Daniel Aleshire served The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) from 1990 until his retirement in 2017. He began as associate director for accreditation, was appointed associate executive director in 1996, and elected executive director in 1998. Prior to joining the ATS staff, Aleshire was a research scientist at Search Institute in Minneapolis, MN, where he worked on issues related to theological education and youth-serving organizations. He moved from Search Institute to Louisville to serve as a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 12 years. During his time in these three positions, he has written on formation for ministry, Christian education, Christian spirituality, and theological education. His publications on theological education include Being There: Culture and Formation in Two Theological Seminaries, (Oxford University Press) co-authored with Jackson Carroll, Barbara Wheeler, and Penny Long Marler, which received the 1998 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion; Earthen Vessels: Hopeful Reflections on the Work and Future of Theological Schools, (Eerdmans, 2008); Beyond Profession: The Next Future of Theological Education (Eerdmans, 2021); and numerous journal articles and book chapters. Since retiring from ATS, Aleshire has worked with the Council of Independent Colleges evaluating its program on Vocation and Undergraduate Education, served as a member of the Committee on Recognition of the Council on Higher Education Accreditation, conducted a study of the United Methodist theological schools for the Association of United Methodist Theological Schools, and has been one of the senior fellows with the Lilly Endowment funded “Theological Education between the Times Project” housed at Candler School of Theology.  

Scott Cormode is the Hugh De Pree Professor of Leadership Development at Fuller Seminary. He is the founder of the Academy of Religious Leadership and the founding editor of the Journal of Religious Leadership. His most recent book is The Innovative Church (Baker Academic, 2020). He holds a PhD from Yale University.

Debbie Creamer joined the ATS staff in 2013 as director of accreditation and institutional evaluation, served as senior director of accreditation from 2018 to 2020, and was named senior director of educational design and engagement in fall 2020. In this role, she works strategically to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of ATS as a hybrid learning organization and to foster a culture of creativity and innovation in both the work of accrediting and in the Association’s programs and services. Her work includes leadership for planning, designing, implementing, and assessing synchronous, asynchronous, and semi-synchronous educational engagements for ATS staff, board members, member schools, and other stakeholders. In her role, she also serves as director of the ATS Educational Design Lab.
 
Prior to ATS, Creamer served at Iliff School of Theology, beginning in 1997 as a member of the library staff, becoming a faculty member in 2005, then director of the library, associate dean for academic affairs in 2009, and interim dean and vice president for academic affairs from 2012 to 2013. She helped to design and direct the school’s online and distributed learning programs from 2009 to 2013. While at Iliff, she was deeply involved in preparing that school’s self-study reports and served on a number of accreditation visiting teams for ATS; she was also a frequent participant in ATS programs and initiatives, and served on the steering committee of the ATS Technology in Theological Education Group (TTEG) from 2009 to 2012.

The author of a number of articles on disability theology, Creamer also wrote Disability and Christian Theology: Embodied Limits and Constructive Possibilities (2009). She has been a frequent speaker on issues of disability and religion for churches and other local and national groups, and she is a former cochair and founding member of the Religion and Disability Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion. Her current work in educational design builds from her experiences with and commitments to Universal Design for Learning, which she has studied and taught as part of her work with disability, as well as her ongoing interests in online technology as a way to attend to embodiments that creatively and constructively engage limits.

Creamer holds an MDiv from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, an MLIS with a concentration in information technologies from the University of Denver, and a PhD in theology from Iliff School of Theology and University of Denver Joint PhD Program.

Jo Ann Deasy joined the ATS staff in June 2014 as director, institutional initiatives and student research. Her responsibilities include coordinating the Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers initiative as well as the management, collection, and interpretation of data for the Entering Student, Graduating Student, and Alumni/ae Questionnaires. She also serves on the research team at ATS and recently contributed to research projects related to assessing spiritual and personal formation, women in leadership in theological education, and mapping the graduate workforce of ATS.

Deasy served for seven years as the dean of students and community life at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. An ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, she has also served on staff at congregations in Duluth, Minnesota, and Mercer Island, Washington, and came to ATS from Sojourner Covenant Church in Evanston, Illinois, where she served as lead pastor for four years.

Deasy graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary with a PhD in congregational studies with an emphasis in congregational leadership and contextual theologies.

