From HTI's Executive Director
As the academic year ends, HTI congratulates eight newly minted scholars and welcomes the 30th class of HTI scholars (56), continuing to celebrate three decades of cultivating scholars who are transforming communities. Reflecting the image of a mosaic, this issue highlights how individual contributions come together en conjunto to create a legacy that shapes theological and religious education.
In this issue, we honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Daisy L. Machado, the first HTI director, whose leadership, scholarship, and commitment to future generations have left a lasting impact on theological and religious education; and celebrate Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre, whose passion for writing, scholarship, and joy in the craft has contributed more than 50 books to the broader landscape of theological and religious thought.You will also discover the work of Rev. Dr. Yara González-Justiniano, whose concept of sentipensar invites us to imagine new ways of doing theology, as well as the scholarship of HTI scholar Armindo Ferreira, whose research explores the connections between music, culture, and faith across communities.
These stories represent just a few of the many contributions that continue to enrich HTI’s collective work. As we look ahead to HTI's 30th Anniversary celebration in Denver, we invite you to help expand this living mosaic. Every scholar, mentor, partner, supporter, and friend adds another piece to a story of transformation. En conjunto, these contributions create a legacy that reaches far beyond HTI itself, touching lives, institutions, churches, and communities for generations to come.
Happy reading, and don't forget to reserve your place at HTI's 30th Anniversary celebration on November 20th. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Logros: Community Milestones
Tap a category to explore HTI scholars' achievements
Kimberly Melgoza — Iliff School of Theology
Cristian Piazzetta — Harvard University
Eric Daniel Villalobos — Emory University
Rebecca Mendoza — Harvard University
Luis Alvarado — University of Chicago
HTI extends its congratulations to Dr. Geoffrey Nelson-Blake (Graduate Theological Union), who successfully defended his dissertation, "Disorganizing Hope: A Study of Seventh-day Adventists, Faith-based Community Organizing, and Eschatologically Driven Mission," on March 6, 2026. We celebrate this important milestone and wish him continued success.
On March 13, 2026, Dr. Emanuel Padilla (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) successfully defended his dissertation, "The Church as a Disalienating People: An Afro-Caribbean Theology of Peoplehood." Dr. Padilla will join Seattle Pacific University as Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics while serving as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow.¡Felicidades!
HTI proudly celebrates Dr. Eddie A. Rosa Fuentes (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago), who defended their dissertation, "Performing the Flesh: Errant(izing) Theological Anthropology Through Decolonial Theoperformance," on March 20, 2026. Dr. Rosa Fuentes serves as Pastor at Iglesia Luterana de la Trinidad in Chicago. Congratulations on reaching this significant achievement!
Dr. Gonzalo Alers (Drew University) successfully defended his dissertation, "Delinking from Babylon Epistemologies: Reading Revelation for a Puerto Rican Decolonial Biblical Hermeneutic," on April 6, 2026. Dr. Alers serves as Professor of New Testament and Greek at Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico. ¡Enhorabuena!
HTI joins Emory University in celebrating Dr. Daniel Ballon-Garst, who successfully defended his dissertation, "Queer Religious Capital: Race, Religion, and the Movement for LGBTQ Rights in Washington, DC, 1961–1996," on April 6, 2026. Congratulations on this remarkable accomplishment.
Warm congratulations to Rev. Dr. Kenia Vanessa Mendoza (Drew University) on the successful defense of her dissertation, "Constructing Ethics from Latina Identities: Decolonizing the Impact of Late Nineteenth- to Early Twentieth-Century U.S. Protestant Missions," on April 10, 2026. We celebrate this milestone alongside her.
After successfully defending his dissertation, "Ancient Vices, Clinical Diseases: Assembling the Addict in the Ancient Mediterranean," on April 20, 2026, Dr. Jon-Paul Lapeña (Yale University) will begin a new chapter as a Visiting Assistant Professor and Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. Congratulations, Dr. Lapeña!
HTI celebrates Dr. Noemi Vega Quiñones (Southern Methodist University), who defended her dissertation, "Mexican Migrant Women's Agency: A Collective Pursuit of Flourishing through Faith and Coraje," on May 1, 2026. We wish her every success as she embarks on the next stage of her vocation and scholarship.
Congratulations to Dr. Rubén Arjona who was promoted to Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and granted tenure at Union Presbyterian Seminary!
Dr. Arelis Benítez has been appointed Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology, Psychology, and Latiné Studies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. ¡Felicidades!
Dr. João Chaves has been promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Religion at Baylor University. Congratulations on this well-deserved achievement!
Congratulations to Dr. Franciso J. Garcia Jr., who has been appointed Assistant Professor of Christian Ministries at Church Divinity School of the Pacific!
HTI celebrates Dr. M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas) upon his retirement from Wheaton College, where he served as Scripture Press Ministries Professor of Biblical Studies and Pedagogy. We give thanks for his years of faithful scholarship and service!
Dr. Terrence L. Johnson, Director of Religion and Public Life and Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, has been appointed Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
HTI extends a warm congratulations to Fernando Berwig Silva on receiving a Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship for his project, "Cosmopolitan Worship, Colonial Sounds: Hillsong’s Music in Latin America." This recognition supports his research on the global circulation of worship music and its impact on religious life in Latin America.
