Convening Speakers
Dr . Nancy T . Ammerman Nancy T . Ammerman is Professor Emerita of Sociology of Religion , at Boston University . Prior to coming to BU , she served on the faculties of Hartford Seminary and Candler School of Theology at Emory University . She is highly regarded as a scholar in religious research , having authored seven books , and edited or co-authored five others , all grounded in her research . Dr . Ammerman has served as the President of both the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and the Association for the Sociology of Religion , and Chair of the Religion Section of the American Sociological Association .
Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Barrows Bishop Jennifer Baskerville- Burrows , a native of New York City , holds a bachelor ’ s degree in architecture with a minor in urban studies from Smith College , an MA in historic preservation planning from Cornell University , and an MDiv degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1997 . Before being elected bishop in 2016 , she served in the Dioceses of Newark , Central New York , and Chicago . She is the first Black woman to be elected a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church . Bishop Jennifer ’ s expertise includes historic preservation of religious buildings , stewardship and development , race and class reconciliation , and spiritual direction .
John Bridgeland John Bridgeland is Executive Chairman of the Office of American Possibilities , a civic moonshot factory that taps the entrepreneurial talent of Americans to solve public challenges together across divides . In that capacity , he is Executive Chairman and CEO of More Perfect , a bipartisan initiative to protect and renew American democracy by advancing five foundational Democracy Goals ; Co-Founder and CEO of the COVID Collaborative ; and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Welcome . US to engage Americans in supporting the resettlement of Afghan , Ukrainian , and other refugees . Bridgeland is also Founding CEO and Vice Chairman of Malaria No More , launched at the White House Summit on Malaria he co-led . In 2010 , President Obama appointed Bridgeland to the White House Council for Community Solutions . In 2001 , President George W . Bush appointed Bridgeland as Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Assistant to the President and first Director of the Freedom Corps to coordinate policy on international , national , community , and faith-based service in the aftermath of 9 / 11 . He also oversaw the White House Office on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives .
The Hon . Sara C . Bronin The Hon . Sara C . Bronin is a Mexican-American architect , attorney , professor , and policymaker whose interdisciplinary work focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable , sustainable , welldesigned , and connected places . She serves as the 12th Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation , after confirmation by unanimous consent of the United States Senate . She was also appointed by President Biden to serve as a Trustee of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress . Bronin founded and directs the National Zoning Atlas , which aims to digitize , demystify , and democratize information about how zoning regulates housing in around 30,000 jurisdictions nationally . Her book Key to the City , under contract with W . W . Norton Press , will explore how zoning shapes our lives .
“ The conference ’ s overarching theme struck me as deeply relevant : belonging and the need to nurture sites of collectivity ( in Mark Chaves ’ words ) as antidotes to social dispersal and polarization .” — Rachel Anderson , Center for Public Justice
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