Conversation Circles for BIPOC Chaplains

Mondays 12:00 – 1:30 PM Eastern

July 11, July 25, August 8
August 22, September 12, September 26

Mondays 7:00 – 8:30 PM Eastern

June 27, July 11, August 8
August 22, September 12, September 26

Rev. LeSette Wright

Rev. Kirstin Boswell

Rev. Christina Shu

Rev. Lex Cade-White

Tahara Akmal, BCC, ACPE

Rev. Kirstin Boswell

Rev. Alicia Forde

Dr. Su Yon Pak

Mondays 7:00 – 8:30 PM Eastern

April 11, April 25, May 9
May 23, June 6, June 20

Wednesdays 7:00 – 8:30 PM Eastern

April 6, April 20, May 4
May 18, June 1, June 22

Tahara Akmal is a board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, and an Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Certified Educator. Tahara made history as the first Muslim woman since ACPE’s inception in 1967, certified by ACPE to teach chaplaincy in a clinical setting. Tahara is the Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and a Chaplain at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. She is an Adjunct Faculty member at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and a Visiting Faculty member at Bayan Islamic Graduate School at Chicago Theological Seminary in Illinois. Tahara teaches in the chaplaincy program at both seminaries.

Tahara earned a BA degree in psychology with a concentration on human development from Vanguard University of Southern California. She minored in religion, with a focus on ministry and leadership. Tahara earned an MA degree in Islamic studies and pastoral counseling from the Claremont School of Theology, also in California. Tahara is currently a Ph.D. student at Alvernia University, in Reading, Pennsylvania, researching Leadership and Chaplaincy.

Tahara’s LinkedIn profile is available here.

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. Alex Cade-White, MDiv, MPH, BCC works as the Ethics & Mission and Spiritual Care Health Equity Manager for Advocate Aurora Healthcare system. She is based at Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. She is a passionate advocate for health equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with professional expertise in health disparities around race, gender, and sexuality. Rev. Lex has taught, trained, and facilitated DEI work throughout the United States, including providing education for non-profits, churches, colleges, and universities. She has led public sector municipality work in DEI across Wisconsin, including in Green Bay, Door County, and with Sheboygan County Health and Human Services. Rev. Lex is responsible for the creation of the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay Continuing Education Diversity Equity and Inclusion certificate program where, over the past year, she has taught over 200 professionals from 28 States. Rev. Lex is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a board-certified chaplain. Rev. Lex has a bachelor’s in Psychology and Religion from Mount Holyoke College, Master of Divinity from the Episcopal Divinity School, and Master of Public Health from Chamberlin University.

The Reverend Alicia Roxanne Forde serves with the Unitarian Universalist Association as the Director of the International Office. Alicia has a passion for engaging individuals and communities in discerning what they most care about and working alongside others as they seek to enact Love and Justice in this world. She has developed a profound appreciation for self-care, grounded leadership/organizational development, and the crucial importance of meaningful connections in establishing sustainable lives.

Alicia was born and spent her formative years in Trinidad and Tobago. She identifies as a Black, queer, cis-gender woman with deep roots in Tobago. She considers herself bi-cultural and is grateful that her formative years enabled her to cultivate a global perspective. Alicia is a certified Spiritual Director and has a strong interest in health and wellness. When she’s not hiking, you can find her reading, working-out, or podcast-walking. She is a graduate of The Iliff School of Theology (MDiv ’03) and currently lives with her partner and nephew in Longmont, Colorado.

Dr. Su Yon Pak is the Senior Director and Associate Professor of Integrative and Field-based Education at Union Theological Seminary. In this hybrid faculty-administrator position, she envisions, creates and oversees the curricular and co-curricular work of the Office of Integrative Education including field education, clinical pastoral education, life-long learning, ministerial formation, and combined courses inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. Prior to her current position, she was the Vice President for Institutional Advancement; and the Associate Dean for Student Life/ Director of Recruitment at Union.

A native of South Korea, Dr. Pak immigrated to NYC at the age of 10. She has since lived in Scotland where she worked at Shakti Women’s Aid in Edinburgh, a women’s shelter and center for women of color. In 1993, Dr. Pak made her home in NYC and received her doctorate from the joint Teachers College – Union Theological Seminary program in Religion and Education. She has taught at Teachers College Columbia University, Mercy College, and Auburn Theological Seminary. Dr. Pak is on the board of Pacific Asian North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry (PANAAWTM) and on the board of United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. She is a Steering Committee member of AANATE (Association for Asian North American Theological Educators).  Dr. Pak served as the chair of Professional Conduct Task Force and the chair of the Status of Women in the Profession Committee of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). She has served as the co-chair of the Asian North American Religion, Culture and Society program unit and as a steering committee member of the Women and Religion Section of the AAR.

Rev. Christina Shu, MDiv, BCC, serves as the lead interfaith chaplain at Cedars-Sinai. She is board-certified with the Association of Professional Chaplains. Rev. Shu’s focus is to provide interfaith spiritual care to patients and families from diverse religious communities (Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.), and those who are not religious, are unaffiliated or are personally spiritual. Her specialties are palliative care patients and families experiencing grief and loss, end-of-life situations, and coping with long-term illness and hospitalization. She participated in a two-year, grant-funded project to integrate spiritual care into palliative care for patients and families. In 2017, Rev. Shu and Rev. Pamela Lazor received a two-year grant to teach research literacy to clinical pastoral education students from the John Templeton Foundation for Transforming Chaplaincy. She has an interest in increasing research awareness and integration into chaplaincy care.

Rev. Shu earned a bachelor’s in religious studies, with departmental honors, at Stanford University. She then earned her master’s in divinity at Harvard Divinity School.

Rev. Shu completed chaplaincy internships at several venues, including the Center for Urban Chaplaincy in San Diego, Tufts University in Sommerville, Massachusetts, and Boston Medical Center. She was a chaplain resident at the UCLA Medical Center and has earned six units of clinical pastoral education. She is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and an affiliated community minister at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena.

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.