Reunion 2025: Leadership

Emily Dumler-Winckler | Rian Lecturer

Emily Dumler-Winckler is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Constructive Theology and co-director of the CREST (Culture, Religion, Ethics, Science, and Technology) Research Center at Saint Louis University. Her first book Modern Virtue: Mary Wollstonecraft and a Tradition of Dissent (Oxford University Press, 2022) examines Wollstonecraft’s religion and theology in light of the Revolution debates of the 1790s to intervene in historical and contemporary debates about virtues, rights, democracy, feminism, social change, resistance, and revolution. Her second book examines the role of the imitation of Christ tradition in antebellum abolition movements in America within the global context. She holds three degrees from PTS: an MDiv (2007), ThM (2009), PhD (2015). Her spouse, Travis Winckler, is the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, where they live with their two children.

Richard A. Grounds | Distinguished Alumnus

Emily Dumler-Winckler is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Constructive Theology and co-director of the CREST (Culture, Religion, Ethics, Science, and Technology) Research Center at Saint Louis University. Her first book Modern Virtue: Mary Wollstonecraft and a Tradition of Dissent (Oxford University Press, 2022) examines Wollstonecraft’s religion and theology in light of the Revolution debates of the 1790s to intervene in historical and contemporary debates about virtues, rights, democracy, feminism, social change, resistance, and revolution. Her second book examines the role of the imitation of Christ tradition in antebellum abolition movements in America within the global context. She holds three degrees from PTS: an MDiv (2007), ThM (2009), PhD (2015). Her spouse, Travis Winckler, is the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, where they live with their two children.

Lakisha R. Lockhart-Rusch | Speaker for Wonder and Womanist Theology

Emily Dumler-Winckler is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Constructive Theology and co-director of the CREST (Culture, Religion, Ethics, Science, and Technology) Research Center at Saint Louis University. Her first book Modern Virtue: Mary Wollstonecraft and a Tradition of Dissent (Oxford University Press, 2022) examines Wollstonecraft’s religion and theology in light of the Revolution debates of the 1790s to intervene in historical and contemporary debates about virtues, rights, democracy, feminism, social change, resistance, and revolution. Her second book examines the role of the imitation of Christ tradition in antebellum abolition movements in America within the global context. She holds three degrees from PTS: an MDiv (2007), ThM (2009), PhD (2015). Her spouse, Travis Winckler, is the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, where they live with their two children.

Erin Raffety | Alumni Council Service Award

Emily Dumler-Winckler is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Constructive Theology and co-director of the CREST (Culture, Religion, Ethics, Science, and Technology) Research Center at Saint Louis University. Her first book Modern Virtue: Mary Wollstonecraft and a Tradition of Dissent (Oxford University Press, 2022) examines Wollstonecraft’s religion and theology in light of the Revolution debates of the 1790s to intervene in historical and contemporary debates about virtues, rights, democracy, feminism, social change, resistance, and revolution. Her second book examines the role of the imitation of Christ tradition in antebellum abolition movements in America within the global context. She holds three degrees from PTS: an MDiv (2007), ThM (2009), PhD (2015). Her spouse, Travis Winckler, is the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, where they live with their two children.

Teddy Rashaan Reeves | Alumni Council Service Award

Teddy RaShaan is a multifaceted, award-winning producer and curator who uses his many strengths to capture and curate cultural moments. While transitioning industries might challenge some, it sparks joy for a creative like Teddy.

Poised at the intersection of culture, media, and preservation, Teddy’s work explores Black culture and history through film, web and docu-series, exhibitions, and more.

Teddy personifies creating something from nothing. Rooted in his commitment to the Black community, much of Teddy’s professional work has focused on helping organizations create digital footprints that embody culture at its core to reach audiences and preserve the richness and expansiveness of the Black experience.

As a curator of religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Teddy has created innovative projects that have highlighted the influence of digital technologies in capturing and preserving Black spiritual and religious life in the Americas. Some of these influential, inaugural projects include the “Black Religion in the Age of COVID-19 Collections” project, capturing Black religious and spiritual communities’ digital response to COVID-19; the Black Religious Pluralism Project, conducting and preserving oral history interviews with more than 75 entertainers, activists, faith leaders, and business executives; and producing the upcoming featured documentary film, gOD-Talk (Fall ’23). The film explores the lives of seven Black millennials (atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, and spiritualist) and how they are reimagining faith in the 21st century.

Most recently, Teddy’s essay “Moments” is featured in the publication Movement, Motion & Moments: Photographs of Religion & Spirituality.

