for the Use of Entheogens by Modern Christians for Pastoral Care and Personal Spirituality." AAR/SBL Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, March 24, 2023.
     

  Email: matthew.gruchow@edu.edu 

• Rebecca M. David Hensley
  

  Rebecca M. David Hensley is a doctoral candidate in the JDP, ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, and adjunct instructor for Iliff School of Theology. She also serves as the United Methodist Deacon Mentor for Iliff. Her research interests center on the intersections of Critical Race/Critical Whiteness Studies, liberative women's theologies, and social ethics. Her dissertation is titled "Striving Toward Racial Solidarity in a Culture of White Christianity: Multi-Race + Multi-Faith Organizing in Texas." She holds a B.A. in Religious Education from Oklahoma City University and M.T.S. and Th.M. degrees from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. A member of the American Academy of Religion, Rebecca has presented at several regional and national academic conferences, as well as regional and national church-affiliated programs.
  
  Publications:

  • “Off the Grid: Climate Change, Immigration, and POWER in Texas.” In Displacement Climes: Shifting Climates – Shifting People, edited by Miguel A. De La Torre. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press, forthcoming in 2022.
  • “Comrades of the Kin-Dom: A Faithful Response to ‘Zero Tolerance.” In Preaching In/And the Borderlands, edited by Charles L. Aaron and J. Dwayne Howell. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2020.
  • “Is This the Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy? Misogyny, Pornography, and a Feminist Ethic of Erotic Justice.” Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa 44, no. 2 (Fall 2020): 17-30.
  • “Gendering Immigration.” In Engage, Princeton Theological Seminary’s Institute for Youth Ministry’s online magazine (May 2019).
  • "Divorce." In The CEB Women’s Bible, edited by Jaime Clark-Soles, Judy Fentress-Williams, Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, Christine Chakoian, and Rachel Baughman. Nashville: Common English Bible/Abingdon, 2016.
  • "Justice." In The CEB Women’s Bible, edited by Jaime Clark-Soles, Judy Fentress-Williams, Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, Christine Chakoian, and Rachel Baughman. Nashville: Common English Bible/Abingdon, 2016.
  • "Lot's Daughters: Products of an Immoral Society, Victims of Daddy's Bad Decisions, or Cunning Tricksters Providing for Their Own Future." In Perkins Student Journal, 12 (2011).

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • "Gloria Anzaldua Revisited: The Borderlands of Identity, Politics, and Spatial Theory." Panel Coordinator. American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting. March 25-26, 2022.
  • "Expanding Borderlands: A Necropolitical Deathscape." American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting. March 25-26, 2022.
  • “Demonic Grounds or Living Water: The Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border." American Academy of Religion, National Annual Meeting. November 20-23, 2021.
  • “Off the Grid: Climate Change, Immigration, and POWER in Texas.” Shifting Climates – Shifting People conference hosted by The Center for EcoJustice at Iliff School of Theology. October 21-22, 2021.
  • “Demonic Grounds or Living Water: The Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border." American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting. March 20, 2021.
  • “Demonic Grounds or Living Water: The Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Defining Justice in an Age of Turmoil eConference hosted by The University of Denver & Iliff School of Theology’s Joint Doctoral Program in Religion. February 20, 2021.
  • “Border Stories: Texas Faith Communities Responding to a Global Crisis on the Local Level.” American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting. March 27-28, 2020 (cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic).
  • “Gendering Immigration: A Liberative Feminist Hermeneutic for Border Crossing.” American Academy of Religion, National Annual Meeting. November 23-26, 2019.
  • “Gendering Immigration: A Liberative Feminist Hermeneutic for Border Crossing.” American Academy of Religion, Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting. March 29-30, 2019. 

  
  Fellowships:

  • Rosalie Bentzinger Scholarship, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2020-2021
  • Graduate Student Association Professional Development Grant, University of Denver, 2020
  • United Methodist General Scholarship, 2018-2019
  • Doctoral Fellowship, University of Denver, 2018-2019

  
  Awards:
  Theta Alpha Kappa Albert Clark Award Runner-Up, Graduate Level, 2019
  
  Email: rhensley@iliff.edu 

• Ryan Howell
  

  Ryan grew up in Indianapolis as a pastor's son, studying Biblical Languages at Evangel University and earning a Master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard. After two decades pastoring in New England, he became disillusioned with fundamentalist Christianity and moved to Colorado in 2019 to lead a post-evangelical church. Ryan now supports faith communities promoting spiritual vitality and healing from religious trauma, particularly within the American Evangelical movement. 

