HTI Staff

Joanne Rodríguez

Executive Director

Rev. Joanne Rodríguez is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, since 2011. From 1999, she has worked collaboratively with students, faculty, deans, directors of non-profit educational programs, and presidents to ensure that HTI doctoral students complete their doctoral studies and become leaders that make an impact in theological and religious education as well as in the larger landscape of education. Rev. Rodríguez received her Th.M. (2002) and M.Div. (1999) from Princeton Theological Seminary, and her B.A. (1986) from Pace University. She is a teaching elder at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton, New Jersey.

Email: Joanne.Rodriguez@ptsem.edu

Ángela Schoepf

Assistant Director

A native Colombian, Ángela joined HTI in 1999, after a career working for multinational companies. The transition required a bit of adjustment, but soon Ángela developed a deep passion for HTI’s mission, through the stories of the now more than 160 scholars she has worked for. Ángela is a graduate of Universidad Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca and Institución Universitaria Politécnico Grancolombiano, with Bachelor’s degrees in business and languages and computer sciences. She sees in each one of the graduates a role model for her daughter.

Email: Angela.Schoepf@ptsem.edu

João Chaves

Assistant Director for Programming

A native of Brazil, João brings to the HTI team a unique combination of experiences in the church, academia, and business world. Over the last two decades, he planted and led churches, taught college classes, and managed businesses in the hospitality, food, and construction industries. João graduated with an MTS from George W. Truett Theological Seminary and received his Ph.D. in religion from Baylor University in 2017. He has presented and published his research broadly both in English and Portuguese. His academic articles were published by peer-reviewed journals such as The International Journal of Latin American Religions, The Journal of Reformed Theology, Perspectives in Religious Studies, and Baptist History and Heritage Journal. João has served as the Unit Chair for Latinx Religions at the AAR Southwest since 2018 and is currently a member of the Commission on Racial, Gender, and Economic Justice of the Baptist World Alliance, 2020-2025 Quinquennium. He is the author of the books “Evangelicals and Liberation Revisited” (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and “O Racismo na História Batista Brasileira” (Novos Diálogos, 202). João is also finalizing two additional manuscripts, “The Global Mission of the Jim Crow South” (Mercer University Press, under contract) and “Transient Religion: Migration and Theological Change in the Latinx Diaspora” (under review).

Email: joao.chaves@ptsem.edu

Suzette Aloyo

Office Assistant

Suzette Aloyo, a descendent of Puerto Rican parents, grew up in the Bronx, New York. The majority of Suzette’s career was spent in the legal field. First as a paralegal in corporations then 13 years in a prominent NY law firm working on trusts & estates, corporate and labor law. Moving to the Princeton area in 2000, Suzette has been aware and a part of the Princeton Theological Seminary community through her husband, Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, Jr. Over the past seventeen years, Suzette has also served as administrative assistant and office manager at a couple of area organizations. She looks forward to bringing to HTI her talents and skill set to further the objectives of the program.

Email: Suzette.Aloyo@ptsem.edu

Noreen Santos

Database Research Assistant

Noreen Santos, who is Puerto Rican, was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Graduating with a BS in Business Administration, Noreen worked as a programmer/analyst, 13 years in NYC’s Financial District. Always involved in church from young, she accepted God’s calling on her life to enter Princeton Theological Seminary obtaining her MDiv in ’02. Afterward, she served the Presbyterian Church of the Redeemer of East Brooklyn as pastor for 16 years. As the church experience ended, seeking God’s guidance brought her back to familiar ground, Hispanic Theological Seminary where she worked as a student aide while enrolled at PTS. She looks forward to working with the HTI in meeting their goals.

Isabel Gonzalez

Student Aide

Isabel is a first-year MDiv student at Princeton Theological Seminary. She recently graduated from Messiah University with a bachelor’s in Biblical and Religious Studies and English. Prior to working as a student aide, Isabel worked with HTI during the Professional Development Conference for several years. Her connection to the HTI staff solidified her decision to attend Princeton Theological Seminary. Isabel hopes to contribute to empowering the Latinx community through her work at HTI.

Carter GRant

Student Aide

Carter is a second-year MDiv student at Princeton Theological Seminary and a candidate for ordination through the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is from St. Augustine, Florida and comes to HTI by way of Columbia, South Carolina, where she received her BS in International Business, Finance, and Portuguese at the University of South Carolina. Carter feels extraordinarily lucky to be a member of the HTI familia and feels God’s presence in her life at Princeton and HTI.

Missy Roberts

Student Aide

Missy, a third year MDiv student at Princeton Theological Seminary, was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. She earned her B.S. at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, where she majored in Psychology and Spanish, and minored in Latin American studies. She also spent a semester studying Human Rights and Politics in Argentina. Missy’s passions include learning new languages and serving as a bridge between different cultures, as well as advocating for immigrant rights. Because of this, she spent the past year in Milwaukee, WI developing a bilingual, multicultural ministry at Unity Lutheran Church and working as a translator, interpreter, and legal clinic coordinator at Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant and worker rights organization. She also had the privilege of serving as the director of a mission and ministry site in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, where an incredibly beautiful, resilient, and hospitable people taught her immensely about the character of God and the strength of a community. Missy is ecstatic to be involved with promoting the HTI’s mission of cultivating Latinx PhDs for leadership positions in the academy, the church, and the world.