Sarah B. Drummond serves as founding dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School. She first came to Andover Newton in 2005, as director of field education and assistant professor of ministerial leadership. Her roles in the school changed numerous times, but her focus always centered on administrative leadership. By the time she was called to her current role, she was a tenured professor and had served for eight years as dean of the faculty. She played a central role in the school’s becoming embedded at Yale Divinity School. Drummond has written five books, most recently Intentional Leadership In Between Seasons (the Pilgrim Press, 2022). She served on the ATS Board of Commissioners from 2014–2020 and chaired the task force that redeveloped the ATS Standards of Accreditation. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she earned her MDiv at Harvard Divinity School and her PhD in urban education at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Deborah H. C. Gin joined the ATS staff in August 2014 as director of research and faculty development. In addition to launching the Association’s new research initiative and directing programs for faculty, she contributes to the ongoing dialogue about educational models that will have future viability and sustainability. Gin came to ATS from Azusa Pacific University, where she served as a senior faculty fellow in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment and as associate professor of ministry at Azusa Pacific Seminary. She previously served as director of assessment analysis and education and as director of diversity studies at Azusa.

Gin's areas of research include pedagogy, higher education administration, multicultural education engagement, and diversity inclusivity. Prior to coming to ATS, she received a research grant to pursue Asian American faculty perspectives on the pursuit of administration in higher education and presented at an international conference on multicultural education in Seoul, Korea. Her articles have appeared in To Improve the Academy, Theological Education, and Multicultural Education Review. Chapters she has published include “Ruth: Identity and Leadership from Multivocal Spaces,” in Mirrored Reflections: Reframing Biblical Characters; “Loving My Neighbor,” in Strength to Be Holy; and “Asian American Ethnic/Racial Identity Development,” in Asian American Christianity: A Reader.

Gin is a regular blogger on leadership issues related to Asian American women, has been a frequent invited speaker on topics related to race, excellence, and inclusion, and is a member of the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ VALUE initiative Intercultural Competence rubric development team. She earned an MDiv from Haggard Graduate School of Theology, a master’s of music degree in vocal performance from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in higher education from Claremont Graduate University.

Stephen R. Graham joined the ATS staff in January 2008 as director of faculty development and initiatives in theological education, was named senior director of programs and services in 2013, began assisting as a director of accreditation in 2020, and was named strategic director of context and continuity in 2021. Prior to joining ATS, he served as the dean of faculty and professor of American church history at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. A member of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of Church History, he was active in the Chief Academic Officers Society of ATS and now provides staff leadership for the ATS School for New Deans.

Graham oversees the Association’s work of leadership education with presidents, is currently directing the ATS Organizational and Educational Models in Theological Education project, and provides the historical perspective of who ATS is and what it has been as an organization. He works to contextualize the Association's past legacy and its present, and studies how the two contribute toward the future. He has published two books—Cosmos in the Chaos: Philip Schaff’s Interpretation of Nineteenth Century American Religion and Come to the Table: North Park Covenant Church, 1898–1998, A Century of Heritage and Hope—as well as numerous articles on the history of Christianity in the United States and theological education.

He holds an MA from Wheaton College and a PhD in the history of Christianity from The Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

Paul J. LeBlanc is president of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and author of Students First: Equity, Access, and Opportunity in Higher Education. Under the 18 years of his direction, SNHU has grown from 10,000 students to more than 165,000 learners and is the largest non-profit provider of online higher education in the country. LeBlanc serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Higher Education and Workforce. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education. LeBlanc earned his master’s from Boston College and received his PhD from the University of Massachusetts. From 1993 to 1996, he directed a technology start up for Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company, was president of Marlboro College (VT) from 1996 to 2003, and became president of SNHU in 2003.

Charla Long is president of the Competency-Based Education Network, an international consortium of higher education institutions and statewide systems seeking to design, develop, and scale new models of student learning. Additionally, she leads C-BEN’s Consulting Services, which is dedicated to helping institutions with competency-based learning. In 2016, Long was recognized by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in Higher Education for her work in competency-based education. Long is co-author of The Leader’s Guide to Competency-Based Education (2018).