  He creates resources for those deconstructing their Christian faith and consults on team well-being and strategic planning for churches and nonprofits. Ryan also co-founded Value Plus, a Romanian nonprofit focused on human trafficking prevention and literacy. Guided by Maya Angelou’s wisdom, he is committed to redemption and healing in this season of his life: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

   

  Email: ryan.h.howell@du.edu 

• Marisa Hulstine
  

  Marisa Hulstine (she/her) is a JDP student who plans to study theology and ethics through the power of storytelling and the arts as a method for rebuilding healthier embodiment theologies. Originally from Colorado, Marisa grew up within the purity culture of conservative Christianity. Nurturing a relationship with her own body and with God, Marisa seeks an embodiment ethics that moves beyond the harm of Christian purity culture. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from Anderson University in Indiana and graduated from Union Theological Seminary with both a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Sacred Theology degree. Outside of the academy Marisa engages in organizing work and writing where she reimagines what it means for all bodies to flourish.

   

  Publications:

  • “Displaced Persons: The Church of God’s Response to Refugees.” In the Church of God Historian (Summer 2020). 
  • Revolutionary Listening and Renewal: A Substack exploring how to recognize, dismantle, and repair from the many different manifestations of Purity Culture in society.

   

  Academic Presentations:

  • “Feminist and Womanist Vision That Make Visible What Challenges the Church.” 2023 Vision and Difference Symposium at the Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender at Columbia University. New York, NY. Dec. 5, 2023. 
  • “Palestine, Western Churches, and Christian Zionism: Its Role in Palestinian Displacement and Genocide and Creative, Liberatory Organizing as Response.” Mygration Christian Conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. South Hamilton, MA. Oct. 4-5, 2024.

   

  Fellowships:

  Anne M. Bennett and John C. Bennett Fellowship. Awarded by Auburn Theological Seminary, 2024.

   

  Email: marisa.hulstine@du.edu 

• Wake Gerbi Jeo
  

  Wake Gerbi Jeo was born in Oromia regional state in Ethiopia and later moved to Norway. He is a pastor from the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. He moved to Denver in 2023 to study for his Ph.D. in the Study of Religion at the University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology. His research experiences and interests are Moral Philosophy, African/Oromo Philosophy, Liberation Theology, Political Theology, Public Theology, Self-determination Theology, Systematic Theology, Theology of Peace, Theology of Reconciliation, Theology from Below, Study of Religion, History of Religions, Diaspora Religion, Comparative Religion, International Relations, International Law (focusing on Self-determination and Secession, and Human Rights), Race, Nationalism, Traditional Justice System, Just War Theory, Political Process Theory, and Social Movement Theory.  
  
  He earned MSc in International Relations from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 2022, Norway; MPhil in History of Religions from the Norwegian Specialised School of Theology, Religion and Society in 2022, Norway; MPhil in Contextual Theology from the University of Oslo in 2018, Norway; MPhil in Religion, Society and Global Issues from the Norwegian Specialized School of Theology, Religion and Society in 2016, Norway; MA in Theology from the Norwegian Specialised School of Theology, Religion and Society in 2015, Norway; BTh from the Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2008.
  
  Publications:
  Books

  • Jeo, Wake Gerbi (2020). Theology of Struggle: Oromo Liberation Theology. Stockholm: Foorfattares Bok Maskin Press.
  • Jeo, Wake Gerbi (2016). Religion and Politics in the Horn of Africa: Evangelical Christianity and Politics in the Context of Oromo People in Ethiopia. Stockholm: Foorfattares Bok Maskin Press.
  • Forthcoming book in 2024 The Politics of Decolonization: Self-Determination Theology and the Eschaton of Ethiopian Imperialism. Stockholm: Foorfattares Bok Maskin Press.

  
  Articles

  • Jeo,Wake Gerbi (2019). “African Philosophy on the Way: Theorizing Oromo Philosophy and Theology of Land (Lafi keenya lafee keenya, our Land is our bones),” in International Journal of Current Research. Vol. 11. Issue 11. pp. 8021-8038.
  • Jeo, Wake Gerbi (2018). “Theorizing Namummaa: Oromo Relational Philosophy (Oromo’s gift to the World), in African Journal of History and Culture. Vol. 10 (7), PP. 77-97.
  • Jeo, Wake Gerbi (2017). “Introduction of Evangelical Christianity in Oromia: the five majors Expeditions,” in African Journal of History and Culture. vol.9 (4), PP. 34-40.

  
  Academic Presentations:
  He presented papers on religions (Christianity, Islam, and African Indigenous Religions), human rights, theology (systematic, contextual, and comparative theology), Conflict, Peace and Reconciliation Studies, and African/Oromo Philosophy.
  
  Fellowships:
  JDP Scholarship and PhD Outstanding Award from DU in 2023-2026
  
  Email:
  Wake.Gerbi@du.edu 

• Zane Johnson
  

  Zane is a second-year JDP student. He received his MA from the University of Munich where he studied early modern English literature and religion, literary translation, and the environmental humanities. Recent research has focused on the literary and cultural histories of Christian esotericism in the modern period and the sociohistorical pressures that have produced esotericism as a unique mode of religious discourse. He currently serves as sacristan of Saint John's Cathedral in Denver, CO.
  
