Opening Plenary speakers from left to right: John Francis, Karma Chavez, Stephanie Shonekan, and Anthony Pinn

Aaron Bird Bear works in at the UW-Madison School of Education’s Office of Undergraduate Recruitment and Retention. He is a member of the Mandan, Hidtsa and Dine’ nations and a recognized campus leader in the Native American community.

Charles Cohen is a Professor of History and Religious Studies at UW-Madison and Director of the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions. He specializes in colonial British North America, early American religious history, and the history of the Woodlands Peoples, 1500-1800.

Cecile David is an Associate Lecturer at the UW-Madison of Asian American Studies Program. She is interested in school organizations, minority education, immigrant education, bilingual education, school desegregation, and racial socialization in schools.

Karma Chavez is an Assistant Professor in at the UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts and an affiliate faculty member of in Chican@ and Latin@ Studies. Her research interests explore the relationships between gender, sexuality and immigration utilizing queer theory, feminist intersectional theories and critical race perspectives.

Tom Dubois, Professor at the UW-Madison Department of Scandinavian Studies, holds a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania and teaches, writes and researches on a variety of Nordic topics, particularly Finnish and Sámi. He is currently director of the Folklore Studies Program and is a member of the Religious Studies Program.

Crystal Edwards has a B.S. in Political Science with a minor in African-American Studies from the University of Houston. She is interested in exploring pre-colonial traditions of chieftaincy, specifically throughout Ghana, and African political philosophy.

Joseph Tucker Edmonds is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Religious Studies at IUPUI. His research interests are Black and Womanist Theologies, Alternative Christianities in the Black Atlantic and the relationship between Africana religious identity, citizenship and globalization.

Dr. John Francis is a Visiting Professor at the Nelson Institute and the author of two books, Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking, 17 Years of Silence and The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World.

Debbie Goddard is the Campus Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Inquiry Transnational in Amherst, NY. She is also the director of African Americans for Humanism, a program of the Council for Secular Humanism.

Reverend Joan Harrell is an ordained American Baptist clergy woman and public theologian. She developed and implemented the interfaith “Reclaiming Our Sacred Space” campaign during the 2008 Presidential Election.

Rachel O. Hoogasian is currently a doctoral student at the UW-Madison School of Counseling Psychology. Her current research focuses on multicultural issues and integrating spirituality in psychotherapy.

Jennifer Knox has been a professional community organizer for four years. She got her start leading the community as an undergraduate in UW-Madison by pressing for increased access to education for working class and students of color. She resides in Washington D.C. organizing diverse faith communities in Northern Virginia for VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement).

Rohany Nayan is a doctoral candidate and Graduate Fellow at the UW-Madison Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions. She runs two annual interfaith programs: the Community Forum (for adults) and the Courage Project (for high school students).

ANTHONY B. PINN is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Society for the Study of Black Religion and co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Black Theology Group.

Sharon Powell is a teacher at Columbia College Chicago and works as an artist, educator and consultant in the field of sexual health. Her poetry and performance have been showcased and adapted for the stage at numerous area venues. She has worked with the Chicago Women’s Health Center, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, and African Women Evolving.

Christophe Ringer is a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Department of Religion of Vanderbilt University. His research interests include public theology, religion and social sciences, African-American religion and politics, cultural studies and critical prison studies.

Anastacia Scott’s research has examined the 2008 elections and the legacy of President Obama’s win on the issues of black self-efficacy and self-esteem. She is interested in race relations, colorblind ideology and post-racial phenomenon.

Stephanie Shonekan is an Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology and Black Studies at the University of Missouri. Shonekan earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and Folklore from the University of Indiana, Bloomington. Her research and teaching interests are in Black creative expression and Cultural Studies with a focus on the culture, literature, and music of the Black World.

Carla Stillwell has been working as a poet, playwright, actor and director for almost thirty years. She is the playwright for six different plays, including the Black Theatre Alliance Award nominated play The Divine Order of Becoming. She is also the Managing Producer for MPAACT and a teaching artist at MPAACT, the Steppenwolfe Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre and Hales Franciscan High School.

Jessica Sweers has an M.A. in Sociology from UW-Milwaukee. Her research focuses on nationalism and comparative genocide in post-colonial Africa as well as gender development and women’s studies.

Mallory Warner recently completed her Masters of Arts at Depaul University in the International Studies Program and currently serves as an undergraduate academic advisor in the program. Her research focused on post-colonial identities in France.