Meet Your BTFO Small Group Leaders!
Your small group leaders help direct the conversation you have in your smaller breakout conversations on important topics. We are proud to announce your small group leaders for BTFO 2023 below!
Your small group leaders help direct the conversation you have in your smaller breakout conversations on important topics. We are proud to announce your small group leaders for BTFO 2023 below!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Episcopalian)
Pre-YDS Experience
Before coming to YDS, I was a program coordinator with a locally-based AmeriCorps program in western Massachusetts. I’ve worked with elementary school kiddos at a Boys & Girls club, middle schoolers in youth groups, teens at an LGBTQ+ org, college students & other young adults discerning their path in life, and adults in & out of church environments figuring out how to be part of the change they want to see. All of these experiences are about the formation of values-based, community-oriented leadership and care. This is soul-moving stuff! I integrate it with other joys: walking/running/hiking/dancing, hosting gatherings, music, laughter, and wonder.
YDS Affiliations
Berkeley Divinity School, Yale Progressive Christian Students, DivOut, Marquand Chapel
Academic Interests
Pursuing the joint-degree of MDiv and Master of Social Work, Practical Theology, Liberation Theology, Pastoral Care, Restorative Practices, Asset-Based Community Development, Self-Determination Theory, anything with Pauli Murray.
Your Advice to Incoming Students
What you feed grows (studies, connection, contribution, critique): how do you want to direct your attention? Why? Take a posture of strong back, open heart. Give yourself permission to encounter and be transformed while staying rooted in your dignity.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian
Pre-YDS Experience
Before coming to YDS, I worked as a Global Engagement Coordinator at my alma mater, Mount Vernon Nazarene University. In that role, I connected students with local and global opportunities for service and education! I also was able to lead students on service-learning trips, my favorite of which was to Iceland to a Salvation Army refugee camp in Keflavik. This work ignited my passion about education, youth and college ministry, and nontraditional ministry settings. For the last year I have also served as a contract worker for Gonser Gerber Advancement Consulting, a firm specializing in non-profit consulting in fields of healthcare and education.
YDS Affiliations
YDSG Rep for Andover Newton
Academic Interests
Youth Ministry, Practical Theology, Accessible Theology, Ecumenicism, Digital Ethics, Non-Profit Development, Nontraditional Ministry, Eco-Theology, Community Development
Your Advice to Incoming Students
1. "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." 2. Friendship and collaboration will be essential to flourishing here, for you, for me, and for the community as a whole. Lean in! There will be time for it.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian+
Pre-YDS Experience
After graduating from St. Olaf with a major in religion & environmental studies, I lived in an old convent in the heart of Minneapolis for a year and volunteered with unhoused women, children & female-identifying folks through Americorps. After a series of dreams & other intuitions, I moved across the country to work in wilderness therapy with families in the Oregon backcountry! I noticed that all of my deepest inquiries and practices across settings were spiritual in nature, and that what I really wanted to do was pursue spiritual care. I have always been involved in theatre, dance, and the performing arts and felt drawn to coming back to school to study the intersections of healing, arts, and faith/spirituality.
YDS Affiliations
Institute of Sacred Music, Andover Newton, NEST (YDS’s interfaith/inter-spirituality student group) Co-President, DivDrama Co-President
Academic Interests
A lot … :) practical theologies and pastoral care, interfaith/interspiritual work, chaplaincy & relationship building, performance art & sacred music, eco-theologies, psychology & religion, social work, the mystics (specifically early Christian and Sufi), quantum physics… etc.
Your Advice to Incoming Students
- If you can, soften your expectations and allow the Divine to shape/mold/form you in this place. Find student groups that feel really aligned for you (and if there isn’t one, make one!) - Free dinner on Wednesdays & Thursdays with Berkeley & Andover newton :)
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (non-denominational Evangelical)
Pre-YDS Experience
An international traveler in both academia and life, I hail from the world’s largest archipelagic state. I’m a grateful husband and father of two preschoolers whose energy rival the unpredictability of my grad school journey. My path to theological education was shaped by formative years spent in the evangelical charismatic megachurch movement. Refined by my career in school-based mental health counseling and nonprofit consulting, I continue to search for a deeper understanding of the meaning and means of faithful Christian witness in the public square, particularly within the context of the Majority World. I come to YDS not so much for tidy answers, but for the space to ask bigger, better questions. When I’m not meditating on international comparative research or sprinting after tiny humans, you will likely find me out on a run (sometimes from reality) or lamenting over the black-and-blue half of Milan.