Randy MacFarland joined the faculty and administration of Denver Seminary in 1997. From 1997–2001, he served as vice president of training and mentoring and associate professor of pastoral ministry and evangelism. He was named academic dean in 2001 and continued in that role until his retirement in 2018. In addition, he served as provost from 2008–2018. MacFarland has written, led seminars, and consulted nationally and internationally in the area of mentoring. He has led several workshops for ATS and the evangelical seminary deans’ council. He contributed articles to the Denver Seminary magazine, contributed to the Dictionary of Everyday Theology and Culture, and has a chapter in C(h)aos Theory, a book on the work of the seminary dean. MacFarland earned his DMin from Andover Newton Theological School, with an emphasis in psychology and clinical studies. He received his MDiv from Denver Seminary. In 2018, MacFarland was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Denver Seminary.

Molly T. Marshall serves as the president of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Previously, she taught for 11 years at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and worked at Central Baptist Theological Seminary for 25 years, serving the last 16 as president. Marshall has also worked as a youth minister, campus minister, pastor, and scholar. Part of her ministry has been expressed through writing, including blogs, scholarly articles, and opinion pieces. She has published 13 books, most notably Joining the Dance: A Theology of the Spirit. She recently completed a theological commentary on the Thessalonian correspondence that is forthcoming in the BELIEF series.

Hosffman Ospino is associate professor of theology and religious education at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, where he is also chair of the Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry and director of the university’s Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry. Ospino is the principal investigator for several national studies on Hispanic Catholics. He is currently advancing a national study on how Hispanic Catholics discern vocation to ecclesial ministry. He has authored/edited 15 books and more than 140 essays, academic and general. Ospino serves on the boards of several national organizations. He is the current president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and an officer of the Catholic Theological Society of America. He earned his PhD from Boston College.

Jodi L. Porter serves as director of coordination at the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE). She collaborates across teams to design FTE’s events, grants, and online courses for Lilly Endowment Inc. coordination programs, including the Youth Theology Network (YTN) and the Campus Ministry Theological Exploration of Vocation initiatives. Porter is also a candidate for the EdD in leadership and learning in organizations at Vanderbilt University. Her capstone project focuses on the ATS Cultivating Educational Capacity initiative. Porter is passionate about FTE’s mission to cultivate diverse leaders for the church and academy, writing and speaking on sojo.net, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Conversations podcast, and churchleaders.com to highlight how the YTN empowers and equips young leaders. Prior to FTE, Porter served at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity and at Baylor University. She completed an MTh in applied theology at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford.

Angela D. Sims is the 13th president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (CRCDS)—the first woman president of CRCDS and the first president to lead CRCDS at its new location at 320 North Goodman Street in Rochester, New York. She came to CRCDS from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas and Oklahoma, where she served as the vice president of institutional advancement, as the Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor in Church and Society, and as a professor of ethics and Black Church studies. She is the author and coauthor of several books and is the recipient of an array of grants and fellowships. Sims, a renowned Womanist scholar and a member of St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA, has been featured on Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and in articles in the Dallas Morning News, in the Baptist Standard and in the New York Times. Prior to pursuing theological work, she served in the business field—skills that have proven essential in her administrative work. Sims earned her PhD from Union Presbyterian Seminary and her MDiv from Howard University School of Divinity.

Joanne Solís-Walker is associate dean and professor of practice of leadership at Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She previously served as associate professor of practical theology and special assistant to the president on diversity at Northwest Nazarene University. Solís-Walker is a practical theologian with extensive experience in leadership, global missions, and pastoral ministry. She is a visionary builder who has served in Christian higher education, innovating theological programs contextualized to serve diverse communities in Spanish and English. Solís-Walker is the co-founder and a lead consultant at CaminoRoad and is an ordained minister of The Wesleyan Church. She has a PhD in organizational leadership and development with an emphasis on ecclesial leadership.

Chloe Sun is academic dean and professor of Old Testament at Logos Evangelical Seminary in California. Her recent publications include Attempt Great Things for God: Theological Education in Diaspora (Eerdmans, 2020) and Conspicuous in His Absence: Studies in the Song of Songs and Esther (IVP Academic, 2021). Sun earned her PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Scott L. Thumma is professor of sociology of religion and director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University (formerly Hartford Seminary). He has published numerous articles, research reports, and chapters on religious life in addition to co-authoring three books, The Other 80 Percent, Beyond Megachurch Myths, and Gay Religion. He has researched and written on megachurches, evangelicalism, gay religious life, congregational studies, the rise of nondenominational churches, and the changing religious landscape.

