2023 ECO Speakers

Elizabeth Conde-Frazier

Coordinator of Relations with Entities of Theological Education, Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana

Before being Coordinator of Relations with Theological Entities, Elizabeth served as dean and vice president of education at Esperanza College of Eastern University in Philadelphia, PA. She has over ten years of experience as an ordained pastor and formerly served as a bilingual teacher in the New York City school system. The Rev. Dr. Conde-Frazier holds a Ph.D. from Boston College and a Master of Divinity degree from Palmer Seminary.

Dr. Margarita Benitez

Executive Director of Fundación Puertorriqueña de. las Humanidades

Dr. Benitez holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy and graduates with degrees in Hispanic Studies from Vassar College (BA), Middlebury College (MA), and Columbia University (Ph.D.). At the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Dr. Benítez was a professor of literature and humanities and chancellor of UPR’s Cayey Campus, and acting chancellor of UPR’s Humacao campus. In 2018, she returned to Puerto Rico after being appointed executive director of the Puerto Rico Endowment for the Humanities, the first woman to lead the nonprofit organization.

Christopher D. Tirres

Vincent de Paul Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University

Christopher Tirres is the author of The Aesthetics and Ethics of Faith: A Dialogue Between Liberationist and Pragmatic Thought (Oxford University Press, 2014) as well as two forthcoming volumes: a monograph entitled Liberating Spiritualities in the Americas (Fordham University Press) and a co-edited volume entitled Religion in the Americas: Transcultural and Trans-hemispheric Approaches (University of New Mexico Press). Dr. Tirres is an award-winning teacher and the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including major awards from the Ford Foundation, the Louisville Institute, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning.