Post from February 2007

This year’s keynote speaker is Lauren F. Winner. The former book editor for Beliefnet, she is the author of three books, Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and, most recently, Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian Writing 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Winner has degrees from Columbia and Cambridge universities and is currently at work on her doctorate in the history of American religion. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Griff Gatewood. Her appearance is co-sponsored by Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Lutheran Campus Ministry of Hyde Park, and Brent House Episcopal Center.

Dr. Amy Black teaches in the fields of American Politics and Political Behavior, teaching courses focusing different political institutions and seminars that consider how we interact with our government. Believing that practical experience is a great teacher, Dr. Black served as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, working in the office of Rep. Melissa A. Hart during the 2000-2001 academic year. She continues to follow recent Congressional activity through ongoing consulting for Rep. Hart's office.She recently completed From Inspiration to Legislation: How an Idea Becomes A Bill, for Pearson Prentice Hall. Dr. Black's other recent work examines the politics of faith-based initiatives. She recently completed Of Little Faith: The Politics of George W. Bush's Faith Based Proposals (with co-authors Doug Koopman and David Ryden), a study that draws upon interviews with key lawmakers and policy advocates who worked on faith-based issues.

Dr. Black joined the Wheaton faculty after serving four years on the faculty of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. She is active in a local church where she serves as a Stephen Minister, co-teaches confirmation classes, and participates in a women's Bible study. She is married to Wheaton professor Daniel Treier.

As news correspondent for Chicago Public Radio, Jason DeRose reports on a wide variety of cultural issues with a particular emphasis on religion, ethics, and spirituality. His reports can be heard on "Morning Edition", "All Things Considered", "Weekend Edition", and "Eight Forty-Eight". He also teaches in the Religious Studies department at DePaul University.
Prior to joining the staff of Chicago Public Radio in 2002, Jason held a variety of reporting, editing, and producing positions at NPR member stations in Seattle, Minneapolis and Tampa. He work at NPR has included stints on the Washington Desk, the Arts Desk, the National Desk, "All Things Considered" and "Day to Day". Outside of public radio, Jason worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and at the International Center for Journalists-an organization that trains foreign journalists in Western reporting practices.

Jason has a master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, with majors in English and religion. Additionally, he studied religion reporting at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Edward Foley is Professor of Liturgy and Music at Catholic Theological Union Seminary, and has been on faculty there since 1985. His interests include practical theology, the interplay of worship and the arts (especially music), ritual performance, and medieval Christianity. He studies the history of worship especially from the viewpoint of the action of the assembly. He is co-author, with Rev. Herbert Anderson of Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals: The Intersection of Worship and Pastoral Care and author of From Age to Age: How Christians Celebrated the Eucharist . He has degrees from St. Francis Seminary (M.Div.), University of Wisconsin (M.Mus.), and University of Notre Dame (M.A. Ph.D).

We will continue to post more pictures, speaker biographies, and culture commentary as the date draws near so please stay tuned!