Jane Iwamura
Professor of Religious Studies
University of the West
Jane Naomi Iwamura is Professor of Religious Studies at University of the West. Her research focuses on Asian American religions, race and popular culture in the United States (with an emphasis on visual culture). Dr. Iwamura’s publications include Virtual Orientalism: Religion and Popular Culture in the U.S. (Oxford 2011) and the co-edited volume, Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America (Routledge 2003). In addition to her expertise in U.S. religions, she also has a background in theological discourse and 19th/20th century philosophy of religion and critical theory. Dr. Iwamura co-founded the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI) and organized its first conference in 1999.
Russell Jeung
Professor of Asian American Studies Department
San Francisco State University
Dr. Russell Jeung is a Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and an author of books and articles on race and religion. He’s written Family Sacrifices: The Worldviews and Ethics of Chinese Americans (Oxford U Press, 2019); Mountain Movers: Student Activism and the Emergence of Asian American Studies (UCLA AAS Center, 2019); and At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus Among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors (Zondervan, 2016). As co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, in 2021 he was named as one of the TIME 100 Most Influential Persons, as well as the Bloomberg 50 and Politico 40 most impactful persons.
Zayn Kassam
Associate Dean of the College/Diversity Officer; John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies; Director, Pacific Basin Institute Pomona College
Dr. Zayn Kassam is the John Knox McLean Professor of Religious Studies at Pomona College, Claremont, California. A graduate of McGill University (Ph.D. 1995), she teaches courses on mysticism, gender, literature, ethics, and the environment. Kassam is the author of Introduction to the World’s Major Religions: Islam (2006), and editor of Women and Islam (2010) and Women in Asian Religions (2018). She is also the section editor for Islam for the volume on Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism for the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions (2018).
Uriah Y. Kim
President and Professor of Biblical Studies
Graduate Theological Union
Uriah Y. Kim is the Ninth President of the Graduate Theological Union and Professor of Biblical Studies. He is the author of Decolonizing Josiah: Toward a Postcolonial Reading of the Deuteronomistic History (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005) and Identity and Loyalty in the David Story: A Postcolonial Reading (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008), and is co-editor of Handbook of Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics (T&T Clark, 2019).
Jeffrey Kuan
President; Professor of Hebrew Bible and Asian-American Hermeneutics
Claremont School of Theology
Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan began his tenure at CST on July 1st, 2013 as the school’s 7th president. Before coming to CST, he was Dean and Professor of Hebrew Bible of the Theological School at Drew University from 2011 to 2013. He earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament studies at Emory University. Dr. Kuan’s research and teaching interests include ancient Israelite and Near Eastern history, Asian and Asian American hermeneutics, the Book of Job, as well as approaches to biblical instruction for the churches.
Su Yon Pak
Vice President of Academic Affairs & Dean, and Associate Professor of Integrative and Field-Based Education
Union Theological Seminary
Dr. Su Yon Pak is the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean at Union Theological Seminary. She serves on the boards of PANAAWTM and the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia.
Duncan Williams
Professor of Religion, American Studies and Ethnicity and East Asian Languages and Cultures
University of Southern California
Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams is currently a Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity, Chair of the USC School of Religion, and the Director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture. Williams’ latest book, American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (Harvard University Press, 2019) is the winner of the 2022 Grawemeyer Religion Award and a LA Times bestseller. Williams is also the author of The Other Side of Zen (Princeton) and editor of seven volumes including Hapa Japan (Kaya), Issei Buddhism in the Americas (Illinois), American Buddhism (Routledge), and Buddhism and Ecology (Harvard).
Janelle Wong
Professor of American Studies and Asian American Studies
University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Janelle Wong is a Professor of American Studies and Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is also the Director of the Asian American Studies Program. She is the author of Immigrants, Evangelicals, and Politics in an Era of Demographic Change (Russell Sage, 2018) and co-author of “The Role of Race in Political Attitudes among the Religiously Unaffiliated,” forthcoming in Advances in Political Psychology.
David Yoo
Vice Provost and Professor of Asian American Studies and History
University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. David K. Yoo is Vice Provost and Professor of Asian American Studies and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Recent publications include Envisioning Religion, Race, and Asian Americans, co-edited with Khyati Joshi, and The Oxford Handbook of Asian American History, co-edited with Eiichiro Azuma.
Frank Yamada
Executive Director
Association of Theological Schools