We are delighted to congratulate Jeffrey Bamaca, recipient of The Forum for Theological Exploration's Doctoral Fellowship. The fellowship recognizes scholars whose work reflects the depth, promise, and diversity of theological education today.
HTI celebrates Damien Domenack, who also received the The Forum for Theological Exploration's Doctoral Fellowship and is a reciepient of Drew University's Maxine Clarke Beach Leadership Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement. The award is presented to a PhD student who has completed comprehensive examinations with exceptional academic distinction.
HTI congratulates Dr. Gastón Espinosa on receiving a 2026–2027 Louisville Institute Grant for Researchers. This award will support his research project, "The Spiritual Impulse of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement," which examines how Mexican American communities crafted and harnessed political and spiritual traditions to advance social change during the civil rights era of the 1960s.
Congratulations to Leslie M. Garrote on receiving a Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship for her project, “'Building Laborers for the Lost World:' Campus Outreach and the Formation of Black Evangelicals in the Shadow of Jim Crow." This award recognizes the importance of her research exploring the intersections of race, religion, and evangelical formation in the twentieth-century United States.
Receiving a 2026–2027 Louisville Institute Grant for Researchers, Dr. Leonel Guardado will pursue his project, “'Más que la palabra escrita' ('More than the Written Word'): The Oral Traditions of Gustavo Gutiérrez’ Theology." Drawing on a newly available archive of decades of recorded lectures and retreats, his research explores the oral dimensions of Gustavo Gutiérrez's transformative and at times controversial theology, offering fresh insight into a thinker who described himself as "more than the written word." Congratulations, Dr. Guardado!
Please join HTI in celebrating Dr. Jacqueline M. Hidalgo as another recipient of a 2026–2027 Louisville Institute Grant for Researchers. This award will support her book research project titled "Children of The Apocalypse: The Coloniality of Revelation and U.S. Latine Responses to Environmental Crisis."
Dr. Daniel Ramírez has also been awarded a 2026–2027 Louisville Institute Grant for Researchers for his project, "Latina Pentecostal Congregations, Education Success, and Flourishing: Case Studies in Community Wealth." Congratulations!
HTI is pleased to recognize Dr. Mónica I. Rey as a recipient of the 2026 ACLS HBCU Faculty Fellowship. Awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies, the fellowship supports outstanding scholarship and research by faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Congratulations to Dr. Elyssa Joanne Salinas-Lazarski on receiving a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project, "Glorious Incarnation: A Queer Mestiza Lutheran Incarnational Theology." ¡Felicidades!
Thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., HTI is able to offer fellowships to scholars writing their dissertations. Join HTI in celebrating the 2026-2027 HTI/Lilly Dissertation Fellowship awardees:
Fernando Berwig Silva – Southern Methodist University
Dissertation Title: "Cosmopolitan Worship, Colonial Sounds: Contemporary Praise and Worship in Brazil"
Amanda Bolaños – Duke University
Dissertation Title: "Reclaiming Charity: Bridging Virtue Theory and Liberation Theology"
Luis Javier De Prada – Boston University
Dissertation Title: "Nurturing the Spiritual Lives of Young US Latine Catholics Amid Rising Disconnection from Religious Institutions: A Practical Theological Dialogue with Salesian Spirituality and US Latine Theologies"
Jibreel Delgado Trabal – Graduate Theological Union
Dissertation Title: "The Confluence of Two Seas: Religions, Sociocultural Formations, and Pluriversal Visions of the Caribbean and Mediterranean, 1848-1993"
Damien Domenack – Drew University
Dissertation Title: "Radical Hospitality and Embodied Care: Sociopoetics of Black and Brown Queer and Trans Care Ethics"
Joryán Hernández – University of Notre Dame
Dissertation Title: "Cubanos Embarcados: Santería as a Locus of Healing from the Traumas of Displacement"
Evelmyn Ivens – Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Dissertation Title: "Sobremesa: A Practice of Resistance, Belonging, and Theological Imagination"
Amirah Orozco – University of Notre Dame
Dissertation Title: "The Great History of God”: Ignacio Ellacuría’s Theology of History and Epistemicide"
Natalie Readnour – Southern Methodist University
Dissertation Title: "Justice, Community, and Desire: Latina Feminist Perspectives on Altar Building and Embodied Knowledge"
KMarie Tejeda – Boston University
Dissertation Title: "Digital Selves: Afro-Latina Spirituality, Secrecy, Embodied Memory, and the Negotiation of Power in Online Spaces"
Featured Stories
A Living Mosaic of Scholars
Celebrating eight HTI scholars who have successfully defended their dissertations since March 2026
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Leading in the Borderlands
From historic firsts to lasting institutional change, Rev. Dr. Daisy L. Machado's leadership reshaped theological education for future generations
Read the Full Story
Leadership that Outgrows Institutional Limits
HTI Partner, President Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo & Graduate, Rev. Dr. José Morales Torres recognized at the MLK Jr. College of Ministers & Laity Induction
Read the Full Story
Hearing Faith Across Borders: HTI Scholars in Global Conversation
HTI Scholar Armindo Ferreira presents internationally at the World Christianity Conference in Recife, Brazil, exploring faith, sound, and culture across global contexts
Read the Full Story
Writing as if Time Matters: The Legacy and Labor of a Latino Scholar
With 50 books and generations of scholars influenced, Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre's legacy extends far beyond the page
Read the Full Story
Thinking with the Heart: The Practice of Sentipensar
The Mujerista Symposium explores sentipensar as a way of knowing that holds thinking and feeling together with theology, care, and community
Read the Full StoryHTI Open Plaza
HTI Open Plaza is a place where scholars engage diverse clergy, activists, artists, and thinkers in the public square to wrestle with questions about faith, justice, identity, and the sacred in the everyday.