  Publications:

  • "Metaphysical Protestantism: A Comparative Literary Ecology," Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 23, no. 1 (2024). 
  • "Late Modern Esoteric Christianities," NEXT Graduate Journal of Religious Studies 7 (2024): 23-46.
  • "George Herbert's Dialectic of Renunciation," George Herbert Journal 44 (2023): 84-98.
  • "The French Connection: Louis Claude de Saint-Martin and the Martinist Tradition," Quest: A Journal of the Theosophical Society in America 111, no. 3 (2023): 38-40.
  • "'My God, in Fire': The Poetry of Henry Vaughan," Jesus the Imagination 6 (2022): 77-85.
  • "'All things unto our flesh are kind': Corporeality and Ecology in The Temple," George Herbert Journal 42, no. 1 & 2 (2018/2019): 128-145.
  • "Starhawk, Henry Vaughan, and the Environmental Imagination," Seeing the Woods: A Blog by the Rachel Carson Center, November 18, 2020.

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • "Situating Esoteric Christianity in Late Modernity," Mountain West Regional AAR Conference hosted by Brigham Young University. March 23, 2024.
  • "Protestant Mysticism and Early Modern Environmentalism," The Religious Roots of Environmental Justice Conference hosted by the University of Denver. October 13, 2023.
  • "The Poetics of Renunciation in The Temple," Sixth Triennial Conference of the George Herbert Society hosted by the University of Cambridge. June 26, 2022.
  • "The Forest and the Translated World: History, Agency, and the Mangrove in The Hungry Tide," Ecocriticism Vernissage hosted by the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. February 15, 2019.

  
  Email: zane.johnson@du.edu 

• David Kemp

   

  

  David Kemp (they/them) uses decolonial and liberationist perspectives to critically analyze the intersections of LGBTQ+ issues, Christianity, human rights, and U.S. culture and politics. They received a B.S. in Global and Multicultural Issues from Texas A&M University – Commerce in 2018, and an M.T.S. with a Social Justice and Religion Concentration from Southern Methodist University in 2021.

   

  Since 2019, David has been active with grassroots social justice organizations across Texas and Colorado where they help plan and attend outreach to houseless communities, LGBTQ+ rights efforts, free speech demonstrations, and other direct-action events. Throughout their undergraduate, master's, and current doctoral education David has also been involved with university efforts to improve mental health initiatives, and transgender/queer student inclusivity.

   

  David works at the University of Denver Libraries Research Center and as the Joint Doctoral Program's Social Media Manager. David is a Certified Candidate for Ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church.
  
  Publications:

  • David Kemp, “Heterobinary-Panopticism: How Queerness Reveals the Disciplining of Identity,” NEXT Graduate Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 7 (2024): Religion in Transition, 69-92. https://journals.colorado.edu/index.php/next/issue/view/207.
  • David Kemp, Margo McCutcheon, and Katherine Kuehler Walters, “Reynolds, Mary Vaughn,” Handbook of Texas Online, April 25, 2019. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/reynolds-mary-vaughn.

   

  Academic Presentations:

  • “Queerness, Feminism, Religion, and Purity Culture on Tumblr: Genealogies of Subversion, Exclusion, Community, and Oppression” for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion/Religious Research Association, October 2024.
  • “When Violence is Not Physical: A Queer Evaluation of the Film ‘Turning Red’” for the Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1 Panel, Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Summer Salon, June 2024.
  • “Subverting Faith and Religion: Queer Spirituality in Meow Wolf, Denver” for the Subversive/Queer Elements in Religion Panel, Rocky Mountain Great Plains Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion, March 2024.
  • “Queer Ethics of Identity: Exploring Antireal Gender Ontology for Self and Theological Reimagination” for the Society of Christian Ethics, January 2024.
  • “Embracing Antireal Gender Ontology: Working to Liberate the Body from Religion” for the Body and Religion Unit, American Academy of Religion, November 2023.
  • “Heterobinary-Panopticism: How Queerness Reveals the Disciplining of Identity” for the Foucault and the Study of Religion Seminar, American Academy of Religion, November 2023.
  • “Considering Intersectional International Identities for LGBTQ+ Campus Outreach” for the University of Denver Internationalization Summit, April 2023

   

  Academic Leadership:

  • Co-Organizer, 2025 Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion, 2024 – Present
  • Chair, for Subversive/Queer Elements in Religion Panel at the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion, March 2024
  • Session Presider, for Living and Theorizing Hybrid Identity at the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion, March 2023

   

  Fellowships, Awards, Honors:

  University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology (DU)

  • Outstanding Student Leadership Award, Graduate Student Association, May 2024
  • Dorothy & Mel Lew Scholarship Award, Wesley UMC Greenville, June 203
  • UMC Scholarship Award, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2022
  • Doctoral tuition and fees, Joint Ph.D. Program, 2022 – Present

   

  Southern Methodist University (SMU)

  • Summa Cum Laude
  • Roll of Honor, Highest Honors, Perkins School of Theology
  • MAST “Minister, Author, Scholar, Teacher” Honors, Perkins School of Theology, 2019 – 2021
  • UMC Scholarship Award, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2020, 2021
  • Perkins Scholar, Perkins School of Theology, 2019 – 2021
  • Graduate tuition and fees, Perkins School of Theology, 2019 – 2021

   

  Texas A&M University – Commerce (TAMU-C)

  • Magna Cum Laude
  • Global Scholar Distinction
  • Dean’s List: Fall 2016, Spring 2018
  • President’s List: Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2018
  • Federal TRIO Scholarship Award, 2016 – 2018
  • UMC Scholarship Award, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 2017, 2018
  • NELA Award for Exceptional Leadership Skills, National Society of Leadership and Success, 2016

  
  Email: david.kemp@du.edu

  Visit David's ePortfolio: (https://du.digication.com/david-c-kemp)

• Sho McClarence
  

  Sho McClarence (They/Them, et en Francais Iel/Li) is a current Ph.D. student at the University of Denver and Iliff Theology School. They received their Associate’s in Arts from Joliet Junior College, their Bachelor’s in History from Monmouth College, and their Master’s of Interdisciplinary Studies with specializations in Philosophy, History, and Environmental Arts and Humanities from Oregon State University. Sho studies at the intersection of Queer Theory, Visual Arts, and Mystical Experience. Sho is an affiliate faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado, serving in the Art History department and an adjunct faculty member in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Arapahoe Community College. Sho is also an abstract painter with 11 years of experience teaching at art studios and guest lecturing in Universities. In addition to teaching, Sho works as a staff member at the University of Denver Libraries in the Access Services Department. Alongside their scholarship, Sho is an activist working on Transgender rights. Sho is one of the founding members of the Mid-Willamette Transgender Support Network nonprofit that operates in Corvallis, Oregon. You can find Sho presenting papers and workshops about creating inclusive living and working environments at conferences and universities across the country.
  
  Academic Presentations:

  • 2022 November “TransAntagonism”, AAR National Conference, Denver, CO.
  • 2021 March "Existentialism and Mysticism: Bridging the Divide Between the Individual and the Interconnectivity", Kent State Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, Virtual.
  • 2021 March "The First Brick Thrown: Myth and Materiality Through the Stonewall Riots", AAR Rocky Mountain- Great Plains Regional Conference, Virtual.
  • 2021 January “The Limits of Freedom: Intersectional Constraints Toward a Peaceful Life”, Concerned Philosophers for Peace, Virtual.
  • 2020 December “The Mystical in the Mundane”, Association for Jewish Studies 52nd Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • 2020 December "The First Brick Thrown: Myth and Materiality Through the Stonewall Riots", Myth, Histories, and Hauntings Queer Studies, American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • 2020 July “Creating Inclusive Spaces in Higher Education”, Colorado Association of Libraries, Power & Privilege at Play: Equity, Diversity, & Inclusivity in the Library eConference.
  • 2020 May “Creating Inclusive Spaces in Higher Education”, Butler Learning and Sharing Session Spring, The University of Denver, Denver, CO.
  • 2020 March “Creating Inclusive Spaces for Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals”, Trans-Day of Visibility, The University of Denver, Denver, CO.
  • 2020 March “The First Brick Thrown: Myth and Materiality through the Stonewall Riots”, AAR Rocky Mountain- Great Plains Regional Conference, Colorado Springs, CO.
  • 2020 January “Creating Inclusive Spaces for Transgender and Nonbinary Individuals”, Diversity Summit, The University of Denver, Denver, CO.
  • 2019 May “Mysticism and the Vacuum”, Phish Studies Conference, Corvallis, OR- Student Presenter 2019 May “Creating Inclusive Spaces”, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
  • 2019 April “Creating Inclusive Spaces”, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
  • 2019 February “Creating Inclusive Spaces”, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
  • 2018 November “Creating an Affirming Environment for Trans Students and Colleagues”, Corvallis, OR.
  • 2018 October “Existentialism and Phish”, Phish and Philosophy, Las Vegas, NV.
  • 2018 April “Religion and Mysticism: A Genealogy”, Pacific Northwest Religious Studies Conference, Corvallis, OR.
  • 2017 March “Creating Inclusive Spaces”, 2nd Annual Women’s Equality Conference, Monmouth, IL

  
  Fellowships:

