Religious / Non-Religious Social Impact Roundtable

Jason S. Callahan serves as an instructor in the Department of Patient Counseling, College of Health Professions, and as a chaplain for the Thomas Palliative Care Unit in VCU Massey Cancer Center. There, he provides pastoral care to patients, families and staff.

He holds an M.S. in Patient Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and is endorsed by The Humanist Society. Prior to VCU, Jason worked as an advertising executive and as a counselor for individuals and families in crisis. Recently Jason was featured on Interfaith Voices, the nation’s leading religion news magazine on public radio in a segment called “Humanizing Pastoral Care,” which was a part of an hour-long broadcast: “Chaplains Part IV: Humanism at Harvard.”

Joseph L. Tucker Edmonds is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at Indiana University Indianapolis and the Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Economics from Brown University, his Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and his PhD in Religious Studies from Duke University.

Professor Tucker Edmonds’ research interests are Black religion and the Black body, alternative Christianities, and the role of scripture in African and African American religious traditions. In addition to his focus on institutions and practices of resilience and resistance in African American communities, Tucker Edmonds is an award- winning teacher and an engaged scholar. He is the former president of the local Indianapolis branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and is a member of the editorial board of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation. Tucker Edmonds’ book, The Other Black Church: Alternative Christian Movements and the Struggle for Black Freedom (Fortress 2020), highlights the variety and vibrancy of the African American Christian sphere during the latter half of the twentieth century and it adds to the growing body of work that is addressing alternative Christian traditions in the Black public sphere.

Kara Faris is the Center for Congregation’s Executive Program Director. Over her time at the Center, she has also served as the director of resource grants and resource consulting and the education director.

Before working at the Center, Kara served First Friends Meeting of Indianapolis as associate pastor. With a degree in marketing from Butler University’s College of Business Administration and a master of divinity degree from Christian Theological Seminary, Kara brings a blend of pragmatism, intuition and passion for lifelong learning to the Center. Kara has authored Including Laity in Education Events Empowers Congregations and co-authored the book Divergent Church.

Ben Iten is Vice President and Chaplain Committee Chair of The Humanist Society. He is now an endorsed Humanist Chaplain, but he was raised in the evangelical church. Over time his academic studies in Judaism (at The Ohio State University) and Bible Interpretation (at the University of Oxford) challenged him to rethink how he understood religion and spirituality. Eventually this rethinking led him to humanism and its progressive outlook on life. Humanist values continue to inspire Ben’s work as a professional chaplain for a major hospital system where he helps people find their inherent worth and dignity. When he’s not out visiting patients, he’s teaching new chaplains and volunteering with his local AHA chapter, the Humanist Community of Central Ohio. He is the first Humanist Chaplain certified by the Humanist Society to seek certification from the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education as a Certified Educator.

Suzanne Watts Henderson is Senior Director of Faith and Health at Interfaith America. She consults mainly with the strategic initiatives team, leading Interfaith America’s growing exploration at the intersection of faith and health. An ordained Disciples minister and New Testament scholar, Suzanne has spent the last two decades in higher education, serving as professor and dean of the chapel and leading efforts to embed religious pluralism across campus units. Despite her Duke doctorate, Suzanne’s basketball loyalties lie with UNC, where she majored in English. In between, her time at Princeton Seminary brought both a degree (M.Div.) and a spouse, with whom (more than three decades later!) she now shares an outdoor-oriented, travel-happy, empty-nest life based in Charlotte, with frequent visits to adult children in DC, Denver, and LA.

SueJeanne Koh is the Assistant Director of Graduate Futures and Research Engagement at the Humanities Center at the University of California, Irvine. In her position, she develops programming for humanities PhD students on professional development and diverse career pathways. She is also a writer and teacher in Christian theology and ethics who has published on academic contingency, Asian American and Reformed theology, and settler colonialism. SueJeanne is invested in building collaborations across educational institutions, religious communities, and nonprofit organizations to address social and political challenges, and sustainable organizational practices. Since 2023, she has been an interfaith partner with The Wildland-Urban Interface Climate Action Network (WUICAN), a collaboration between the University of California, Irvine, UC Riverside and UC San Diego, Tribes, community groups, and land managers that are working together to address the climate crisis. She is certified ready for a call in the PC(USA).