Subscribe on Spotify or Apple to receive the most recent podcasts.
The Scholar’s Guide to Writing a Dissertation
Stephen Di Trolio talks with Dr. Patrick Reyes about doctoral education, guided writing practices, and the journey of completing a dissertation.
Listen & ReflectDigital Tutor
Dr. José Balcells explores how Digital Tutor and AI technologies can support interactive theological education, making learning more engaging, responsive, and meaningful.
Read the Full VisionSelf-Made
Rev. Dr. Tony Lin talks with Dr. Nely Galán about empowerment, self-reliance, financial freedom, and becoming rich in every way.
Listen & ReflectNewly Published Books
The Hermeneutical Spirit II: Migrations, Diasporas, and Cultures After Pentecost
by Dr. Amos Yong, edited by Dr. Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III
Dr. Amos Yong explores migration, diaspora, and culture within the New Testament, offering fresh readings of Scripture through an after-Pentecost hermeneutic attentive to the Spirit’s work across borders, cultures, communities, and times.
Learn More & Purchase →
El Dios de Daniel (Spanish Edition)
Dr. Enrique Baez offers a clear and accessible theological study of the biblical book of Daniel, highlighting God as its central figure while providing church members and leaders with a valuable resource for understanding its stories, prophecies, and enduring message.
Learn More & Purchase →
Justo L. González: Missionary of Hispanic Theology in the United States
by Dr. Angel D. Santiago-Vendrell (Author), Dr. Zaida Maldonado Pérez (Foreword)
Dr. Angel D. Santiago-Vendrell presents a compelling biography of Dr. Justo L. González, tracing his life, scholarship, ministry, and enduring role as a pioneer in the emergence and advancement of Hispanic theology in the United States.
Learn More & Purchase →
Missões, Raça e Poder
Dr. João Chaves offers a critical history of Baptist missions in Brazil, examining how race, power, and Southern Baptist missionary influence shaped Brazilian Protestantism through enduring legacies of slavery, segregation, institutional control, and transnational religious politics.
Learn More & Purchase →Opportunities & Events
Job Opportunities
Check out the latest career opportunities and faculty positions from across HTI's consortium and partner institutions. Your calling might be waiting here.
Learn MoreHTI Panel Discussion: Teología Vivida: Early-Career Scholars on Latine Lived Theology
HTI invites you to Teología Vivida: Early-Career Scholars on Latine Lived Theology, a panel highlighting emerging scholars whose work is grounded in rigorous research, culture, community, and lived experience. As part of HTI’s Professional Development Conference, this conversation will explore how scholarship flourishes en conjunto through mentorship, collaboration, and shared reflection. Moderated by Dr. Héctor Varela-Ríos and Dr. Raul Zegarra, the panel features Dr. James Padilioni, Dr. Geoffrey Nelson-Blake, Dr. Crystal Silva McCormick, Dr. Monica Rey, and Dr. Grace Vargas.
Join HTI on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, from 7:00–8:30 PM ET at the Erdman Center’s Cooper Conference Room in Princeton, NJ, or virtually via Zoom (Passcode: 221282).
Apply for a Louisville Institute Grant and/or Fellowship!
The Louisville Institute (LI) is now accepting applications for the 2027 grant and fellowship funding season. LI has six funding opportunities available for 2027. Applicants must reside in the United States or Canada and may apply for only one LI grant or fellowship between June 1, 2026, and May 31, 2027.
Application Deadline: Between June 1, 2026, and May 31, 2027.
For Prayer
We hold each other up. Here are members of our familia who need our prayers:
- • Dr. Elizabeth Conde Frazier, on the passing of her husband, Ira
- • Dr. Laura Nasrallah, as she navigates a recent diagnosis
- • Dr. Socorro Castañeda, as her mother, Cecilia, recuperates
- • Dr. Efraín Velázquez, on the passing of his uncle, Jesús María Hernández Soto
- • Dr. Heath Carter, as his son, Isaiah, recovers from a recent car accident
- • Dr. Robin Steinke, on the passing of her father, Alfred Steinke
Support the Next Generation
Every doctoral degree. Every book published. Every scholar leading change. This is what your investment looks like. Help HTI continue growing its living mosaic.
Give Today →Keep Us Posted
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