  • 2020- 2022 Joint Dual Program in Religious Studies Inclusive Engagement Fellowship
  • 2021 Shotpouch Collaborative Residency - Topic: Sacred Space and Mysticism
  • 2019- 2022 Fellowship for the Joint Dual Religious Studies Program at The University of Denver and Iliff Theology School
  • 2019 Hatfield Marine Science Artist Residency
  • 2019 Trillium Project: Art Residency
  • 2015-2017 Wallace Founders Scholarship
  • 2015-2017 Monmouth College Speech and Debate Scholarship
  • 2015-2017 Monmouth College Sustainability Scholarship
  • 2015-2017 Monmouth College Visual Arts Scholarship
  • 2016 F. Gavin and Katye L. Davenport Memorial Scholarship
  • 2015 SOfIA Project Summer Fellowship
  • 2014 Joliet Junior College Academic Excellency Scholarship

  
  Awards:

  • 2019 Marilyn Gorski Award for Excellence, Integrity, and Outstanding Contributions to Oregon State University
  • 2019 Matchette Award for Outstanding Graduate Essay in Philosophy
  • 2018 Hundere Excellence in Graduate Religious Studies Writing Award Exhibitions
  • 2019-2020 Visual Oceanography Exhibition, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR
  • 2018 December Montage Juried Show, Fairbanks Gallery, Corvallis, OR
  • 2018 July 13th Annual Community Art Exhibition, Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, OR
  • 2018 May Art Saves Lives Exhibition, The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR
  • 2018 March Our Energy, Our Planet, Our Future, Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, OR
  • 2017- 2018 Monmouth Alumni Art Show, Wallace Hall, Monmouth, IL
  • 2017 August OSU150 Space Grant Art Exhibition, Giustina Gallery, Corvallis, OR
  • 2017 April-May Thou and I, Solo Exhibition, Fusion Theatre, Monmouth, IL
  • 2017 March Art Alliance Student Juried Art Exhibition, Fusion Theatre, Monmouth, IL, Best in Painting
  • 2017 February Black Lives Matter Exhibition, Len G. Everett Gallery 203, Monmouth, IL
  • 2017 January Monmouth College Juried Student Art Exhibition, Len G. Everett Gallery 204, Monmouth, IL
  • 2016 December Under the Influence: Art Exhibition, Len G. Everett Gallery 204, Monmouth, IL
  • 2016 July Buchanan Center for the Arts Photography Exhibition, Buchanan Center for the Arts, Monmouth, IL
  • 2016 March Art Alliance Student Juried Art Exhibition, Fusion Theatre, Monmouth, IL, Best in Sculpture
  • 2015 August SOfIArt(ifacts), Len G. Everett Gallery 204, Monmouth, IL
  • 2014 April Joliet Junior College Student Showcase, Laura A. Sprague Art Gallery, Joliet, IL Exhibitions Juried
  • 2017 March 49th Annual Town and Country Art Show, Buchanan Center for the Arts, Monmouth, IL Exhibitions Curated
  • 2019 October Visual Oceanography Exhibition, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR
  • 2017 February Black Lives Matter Exhibition, Len G. Everett Gallery 203, Monmouth, IL
  • 2016 September Antiquity: The Permanent Collection, Len G. Everett Gallery 203, Monmouth, IL

  
  Email: Sho.Mcclarence@du.edu  

• Kimberly Melgoza
  

  Kimberly Melgoza grew up in Los Angeles, CA. She then graduated with a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Southern California in 2021. Melgoza received a M.A. in Religion at Yale Divinity School in 2023 where she emphasized in Latinx and Latin American Christianity. Fall 2023 will be the beginning of Melgoza’s PhD in Religion at the University of Denver, in which she is doing a Joint Doctoral Program with Iliff School of Theology. Melgoza’s research focuses on indigenous communities in Mexico, specifically those that use hallucinogenic mushrooms religiously.
  
  Fellowship:
  Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship 2020
  
  Email:
  kimberly.melgoza@du.edu  

• Angela Molloy
  

  Angela Molloy (she/her) is a congenitally disabled cradle Methodist from Washington State whose work sits at the intersection of disability, queerness, and the body. She received her undergraduate degree in Comparative Religion from the University of Washington and earned her MDiv from the Iliff School of Theology. 

  Having been deeply harmed by ableism within the institutional church, Angela seeks to imagine alternative constructive possibilities for disabled and not-yet-disabled folx within communities of faith. She examines moral injury, specifically around the ways that disabled and queer bodies are controlled by and cast out from the church. She has worked in church and nonprofit spaces, published a curriculum for churches to use to dismantle ableist theologies, and recently presented at the Institute on Theology and Disability. Angela founded and chairs the Iliff Disability Coalition and also serves as Disability Ministries Committee Chair for the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church.

   

  Academic Presentation:

  "Multi-Faith Conversation on Disability Inclusion and Belonging." 2024 Institute on Theology and Disability, Boston, June 17-20, 2024. Presented.

• Robert Monson
  

  Robert is a writer, musician, runner, and theologian committed to speaking about softness in an age bent towards cruelty. He hosts two podcasts "Black Coffee and Theology" as well as "Three Black Men" and is a co-director of a nonprofit organization, Enfleshed. His master's work centered around the intersection of Black Liberation Theology and Womanist Theology.
  