His distinct perspective and background allow him to build a unique connection with millennial and Gen Z audiences. Through multimedia projects, Teddy delivers authentic, purposeful content that fosters conversation and engagement.

In 2018, Teddy created and executive-produced the web-based series gOD-Talk: A Black Millennials and Faith Conversation Series, to explore the dynamic ways Black millennials engage with faith and spirituality in the 21st century. With over 75,000 views and counting, the series continues to drive conversations today. The project continues to garner critical acclaim, having received more than 40 Telly Awards and five Shorty Awards. View the most recent episode, gOD-Talk: Hip-Hop & #BlackFaith, here.

Sought after as a cultural expert on Black spirituality and faith, Teddy helped to establish the Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at one of the oldest theological institutions in the United States. It was during this time that he co-curated his first exhibition, Touching the Sacred: The Black Church and Material Religion, which explored the sacred objects of the Black church tradition.

Teddy’s commitment to community led him to create The Reeves Group to help educational, cultural, and faith-based nonprofit organizations, domestically and internationally, reach their fundraising and board goals. His work contributed to over $70 million in philanthropic revenue. Alongside these efforts, Teddy has also served as an English instructor (domestically and internationally), #DigitalTheologian, and teaching assistant at Princeton University Pace Center for Civic Engagement.

Most recently, Teddy founded Art Like Me Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to help empower Black and Brown boys and men to cultivate emotional intelligence through art and culture. One of the signature programs of the organization is gifting art prints by established visual artists to boys (newborn to 12th grade) for free.

Teddy has been featured on The Root, CBS News, The Washington Post, NPR, Religion News Service, and other outlets. Teddy additionally served as one of the youngest producers in the Miss Virginia Organization. Enriched from his educational experience, he earned his B.A. from Hampton University, M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, and Ph.D. from Fordham University.

His loves expand to being in nature, attending exhibitions, researching new artists, collecting Black art, and most of all, making new memories with his life partner, actress Briana Gibson Reeves. Teddy hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and now calls Baltimore and Brooklyn home.

Ruth Braunstein | Special Guest for PhD Dinner

Ruth Braunstein studies religion, politics, and money. She is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, where she is Director of Undergraduate Studies. She also leads the Meanings of Democracy Lab, which explores the moral and cultural foundations of American democracy. 

She’s the host of When The Wolves Came: Evangelicals Resisting Extremism, a new documentary podcast spotlighting evangelical leaders who are resisting political extremism in their church and the country.  

Her upcoming book, My Tax Dollars: The Morality of Taxpaying in America, delves into how paying taxes became a moral battleground in public life. She is also the author of Prophets and Patriots: Faith in Democracy Across the Political Divide and co-editor of Religion and Progressive Activism: New Stories About Faith and Politics. 

Dr. Braunstein’s award-winning research has appeared in top scholarly journals and been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Time Magazine. She also writes op-eds for publications including The Guardian, Religion News Service and The Conversation.

Marcell Sass | Faculty Spotlight & Seminar with Gordon Mikoski

Rev. Dr. Marcell Sass was born in Frisia, Northwestern Germany. Since 2013 he is a full Professor for Practical Theology and Religious Education at Philipps-University Marburg, Germany (founded 1527) and serves also as director of Marburg’s Teacher Training Center. After earning his doctorate in Practical Theology in Muenster, Germany (2005) he served as an ordained Lutheran minister in Northern Germany. He taught at Muenster University, Germany, from 2006-2012 and finished his post-doctoral work there with a book about religion, school and rituals. He also worked at Harvard Divinity School’s Center for the Study of World Religions in 2012/13. For many years he has benefited  from a theological collaboration with Rev. Dr. Mikoski at Princeton Seminary. Today, Princeton is Dr. Sass’ home away from home.

Jonathan Lee Walton | Keynote Speaker

Profile
Jonathan Lee Walton became president of Princeton Theological Seminary in 2023. Dr. Walton is trained as a social ethicist whose scholarship focuses on the intersection of evangelical Christianity, mass media, and political culture. He is the author of two books: Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism (NYU Press, 2009) and A Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World (Westminster John Knox Press, 2018).

Walton has published widely across various academic journals, books, magazines, and newspapers. His insights have been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Time Magazine, and PBS. Walton is a member of the Humanities Advancement Council at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Walton earned his Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Divinity degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. Prior to his appointment at Princeton Theological Seminary, he served as dean of Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity where he occupied the Presidential Chair in Religion & Society, and as the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University.

Select Publications
Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World (Westminster John Knox Press, 2018)
Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism (New York University Press, 2009)