Showing Up & Building Out!
A night of student stories and action to build inclusive leadership in local politics
Be inspired.
Gain fresh perspectives, motivation, and a renewed sense of purpose as we round out this election year.
Deepen bonds with a vibrant community of current learners.
Connect with current students who share your passions.
Show your support.
Become a contributor and thought leader in our work.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Iliff School of Theology, Bartlet Hall
To learn more about the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture, CLICK HERE.
Imagine
What does it look like to support LGBTQ young people in rural and suburban communities? Ten Iliff students showed up for two weeks in July to find out. Join us on the evening of October 22nd to hear their stories and learn about how to support the next leg of their journey.
Influence
Remember the time when school Board meetings were boring? Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case as ideological debates over gender and sexuality devolve into bathroom restrictions, sports bans for trans kids, and “don’t say gay” bills that evoke fear, anger, frustration, and sometimes violence. Learn how Ilff is leading in these issues.
Include
Religious organizations and leaders have the opportunity to engage and ensure LGBTQ+ inclusion, especially in small towns, is part of the Colorado fabric. Come and hear about Iliff’s work in rural and suburban Colorado, where Iliff students learned with local community stakeholders, including LGBTQ+ people, churches and religious communities, school board members, and local government officials.
Impact
Impact: Students came away from the transformative experience with new skills, insights, and inspiration to “show up” in the name of inclusive leadership. Can you “show-up” for them as well?
Inspire
Support students as they share what they have learned with national advocates and public leaders at a convening set for Spring 2025. All donations received during the gathering and until Dec 31, will be matched 2:1 by the Carpenter Foundation. We need your help to make it happen!
Speaker Information
Jon Hurst
Student
Biography
Jon Hurst is entering his third year in the MDiv program and a candidate for ordination in the Mountain Sky Conference of the UMC. Jon also serves as the pastor of Cameron UMC in South Denver.
Josh Perez
Student
Biography
Josh is a creative and academic with a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling through filmmaking, audio, writing, and photography—exploring the spaces where being human and artistry meet. He is the Creative Lead for the Institute of Religion, Culture, and Politics at the Iliff School of Theology, where he graduated with a master’s in theological studies in 2024. He is currently in the Joint Doctoral Program at Iliff and The University of Denver and focuses his research on lived religion, media studies, and the intersection of cinema and how one orients themselves in this world.
Bobbie Kite
Student
Biography
Bobbie Kite is in the MTS program and works at the University of Denver as a professor of public health and associate dean of academic operations. Their research focuses on population health and pilgrimage. Their favorite interests are hiking, traveling, and learning.
Em Autry
Student
Biography
Em Autry is a third-year graduate student at the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. As a queer and neurodivergent individual, Em is a passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and their access to experiencing quality mental health care. They are dedicated to creating policy, therapeutic spaces, and communities where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Lindsay Ambler
Student
Biography
Lindsay Ambler is a 3rd year Master of Divinity (MDiv) student pursuing a concentration in Social Justice and Ethics. Her interest areas include liberative theologies, theoethics, and decolonial scholarship.
Dr. Amanda Henderson
Biography
Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi
Biography
Joining the faculty in 2018, Dr. Lizardy-Hajbi oversees contextual education, co-directs the Doctor of Ministry in Prophetic Leadership, and teaches in the fields of leadership theory and praxis, congregational and community formation/change, practical theology, and applied research methods. In particular, her interests include organizational leadership, liberative theological and postcolonial approaches to ministry, church vitality and growth, young adult spirituality, and intersectional pedagogical practices.
Dr. Lizardy-Hajbi is the author of Unraveling Religious Leadership: Power, Authority, and Decoloniality (Fortress Press, 2024) and co-editor of Explore: Vocational Discovery in Ministry (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). At present, she is a regional advisor for the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) National Research Project and a Research Fellow with the Center for Church Management at Villanova University.
Additionally, Dr. Lizardy-Hajbi currently chairs the ATS Research and Data Advisory Committee and serves on the AAR Committee on Teaching and Learning, Academy of Religious Leadership steering committee, and Journal of Religious Leadership editorial board. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, her ministry has included Christian education and faith formation, intercultural and interreligious student affairs in higher education, hospital chaplaincy, and denominational leadership and research.
Dr. Lizardy-Hajbi delights in journeying alongside students as they nurture capacities for practical-prophetic leadership within their respective communities and contexts.