  Publications:
  Working on a book entitled "the Bible and Violence" as well as another one centered around Christian Nationalism, Theology, and Racism (title forthcoming)
  
  Academic Presentations:
  Two time presenter at AAR National conference as well as once at the Southwest Regional
  
  Fellowship:
  Doctoral Fellowship at DU
  
  Awards:
  Dayton Merit Scholar, Walter F. Kuentzel Award for Perfect New Testament Scholarship
  
  Email:
  robert.monson@du.edu 

• Grego Peña-Camprubí 
  

  Hola! My name is Grego Peña-Camprubí (he/him/él). I’m originally from Barcelona (Spain). I’m currently studying a PhD in Religion, with an emphasis in Anthropology. In my research, I look at the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Catholics in Spain – where I pay a close look on how gender, sexual, ethnic, and religious identities intersect and are (re)constructed.
  
  Academic Presentations:

  • Siempre quedó VOX: Spanish National-Catholicism and the Far-Right of the 21st Century -- Rocky   Mountain Great Plains (RMGP) Regional Meeting. Nationalism and Conspiracy Unit (March 2023).
  • Congregational Life in the Time of Pandemic: Preliminary Results from Denver Case Studies -- 2022 AAR Annual Conference. Religion and the Social Sciences Unit and Sociology of Religion Unit (November 2022).
  • Methodological Workshop: Positionalities and Auto-Archaeologies.
  • "Defining Justice in an Age of Turmoil" – eConference. University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology. Denver (CO) (February 2021).

  
  Fellowships:

  • 2023 Graduate Research Assistant for the Association of Theological Schools of the United States of America and Canada.
  • 2022 Graduate Research Assistant for the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. “Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations: Innovation Amidst and Beyond COVID-19”
  • 2022 Capitol Fellow for Colorado House Representative Alex Valdez at the Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy Research Organization (CLLARO).

  
  Awards:

  • 2020 Frieda Sanidas Leason and Bernard V. Leason European Union Scholarship Award.

  
  Email: grego.penacamprubi@du.edu 

• Josh Perez
  

  Josh is a creative and academic with a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling through filmmaking, audio, writing, and photography—exploring the spaces where being human and artistry meet. He lived in the southwest desert for seventeen years before relocating to Denver, CO in 2021. 

  Josh received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of New Mexico (everyone's a lobo) in 2014. He graduated from the Iliff School of Theology with a master’s in theological studies in 2024. His thesis is titled "Laundry and Taxes: Cinema as Portals from Domination Into Worlds of Liberation." Josh's research focuses on lived religion, film reception studies, and the intersection of cinema and how one orients themselves in this world. 

  Josh works as the Creative Lead for the Institute of Religion, Culture, and Politics at the Iliff School of Theology. He writes and podcasts about movies at Sweet & Condensed: a newsletter, a podcast, and essays by people who love people, movies, and the magic that lives where they meet.

  
  Fellowships:

  • JDP Scholarship 2024-Present 
  • Elizabeth Iliff Warren Fellowship 2024 
  • DU Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship 2024-26

  
  Email: joshua.perez@du.edu 

• Hesron H. Sihombing

  Hesron H. Sihombing (he/him/dia) graduated from Abdi Sabda Theological Seminary Medan, Indonesia, in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in theology. He pursued his studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago to earn Master of Arts in Theological Studies in 2019 and is currently doing his doctoral studies at JDP. His main interests are theological ethics and the relationships between religion and politics, to look at the intersection of the economy and ecology. He is also interested in postcolonial and decolonial studies, public theology, liberative ethics, and Asian/Asian-American studies. 

  
  Publications:

