SPEAKERS
Keynote speaker: Anthony Cruz Pantojas
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Anthony Cruz Pantojas, (they/he/elle/él) is a bilingual doctoral candidate in Cultural Studies. They serve as the Humanist Chaplain at Tufts University where they are also the inaugural graduate student of the Anti-Racist Curatorial Practice Program. Anthony has been recognized with numerous awards, including an Interfaith Innovation Fellowship sponsored by Interfaith America and spearheads an initiative for BIPOC first generation emerging spiritual and ethical leaders. Cruz Pantojas earned master’s degrees in Theological Studies, and Leadership Studies from Andover Newton Theological School and Meadville Lombard Theological School, respectively. Additionally, they hold a Certificate in Humanist Studies from the American Humanist Association Center for Education where they are the first graduate of the program. Currently, they serve as an Advisory Committee Member for Spiritual Care by & For the Unaffiliated with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, sponsored by Fetzer Institute. Additionally, they serve as Board Member of the Association of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education, the Secular Coalition for America, Mystic Soul Project, among other non-profit organizations.
Keynote Title:
Living in the Interstices: Spiritual Reflections from a Queer Afro-Caribbean Humanist
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Friday, February 17th
This talk explores the significance of personal history as a site of knowledge production and worldmaking. In particular, I contextualize the questions that have guided my spiritual, philosophical, and ethical journey. Harnessing my own personal archive of memory and histories which conjures otherwise modes of being, relating, and understanding towards liberatory futures for all.
Panelists
Rev. Brandee Jasmine Mimitzraiem, Director of Institutional Engagement and Public Theology
As RCRC’s Director of Institutional Engagement and Public Theology, Rev. Brandee Jasmine leads efforts to move outside of strictly-Christian spaces and into reproductive justice (RJ) spaces, incorporating a diverse and multi-faith strategy into our work. Rev. Brandee Jasmine was ordained an itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2003 and has pastored congregations in Utah, Kansas, and Nebraska. She prioritizes the well-being within the real-lived experiences of Black Queer women and children, and works to create and sustain safe places across the intersectional realities of race, sexuality, gender expression, and class within the Church and in communities. She has two donor-conceived sons and two dogs (she calls them “models of pastoral leadership”), all of whom keep life full of laughter. Rev. Brandee Jasmine is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Dr. Keeli Gailes, Physical Therapist specializing in Pelvic Health and Preventative Healthcare
Dr. Gailes is a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic health. As such, she regularly works with pregnant and post-partum individuals as well as those who have been affected by sexual violence. She is passionate about the issue of access to quality healthcare, be it for reproductive health or otherwise. As such, she founded a non-profit in 2021 to address the issues that keep our healthcare system from providing equitable access to quality healthcare for all. The non-profit, Health for the People, has a mission "To include all voices in healthcare reform and assist those currently left behind in order to improve quality healthcare access now and later."
Hillary Zaken, Interim Assistant Dean of Multifaith Engagement at Elon University.
Panel Title:
Reproductive Justice Across Faith Traditions
6:30 pm - 7:45 pm Saturday, February 18th
Saturday, February 18 at 6:30 pm, in McKinnon Hall, our panel will also be part of the winterfaith series.