Conversation Circles for BIPOC Chaplains

Chaplain Tahara Akmal’s personal and professional interfaith work and world travel to sacred spiritual sites, developed her passion for ministry within pluralistic settings. Chaplain Akmal is the Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and a Chaplain at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. She made history in 2015 as the first Muslim woman, since the inception of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) in 1967, certified by ACPE to teach CPE. In 2024, Chaplain Akmal was selected to join the first cohort of volunteer chaplains for the United States Capitol Police in Washington, DC. Chaplain Akmal also serves as a Visiting Professor at Bayan Islamic Graduate School at Chicago Theological Seminary where she teaches in the Islamic chaplaincy program. Chaplain Akmal is a Ph.D. Candidate at Alvernia University, with her research focus on chaplaincy and leadership. She earned an MA degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on Islamic studies and pastoral care from Claremont School of Theology, a BA degree in psychology with a concentration in human development, and a minor in religion from Vanguard University (VU). Chaplain Akmal’s minor studies at VU were in Christianity and Judaism, focusing on ministry and leadership.

Reverend Kirstin C. Boswell is University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement at Elon University. Prior to this role, she was Associate Dean of Student Support Services at Brown University. Her former roles have included serving as the Chaplain to the Institute and Director of the Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Protestant Chaplain at both Brown University and Bentley University, and the Director of Operations for The International Association of Black Religions and Spiritualities at the University of Chicago. Reverend Boswell has served in congregational ministry for almost twenty years and is an American Baptist clergy person holding a Master of Divinity from The University of Chicago Divinity School. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where her writing focuses on Womanist Theology and analyzing the call narratives of African American clergywomen. Her publications include: Boswell, G. H. & Boswell-Ford, K. (2010). “Testing a SEM Model of Two Religious Concepts and Experiential Spirituality.” Journal of Religion and Health, 49 (2), 200- 211; Boswell-Ford, K. (2009). Self and the Home-Place: Self-identity and God in African American Culture.

Rev. Dr. Danielle J. Buhuro is Executive Director and CPE Supervisor of Sankofa CPE Center, LLC, which offers innovative online Clinical Pastoral Education programming along with unique social justice-oriented clinical work settings and prepares clergy chaplains for board certification.  Dr. Buhuro is passionate about issues of race, gender and sexuality. Her ministerial presence and work contributes to a more just, diverse voice within the CPE world (ACPE).

Dr. Buhuro attended Chicago Theological Seminary, where she earned the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees respectively. She’s currently a Ph.D student studying in the area of social media identity, violence and pastoral theology. Dr. Buhuro serves on the national board of directors of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. She facilitates numerous workshops nation-wide on African American Pastoral Care and African-centered psychology. Visit Rev. Dr. Danielle Buhuro’s website at www.SankofaCPE.com.

Dr. Buhuro is author of Spiritual Care In An Age of #BlackLivesMatter: Examining the Spiritual and Prophetic Needs of African Americans Living In A Violent America.

Rev. Dr. LeSette Wright is a chaplain, author, professor, public health advisor and mental health clinician. She is the founder of Peaceseekers, an organization devoted to cultivating partnerships for preventing violence and promoting God’s peace. She is the first African-American woman to be ordained to ministry from the historic Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston and founder of the Community Chaplaincy Collaborative that served in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Dr. Wright has worked internationally to enhance the violence prevention efforts of cities, advising government, academic, community and faith-based stakeholders on effective and sustainable public health efforts; providing pastoral care and counseling with survivors of homicide victims, and training clergy, educators, youth, families and communities in the significance of trauma-informed practice, spirituality and resiliency. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Wright currently resides in Berea, Kentucky where she serves as College Chaplain at Berea College.

Dr. Wright holds a D.Min. and M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, with concentrations in trauma-informed spiritual care, community/disaster response chaplaincy, and urban ministry. She additionally holds a M.Ed. from Temple University, with a concentration in school counseling, and M.A. and B.A. from LaSalle University, with concentrations in Bilingual and Bicultural Studies, Psychology, and Healthcare Administration.