  • Book Chapter Sihombing, Hesron H. “Decolonizing the History of Mission: An Indonesian Lutheran Perspective.” In Decolonial Horizons: Reshaping Synodality, Mission, and Social Justice, edited by Raimundo C. Barreto and Vladimir Latinovic, 167–83. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44843-0_9. 
  • Sihombing, Hesron H. "The Batak-Christian Theology of Land: Towards a Postcolonial Comparative Theology." CrossCurrents 73, no. 1 (2023): 42-63. 10.1353/cro.2023.0003
  • Book Chapter - Sihombing, Hesron H. “Spiritualitas Ekologis yang Membebaskan: Memikirkan Ulang Spiritualitas dalam Kerangka Hubungan Ekologis” in Teologi Spiritualitas: Gagasan dan Eksplorasi Teologi Spiritualitas Warisan Jaharianson Saragih, eds. Erwan Ar. Saragih, Parulihan Sipayung, Juna Daniel Saragih, 107–118 (Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia), 2022.
  • Sihombing, H. "Luther’s Understanding of the Presence of God in Creation: Toward a Lutheran Eco-Theology." SUNDERMANN: Jurnal Ilmiah Teologi, Pendidikan, Sains, Humaniora Dan Kebudayaan, Volume 15 (1) (2022): 41-52. https://jurnal.sttsundermann.ac.id/index.php/sundermann/article/view/85
  • Sihombing, Hesron. “Capitalism and the Ecological Crisis: The Spirituality of Voluntary Sacrifice,” International Journal of Public Theology 15, 3 (2021): 329-348, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15697320-01530003
  • Sihombing, Hesron. “The Relational God in the Presence of Evil: A Theology of Friendship,” Siwó: Revista de Teología/Revista de Estudios Socioreligiosos, Vol. 13 Number 1 (2020), 67–79, https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/siwo/article/view/14702
  • Book Chapter - Sihombing, Hesron. “Kesadaran Diri Yesus sebagai Jalan dan Kebenaran dan Hidup Menurut Yohanes 14:1–14 dan Relevansinya terhadap Misi Gereja di Abad XXI: Suatu Eksegese Sosial-Saintifik” in Buku Kenangan dan Syukuran 20 Tahun Kependetaan Pdt. Dr. Jonriahman Sipayung 22 November 1992–22 November 2012, eds. Jonriahman Sipayung, Japoltak Sipayung, Kanser Saragih, and Serliani Sembiring, 206–36. (Medan: Bangun Raya), 2012.

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • “Asian Posthumanism, Ecclesial Diversity, and The Body of Christ: An Outlook of Asian Futurist Ecclesiology,” Ecclesiological Investigations Network 15th International Conference, Chicago, June 26-28, 2024. Presented. 
  • “Constructing Spatial Postcolonialism in the Age of Digital Capitalism,” The Religion, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism Unit, 2023 National American Academy of Religion – Society of Biblical Literature (AAR-SBL) Annual Meeting, San Antonio, November 18-21, 2023. Presented. 
  • “The Care of the Self and the Selves to Care: Foucault and Indigenous Tradition,” The Foucault and the Study of Religion Seminar, 2023 National American Academy of Religion – Society of Biblical Literature (AAR-SBL) Annual Meeting, San Antonio, November 18-21, 2023. Presented.
  • “Practical Theology on Economic Justice: Insights from Indonesian Financial Institutions” Asian Practical Theology International Conference 2023 on Doing Practical Theology with Asian Resources: Retrospect and Prospect, online, Hong Kong, June 2-3, 2023. Presented.
  • “Digital Labor and Subjectivity in the Capitalocene: A Critique of Neoliberalism” 2022 National AAR-SBL Annual Meeting, Denver, November 20, 2022. Presented.
  • “The Impossibility of Dialogue? Ecumenical Ecumenism in the Context of Indonesian Deradicalization Works” Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy, AAR Panikkar Symposium, November 18, 2022. Presented.
  • “The Phenomenology of Space: towards a Critical Phenomenology from Indigenous Perspective” Loyola University-Marquette University Phenomenology Conference, Chicago, November 4–6, 2022. Presented.
  • “Lived Religion in the Pandemic Time: Rethinking Digital Space as Public Sphere” British Association for the Study of Religions Annual (Hybrid) Conference, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, August 30 – September 1, 2022. Presented.
  • “Decolonizing the History of Mission: An Indonesian-Lutheran Perspective” Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network’s 14th International Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico. June 22-25, 2022. Presented.
  • “Trees, Economics, and Sustainability: An Iconic Materialist Reading of Batak Cosmology” 2022 Symposium of the Network of the Asian Environmental Philosophy, online, June 17-18, 2022. Presented.
  • “Digital Capitalism: Network and the Ethics of the Commons” Religion and Futurity: Elsewhere, Elsewhen and Beyond Conference, Department of Religious Studies at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, online, April 29, 2022. Presented.
  • “Oikos-Orientalism and the Formation of Homo Economicus in Contemporary Indonesia” 2022 Association for Asian American Studies Annual Conference, Denver, April 14-16, 2022. Presented.
  • “The Economy of the Effects of Grace” 2022 AAR-SBL Rocky Mountains – Great Plains Regional Conference, University of Denver, March 25-26, 2022. Presented.
  • “Performative Hopelessness and Public Space: Ecojustice Praxis in Indonesia” AAR-SBL Rocky Mountains – Great Plains Regional Conference, University of Denver, March 25-26, 2022. Presented.
  • “Luther’s Two Kingdoms Doctrine Revisited: A Liberative Dialogue of Religions” at the Consultation on Religion in Public Space by the Lutheran World Federation in Hong Kong, 2015. Presented.

  
  Fellowships: 
  DU Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship for Inclusive Engagement, 2021-2023.
  
  Awards:
  Outstanding Publishing, Presenting, and Research Award, JDP Graduate Student Association, May 2024.
  The Bible and Lutheran Faith Prize, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, May 2018.

