The Team
Who We Are
Chrisida Anandan
Rev. Dr. Chrisida Nithyakalyani Anandan is an ordained minister, biblical scholar and a passionate preacher. Dr. Anandan earned her PhD in Hebrew Bible and is passionate about contextual theological readings of the Bible including feminist, womanist, postcolonial and Dalit womanist readings for social transformation. She is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of Doctor of Ministry Programs at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago.
Immanuel Karunakaran
Immanuel Karunakaran is a Dalit theologian, pastor, artivist, and Ph.D. candidate in Theology and Ethics at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Originally from Tamil Nadu, India, his work brings together lived experience, liberation theology, caste and race, pastoral ministry, and the arts. His current research develops Dalit Pessimism as a theological framework for understanding social death, exclusion, survival, and hope. Ordained in the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church, Immanuel is passionate about a theology that comes from the wounds of lived experience and speaks toward dignity, justice, grace, and liberation.
Lis Valle-Ruiz
Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz is an indecent theologian, playful artivist, and independent scholar and the founder of PluriverSofia, a venture in popular theological education. She previously served as Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life at McCormick Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics from Vanderbilt University, a ThM in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, an MDiv from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and a JD and BA from the University of Puerto Rico. Her research and teaching engage digital mediations of worship and preaching, artivism and proclamation, and trauma-responsive, decolonial, and intersectional approaches to preaching and worship.
Mayuko Yasuda
Dr. Mayuko Yasuda is a New Testament scholar with an emphasis on the feminist, queer, and postcolonial criticisms of the Bible. After receiving her Ph.D. from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Dr. Yasuda has been teaching at seminaries in Japan. Being a queer feminist herself, she advocates for social justice in classrooms, churches, and academia through teachings and publications. She enjoys moments of finding value in queer negativity, darkness, nonsense, and friendship.
Seyo Oh
Name, Title
Seyo Oh(He/him) is a researcher in minjung theology, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), and a runner based in Chicago and Seoul. He holds a B.A. and M.Div. from Hanshin University and an M.T.S. from McCormick Theological Seminary. His current interests include the right to the city, suffering, han, and training for the Berlin Marathon.