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton Seminary, Annand Spiritual Formation, Reform Studies Certificate, Tota Scriptura
Academic Interests
World Christianity, public theology, charismatic renewal, church governance, clergy spiritual abuse
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Take Biblical language course(s)! There is no better time, place, and peers to do this than in YDS. It's challenging but life-giving. Be intentional & strategic about your own spiritual formation! It is crucial for the reconstruction of your faith amidst the intellectual impetus of this environment. This might entail finding healthy community outside YDS and developing new spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (American Baptist Churches USA)
Pre-YDS Experience
Hello! I’m a Dutch-Mexican who grew up in Czechia. After graduating High School, I participated in a leadership training program in Vienna, Austria with the European and Austrian Baptist Unions. After this, I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology, Anthropology, and Cognitive Science in the Netherlands. After graduation, I spent two years based in California, travelling in Europe and the US. I began (and continue) working at International Ministries, an ABCUSA mission organization, helping with short-term volunteer administrative support. I love music, stories, and art, but most of all, I love creating community where people feel comfortable being and sharing about the fullness who they are.
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton Seminary, La Comunidad, Marquand Chapel
Academic Interests
Cross-cultural/multicultural ministry, World Christianity, worship ministry, the ethics and theology of mission
Your Advice to Incoming Students
There’s going to be a lot of information and a lot of people to meet during your YDS journey, but especially during BTFO. Take your time, give yourself grace, and enjoy the journey!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Ecumenical)
Pre-YDS Experience
Prior to YDS, I worked for international nonprofits across East Asia and the Middle East, primarily specializing in peacebuilding and international affairs relating to Palestine/Israel. While serving as the Director of Communications and Christian Engagement at the Telos Group, I led peacebuilding pilgrimages across the region, as well as Ireland/Northern Ireland, Puerto Rico, and the US South—covering our own history and the legacies of enslavement and white supremacy. As a writer, activist, and public theologian, I spent most of my time working to invite faith communities into an imagination of mutual flourishing, nonviolence, and pluralism. I continue to serve on the board of Peace Catalyst International and as a trainer/Good Neighbor Fellow for Interfaith America.
YDS Affiliations
DivFarm, YDS Volleyball (unofficial) team "Jael's Spike", "Friend of" Berkeley and Andover Newton, SAGE Magazine editor, YDSG Ad Hoc Committee on Repentance and Repair
Academic Interests
Political theology, ethics, theopoetics, moral psychology, liturgical anthropology
Your Advice to Incoming Students
There are so many resources to ease your transition and support your life here, both at YDS and the wider university. Don't hesitate to make use of them or ask for help!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Interdenominational)
Pre-YDS Experience
Before coming to YDS, storytelling was both my livelihood and my vocation. It began in Gboko, a small town in Benue State, Nigeria, where I shared stories throughout my neighborhood: house to house, street to street, in both informal and formal settings. I told stories about my past, my faith, and the worlds I imagined. As a storyteller, my vocation has taken me across Africa. If you meet me in the halls of YDS, you will likely find me either telling a story or listening to one, for I am not only a storyteller but also a collector of stories.
YDS Affiliations
Tota Scriptura
Academic Interests
I am interested in homiletical approaches that foster human agency and community flourishing in conflict-torn regions. My research reimagines theology as practical and embodied, advancing the common good. Drawing on indigenous methodologies, "I write what I like!" That is, theology that is contextually grounded, imaginative, and life-giving
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Among the four theological institutions I've attended, YDS stands tall among them all! This "den" for breeding world leaders, is exceptional. The place is beautiful, the people are awesome, and the nuanced praxis will give you so much to think about and may inspire a life worth living and vocation worth pursuing. Make the most of every moment!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Baptist)
Pre-YDS Experience
As a native of Henderson, NC, I am an award-winning designer formerly residing in the greater Washington, D.C., area and a 2005 graduate of the Corcoran College of Art and Design. I was formerly the senior creative director at Catholic Charities USA, one of the U.S.’s largest social service organizations, and the creative director for the Unashamed Youth Ministry at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden International, overseeing marketing, social media, drama, and dance. Before joining the First Baptist Church of Glenarden International in 2021, I spent 20 years at Abundant Life United Holy Church, where the late Bishop Hildred L. Perry, Sr., took youth ministry seriously. There, I served as the vice president of the youth department for over eight years. In 2018, I started a youth ministry called “Know Your Worth” and have worked faithfully providing scholarships to graduating high school seniors and serving as a mentor and storyteller.
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton, Yale Black Seminarians, Marquand Chapel Minister
Academic Interests
My academic interests include early and modern Christian theology, environmental sustainability, youth ministry, pastoral care, and Pauline studies of women in leadership.