Thumma is the principal investigator for the five-year Lilly Endowment grant to study the impact of the pandemic on churches and a Thriving in Ministry grant. He co-leads the Faith Communities Today national research project and has also conducted seven national studies of megachurches and three national studies of nondenominational churches. He is also on the organizing committee for the 2020 US Religion Census effort. Additionally, Thumma is the chair of the ATS Research and Data Advisory Committee.

Frank M. Yamada began as executive director of The Association of Theological Schools in July 2017. He oversees the work of both the Association and the Commission on Accrediting. Prior to ATS, he joined the McCormick faculty in 2008 as associate professor of Hebrew Bible and director of the Center for Asian American Ministries. In 2011, he was elected as McCormick’s tenth president—the first Asian American to lead a Presbyterian Church (USA) seminary. His tenure there was marked by increasing diversity in McCormick’s student body and creative engagement with the shifting realities of theological education. Yamada previously had taught Hebrew Bible/Old Testament for nine years at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

An active biblical scholar, Yamada has authored and edited books and articles on cross-cultural and feminist hermeneutics. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, where he has served as a chair and as a steering committee member of the Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics Group, the Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section, and the Committee for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession. In addition, he was a member of the Ethnic Chinese Biblical Colloquium and the American Academy of Religion, and he was the cochair for the Managing Board of the Asian Pacific Americans and Religion Research Initiative annual conference.

A graduate of Southern California College, Yamada earned his Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and has written and spoken on the future of the church and theological education.

Mark Young serves as president of Denver Seminary. Previously, he served as professor of world missions and intercultural studies at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1995–2009 and was the founding academic dean of the Biblical Theological Seminary in Wroclaw, Poland. Young has authored several publications, including The Hope of the Gospel: Theological Education and the Next Evangelicalism (Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2022), One True Story, One True God: What the Bible Is All About (Our Daily Bread Publishing, 2021), “Marriage and the Mission of God,” published in Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology and Mission in a Changing World (Moody Press, 2018), and “Recapturing Evangelical Identity and Mission” published in Still Evangelical? Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning (InterVarsity Press, 2018). He has also presented on issues in theological education and mission for numerous international symposia and conferences. Young holds a PhD in educational studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a ThM in New Testament literature and exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary. He serves as president of the Board of Directors for The Association of Theological Schools and is a member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education, Evangelical Theological Society, OMSC Missions Leaders Forum, and several other organizations.

Mary H. Young joined the staff of The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in June 2017 as director, leadership education. She is responsible for planning and implementing leadership education programs for administrators in ATS member schools, including conferences and workshops for academic officers, development personnel, financial officers, and student personnel administrators as well as the programs for Women in Leadership (WIL) and the Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE).

Young came to ATS after 23 years in service to Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, most recently as assistant professor of Christian education, and director of the Master of Arts in Christian Education program. She also led the seminary in institutional effectiveness, accreditation preparedness, data collection, grant reporting, and program evaluation. Having guided the seminary in discussions around online learning, she also completed a Wabash Center program on online teaching for theological faculty.

Ordained in The American Baptist Churches, Young has served as minister of education at several churches in the Richmond area and written church school curricula for the denomination. She brings to ATS her experience as a pastoral leader, workshop facilitator, and consultant in Christian education for churches and other organizations.

Her publications include sermons in Preaching Funerals in the Black Church: Bringing Perspective to Pain (Dr. Peter M. Wherry, author/editor, Judson Press, 2013), and Those Preachin Women, Volume 4 (Dr. Ella P. Mitchell, editor, Judson Press, 2004). She is coauthor of “Small Investments Yield Big Rewards: How One Seminary's Faculty, Staff, and Students are Working Together to Put a Dent in the Debt Crisis," an article in the Theological Education journal. Forthcoming publications include “Religious Education and Communities of Learning: Inspiring Religious, Social, and Public Political Activism" in From Lament to Public Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Theology.

A graduate of Virginia Union University in mathematics, Young earned her MDiv from Virginia Union and her EdD from Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education.