  Email: hesron.sihombing@du.edu 

• Tyrel Sorensen
  

  Tyrel (Tie-rel) Sorensen is a first-year PhD student in the JDP studying religion in New Age contexts to understand its appeal in a supposedly secular world. Raised in rural Colorado, he earned a BA in anthropology from Metropolitan State University of Denver (2015) and a GIS certificate from the University of Denver (2018). He has worked as an archaeologist and GIS analyst in cultural resource management (CRM) across several states. In 2023, he completed his MA in medical anthropology and archaeology at the University of Colorado Denver, where his thesis examined how metaphors shape illness experiences across cultures. His broader research interests focus on the cognitive and evolutionary roots of religion. Outside of academics, Tyrel continues to work as a CRM archaeologist and volunteers with Colorado’s International Archaeology Day. He enjoys reading, long walks, and spending time with his wife and two cats.

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • “Carbonari Charcoal Production Sites in the Robert’s Mountains, Nevada,” Poster Great Basin Anthropological Conference, Reno NV, 2016  
  • “Ek Em Skjaldmær: Warrior Women in Viking Society” Paper Undergraduate Research Conference, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver CO 2015  
  • “Evidence for Undocumented Cultural Occupations in the Lurin-Rimac Divide” Poster Co-authors: Guido Lombardi, Alcides Ricardo Alvarez Vera, Teresa Hogan, Morgan Dreesbach, Jennie Gregory, and Jeremiah Camp. 55th annual meeting of the Institute of Andean Studies, University of California Berkeley, Berkely CA, 2015 
  • “Architecture in the CA8 Complex of Huaycán de Pariachi: Reflections of Cultural Interactions on the Central Coast” Poster Co-authors: Guido Lombardi, Alcides Ricardo Alvarez Vera, Katya Valladares, Aaron Burch, Heather Hill, Teresa Hogan, Morgan Dreesbach, Jeremiah Camp, and Leah Swett. 55th annual meeting of the Institute of Andean Studies, University of California Berkeley, Berkely CA, 2015

  
  Fellowship:
  JDP Silver Scholarship, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, 2024–Present

  
  Awards:

  • Outstanding Master of Arts Student, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), University of Colorado Denver, Fall 2023 
  • Magna Cum Laude, Metropolitan State University of Denver, 2015 
  • Magna Cum Laude, Morgan Community College, 2011

  
  Email: tyrel.sorensen@du.edu 

• Matthew Webber
  

  Matthew Webber is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who was born and raised in Colorado. After attending Colorado State University, where he participated on the Track and Field team as a decathlete, he attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.). Taking a call as Associate Pastor in Holland, MI, he continued his education, attending Calvin Theological Seminary, earning his Master of Theology (Th.M.) in Systematic Theology. Returning to Colorado, Matthew was the solo pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Timnath, CO, before stepping away to attend Colorado State University once more for his Master of Arts (M.A.) in Philosophy and Ethics, focusing on the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals. 

  Matthew and his wife Nicole live in Northern Colorado where Nicole is an Academic Librarian. They spend time reading, being outdoors, spending time on the family farm, and enjoying time with their cat Milo and their dog Huxley. 
  
  Publications:
  Book Chapters:

  • “A New Binary: Creator and Created” in The Handbook of Human Education, (forthcoming)
  • “Why Anticruelty Laws are Not Enough” in Animal Ethics and Animal Law (forthcoming)

  
  Book Reviews:

  • Faith for Earth: A Call for Action (Hales, David and Pedersen, Kusumita eds.) in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics (forthcoming)
  • Akhtar, A. Our Symphony with Animals: On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies in the Journal of Animal Ethics, Fall 2020, vol. 10, no. 2

  
  Contributing Writer:

  • Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics Book Reviewer; 2020-Present
  • Journal of Animal Ethics Book Reviewer; 2018-Present
  • The Bonhoeffer Center Blog; 2015–2016

  
  Academic Presentations:

  • “Caveat Emptor: The Ethics of Responsible Information Consumption” Bodaken Philosophy Symposium Workshop: Living Together Online: Social Epistemology, Ethics, and the Internet. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; October 15-16, 2019.
  • “A New Binary: Creator and Created” Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School: Humane Education Increasing Sensitivity to Animals and Humans. Oxford, England; July 21-24, 2019.
  • “Why Anti-Cruelty Laws Are Not Enough” Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School: Animal Ethics and Law: Creating Positive Changes for Animals. Oxford, England; July 22-25, 2018

  
  Fellowships:

  • Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
  • The Ferrater Mora Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, Oxford, England; 2018-Present

  
  Awards:

  • American Veterinary Medical Association: Animal Welfare Assessment Contest; Fall 2019
  • Colorado State University, Graduate Student Division
  • First Place Team, Live Scenario
  • Second Place Team, Overall Virtual Scenario

  Email: mwebber@iliff.edu