Your Advice to Incoming Students
As an incoming YDS student, open your mind as well as your heart to this rigorous theological journey. Come prepared with questions regarding your faith or lack thereof, but most importantly, come in a posture to receive. Your presence and voice are welcome—do not fear!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian
Pre-YDS Experience
I am the mother of four grown children raised in Connecticut and Maine, now very busy living their own incredible lives, raising families and doing great work in the world. I am a native of West Texas where I grew up in Midland, Texas and on a small family ranch, Los Arroyos. Of great importance to me is serving as a member of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Advisory Council, preserving native plant life and continuing the work of Lady Bird. I worked as an environmental advocate and as an advocate for children for most of my adult life. I served as a board director for Laurel House, a resource for individuals and families dealing with mental health issues where I focused on adolescent suicide prevention. One of my favorite Pre-YDS experiences was working as Athletic Coordinator for the Brunswick School where I was responsible for high school boys, 15 sports, 52 coaches, and planning athletic schedules with all the schools in New England. I will add here that I am not in the least bit athletic, but I am a bit of a logistics expert, and I adore the idea of ‘children’ playing!
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton Seminary, Marquand Chapel Minister, MaGIC choir member, Certificate in Reformed Studies, Center for Public Theology and Public Policy,
Academic Interests
I have a degree in American Studies from the University of Texas with a concentration on the development of religion during the early years of our country’s founding. It is particularly great to be studying at Yale where many of those decisions were debated. I am working toward a Certificate in Public Theology and Public Policy because of my desire to work with Bishop Barber in the area of civil rights and moral justice. The Certificate in Religion and Ecology fulfills a passion for conservation and preservation of the natural world as I feel deeply that we are stewards of Planet Earth. I have a lifelong interest in the commonality of world religions and how we are all connected in our spiritual longing to understand the Divine.
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Embrace, Enjoy, and Explore the richness of Yale Divinity School--the academics, the volunteer opportunities, and the amazing people you will study with, live amongst, and travel with on this magnificent journey as they will form a framework of support for your life's work going forward.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian
Pre-YDS Experience
I call many places home – I grew up across the US, China, and South Korea as a pastor’s and missionary kid. When I returned to the US, I studied Political Science and Economics at Williams with the intent to enter foreign service or public policy. In my involvement with campus (inter)faith life and relationships with the Chaplains’ Office, I became interested in chaplaincy as a future career. After graduating, I taught English for two years in Taiwan through the Fulbright Program. The year prior to YDS, among other things, I volunteered at the Taizé monastic community in France, walked the Camino de Santiago, and bikepacked around Taiwan.
YDS Affiliations
Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, YDS Korean Students Association, Yale Progressive Christian Students
Academic Interests
Asian American studies, critical theory, race and religion, public theology
Your Advice to Incoming Students
1. Learn about New Haven history, esp. its past and ongoing relationship with Yale 2. Enjoy the sunny weather while it lasts!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Roman Catholic)
Pre-YDS Experience
Majored in Religion and Biology at Amherst College (class of 2025); worked as an EMT on ambulances in Boston, as well as at Boston Medical Center; served as an early childhood education teacher for a year with AmeriCorps in Roxbury, MA; various roles as a teaching assistant and research assistant in introductory and upper level biology classes as well as in upper level religion courses; wrote my senior undergraduate honors thesis on religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccines; studied abroad in Rome, Italy for a semester doing field studies, particularly in the Catholic context of the Vatican; played and captained women's club soccer at Amherst
YDS Affiliations
YDS Paracleats Student Soccer Club, Admissions Assistant
Academic Interests
Intersection of healthcare/medicine and religion, bioethics, practical theology
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Two years (or three) is not a long time! Try to stay present while you're here and take advantage of all the extra-curriculars we have going on. Try not to worry too much about what's next. Explore New Haven outside of Yale, too. There are so many cool nooks, restaurants, and shops in this city.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (United Methodist)
Pre-YDS Experience
Lincoln University of Pennsylvania (2021-2025), B.A. in Political Science; Commissioner, Governor Josh Shapiro’s Next Generation Engagement Advisory Commission; Vice President Pennsylvania College Democrats; Intern Office of the Public Defender (Maryland), Capitol Hill
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton Seminary; Yale Center for Public Theology & Public Policy; Black Church Studies Certificate Program; Yale Center for Civic Thought; Officer - Yale Progressive Christian Students; Member - Yale Black Seminarians
Academic Interests
The intersection of church and state; Black church studies, the Black body politic; electoral politics, United Methodist studies
