Guest

Lecturers

Resisterhood Topic

Patriarchy’s Influence on Women and Faith

Marlena Graves is the Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation at Northeastern Seminary on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY. She has written five books, two of which were award-winning, and over two hundred articles found in a variety of venues like Christianity Today, Relevant, Sojourners, the Christian Century and more. In addition, she has had pastoral positions at several churches, including a church plant. And she has worked for many non-profits in solidarity with the poor, migrant farm workers, immigrants from South America, and local community members and leaders who sought to address police brutality in the Toledo, Ohio area and lead paint poisoning of children. Marlena has been on the board of several organizations including Evangelicals 4 Justice and The Red Bud Writers Guild. She is married to her husband Shawn, a philosophy professor, and has three wonderful, beautiful, brilliant, and growing girls. She wants people to know God delights in them. She has been dubbed, and sees herself as, a missionary to the American Church. She loves to laugh, be out in nature, and be with family and friends and good folk. She hopes to leave a little bit of shalom in her wake.

Resisterhood Topic

Spiritual Formation Practices for Resistance 

Osheta fell in love with Jesus and the church when she was 9 years old in an old Texas chapel during a Vacation Bible School; her first communion was graham crackers and red Kool-Aid. She finds PAX by owning her belovedness, loving her blackness, and encouraging others to be everyday peacemakers right in their contexts. She is the author of “Shalom Sistas” and an upcoming book on anti-racism peacemaking called, “Dear White Peacemakers” as well as pastors two churches in the Twin Cities. Her husband T.C. (who is her ministry partner at one of those churches) and three teenagers (Tyson, T.J. and Trinity) all live in Saint Paul, MN.

Resisterhood Topic

Power, Movements, and Transnational Feminism

Sara Shaban identifies as a critical/cultural scholar focused on the intersections between media, women’s social movements, and geopolitics in the Middle East. Shaban’s academic work is rooted within the theoretical frameworks of transnationalism and femonationalism. Her award-winning research is published in the International Journal of Communication, Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, and Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism.

Resisterhood Topic

Pivots and Persistance to Protect Our Mental Health

Somatic Therapist Keisha Polonio has worked in diverse leadership roles that have served some of her communities’ most vulnerable individuals. She is a results-driven leader, certified growth coach, speaker, and therapist, whose expertise and global heart extend to both the private and public sectors. Keisha served as an activist, chief storyteller, and Executive Director for Created Women, a ministry committed to supporting vulnerable women caught in the sex industry in Tampa, Florida. In addition, she passionately worked as an Associate Director and leadership coach to missional leaders with the Underground Network. Keisha equipped leaders, churches, and networks to clarify and achieve their kingdom dreams with this non-profit ministry that exists to inspire, engage, connect, and empower Christ followers.

Resisterhood Topic

Pathways to Passions and Proficiencies 

Tracey Gee is a leadership development coach and consultant who is passionate about working with mission-driven leaders, teams, and organizations. She has had over 20 years of ministry experience as a director with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship where she specialized in leadership development, spiritual formation, and designing training experiences and resources. Since moving to focusing on coaching and consulting full-time, she loves to help leaders hear from God for their own gifting, growth, and development often utilizing the frameworks that she’s certified in — Gallup StrengthsFinder, the Enneagram, and Cultural Intelligence (a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion tool), and Working Genius. She earned her Masters in Leadership from Fuller Seminary. She is a published author of a book by and for Asian American women called, More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Woman on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership and Faith. Tracey lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two boys. She loves hiking with her dog, baseball, and black coffee.

More Guest Lecturers TBA