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Take it all in. Lean into yourself and what you know, you are here for a reason. Be sure to get off "the hill" and explore the rest of Yale/New Haven.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Baptist), Christian Mystic
Pre-YDS Experience
I graduated Spelman College in May 2025 with my Bachelors in Political Science, knowing that I had a calling to develop a deeper understanding yes of the world around me and to be involved in Social Justice movements in regards to my faith and spiritual connection with God. I also knew that I had to confront my questions about a text, The Bible, that I hold dearly to my own life, that which has also played, arguably the largest role in the formation of our nation, our world, and the systems by which we navigate daily that perpetuate harm and at the same time claim the same faith that has moved myself and many others to love and peace. A few of my accomplishments and roles: - Spelman College May 2025, B.A. in Political Science and minor in Spanish -SpelREADS Engagement Manager -SpelREADS Book Drive Director -CampusVoteProject Democracy Fellow -Camp Counselor for 5+ years -The Coretta Scott King Academy, Beauty and Brains Spelman Liaison -Women in Excellence in Leadership at Spelman College' 2024 -Local and Federal Government intern
YDS Affiliations
The Good Life Center Special Programs Coordinator, Yale Black Seminarians, Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, Black Church Studies Program
Academic Interests
History of Christianity, American Religious History and Formation, Black Liberation and Womanist theology, Spiritual Formation, Christian ethics
Your Advice to Incoming Students
This is the beginning of a journey, a journey of self-reflection and introspection, communal interrogation of the world around you, non-superficial research of the central text of the Christian faith, none of which will be found easy, but enriching and purpose-birthing. 1) Build community within your class 2) Find a place or hobby to engage outside of your academic work
These students work behind the scenes and ensure that your BTFO experience is full, welcoming, and supportive as you begin your time at YDS!
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian
Pre-YDS Experience
I grew up in Clarksville, Maryland before moving to Houston with my two younger siblings, and then moved up north where I studied government and theatre in undergrad. After college, I worked in peacebuilding, youth economic justice policy and in Congress on a whole host of issues as a legislative assistant before heading to YDS! I came to YDS because I wanted to find the intersection of public theology and public policy, and use that intersection to advance justice and care for people on a national scale. I also, having grown up in a whole bunch of Christian contexts and having my own close relationship with God, wanted to learn theology for its own sake, but didn't come here with the expectation that I'd be a minister. In my spare time, I’ve acted in a few short films (and wrote and acted in one), worked at a hip hop archive all throughout college (am always down to discuss music), and learned to knit.
YDS Affiliations
Andover Newton, Yale Black Seminarians Chaplain, Center for Public Policy and Public Theology
Academic Interests
Womanist theology, black liberation theology, queer theology, practical theology, disability theology, public theology
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Approach the space with openness and a willingness to get to know as many new friends as possible, and treat yourself with grace and gentleness.
Pre-YDS Experience
Originally from Seattle, a city in the Pacific Northwest part of the USA, I moved to the East Coast at 18 to attend Wellesley College, where I studied Religion and Philosophy. Since graduating in 2020, I have lived mostly here in Connecticut and in New York City, working in schools and restaurants. Here at YDS I study Religion and Ecology, with a focus on food and animal metaphors in political philosophy; after graduating, I plan to go back to teaching. As the International Student Peer Guide, I draw on my experience as an international student in other countries (England, France, and Japan), to support and welcome newcomers to YDS, and make connections between the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of International Students & Scholars, and the broader international student community here at YDS.
YDS Affiliations
Divinity Farm Coordinator, Admissions Assistant
Academic Interests
Religion and Ecology: food and animal studies, Jacques Derrida, literature and literary criticism
Your Advice to Incoming Students
From John Cage: "Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while." Life here won't all make sense at once, but if you can find a few corners of campus, or the city of New Haven, where you feel at ease, keep going back to those places and more will make sense in time.
Spiritual Affiliation
Christian (Roman Catholic)
Pre-YDS Experience
I am a native New Yorker who has lived in NYC for my whole life before starting my time at YDS. I graduated from Fordham University in 2023 with a double major in Theology and Italian Studies. After that, I worked with an engaged couples ministry!
YDS Affiliations
Roman Catholic Student Fellowship, YDS Women's Center, YDSG Representative, Chapel Minister, Roman Catholic Lay Ministry Colloquium
Academic Interests
Feminist and Queer Liberation Theology, Spirituality and Pastoral Care, Popular Music and Spirituality, Food and Hospitality Ministry
Your Advice to Incoming Students
Chaos in the transition is real and common. Do not let those growing pains cause you to lose sight of your intentions and desires of coming to YDS! If it is hard, you are not doing anything wrong!