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Dr. Angela HummelAngela Hummel will be offering plenary sessions on Star Island.
Bio
Dr. Angela Hummel is an interdisciplinary artist and art theologian who uses creative expression to explore ideas about God and spirituality in new ways. Theology methodologies are usually based on argumentation and discursive reasoning. Art Theology, grounded in Expressionism and cognitive sciences, promotes the idea that divine love is a reality that expands our ideas of love, rather than seeking to be “right”. She suggests a new method for thinking about questions and ideas about Love through Art Theology. Through art making, Art Theology can question how the discipline of theology has both accentuated and erased the lines of violence and marginalization. Angela’s interactive workshop will invite participants to make theology by making art and reflecting on the meanings that lines and colors hold. Choosing from a variety of materials (pastels, paints, colored pencils, markers, colored paper, etc.) we will reflect on our own understanding of the world through color. As the art making process unfolds, participants will consider theological questions such as what divine love is and how it relates to violence or to the creation of margins. Whether we do or do not believe in God, or agree about ideas about God, this workshop opens dialogues that lead to connection and expands our ideas about Love. Dr. Angela Hummel has presented at the American Academy of Religion, is a recipient of an Episcopal Church Roanridge grant, has been a TEDx speaker, is a Visiting Professor at Vancouver School of Theology, and adjunct professor at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and Front Range Community College in Colorado. She has an MFA in creative writing, an MA in Theology, over 15 years of experience in ministry, and a doctorate from Iliff school of Theology. |
Plenary Speakers
Additional speaker bios will be added in January.
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Rev. Cameron TrimbleCameron Trimble will be leading group sessions, using Futurist methodologies, on Star Island.
Bio
Rev. Cameron Trimble is a futurist, spiritual strategist, and systems architect working at the leading edge of religious innovation, global justice, and transformational leadership. She is a certified futurist and global consultant in Futures Literacy, helping institutions, congregations, and communities anticipate change and co-create preferred futures grounded in compassion, courage, and collective intelligence. Trimble serves as CEO of Convergence, a pioneering organization supporting hundreds of congregations and denominational bodies through strategic planning, consulting, digital learning, and leadership development. Through Futures Labs, scenario work, and systems-scale interventions, she equips spiritual communities to move beyond legacy survival into regenerative, mission-aligned transformation. She is the Chair of the Board of Stop the Traffik USA, an international NGO that uses technology and intelligence-led prevention to disrupt human trafficking networks around the world. In collaboration with partners such as Homeland Security, MI5, IBM, and the United Nations, Stop the Traffik builds data tools and early warning systems to prevent exploitation and create safer futures for vulnerable populations. Rev. Trimble serves as Professor of Transformational Leadership at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, where she teaches in the Doctor of Ministry program. Her academic work integrates spiritual formation, organizational foresight, systems thinking, and mysticism — helping leaders cultivate resilience and vision in an age of polycrisis.An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she has pastored four congregations in the Atlanta area and served as a national denominational leader. Her work bridges deep theological grounding with practical strategy, always inviting leaders to hold complexity with clarity and act from a place of grounded hope. She is also a commercial pilot, an author of several books, and a sought-after keynote speaker who frequently collaborates with thought leaders such as Margaret Wheatley, Matthew Fox, and Brian McLaren, and has spoken across the U.S., U.K., and international networks on the future of religion, ethics, and collective leadership. Her work is animated by a single conviction: We are not here to predict the future — but to participate in its transformation. Public Contact Information: http://www.camerontrimble.com https://www.pilotingfaith.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/camerontrimble/ |
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Dr. Rengin B. FiratRengin Firat will be offering plenary sessions on Star Island.
Bio
Dr. Rengin B. Firat is a Professor at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change. A scholar-practitioner who combines critical race theories with inclusive leadership and organizational change studies, she takes an innovative empirical approach that is community-based and interdisciplinary, integrating sociology with neurosciences. Her teaching and research areas include the role of moral emotions and cognition in social behaviors, racial biases in the brain and how to overcome them, organizational culture and diversity, and the effects of emerging technologies (like AI) on social organizations. Dr. Firat's methodological expertise is primarily focused on quantitative methods including survey and experiment design, instrumentation, sampling, complex data modeling (e.g., hierarchical modeling, structural equation models), functional brain imaging (fMRI) and other biometric data systems (EDA, ECG, etc.). She has led several research projects collecting fMRI and survey data, nationally and internationally, and has received funding from the Social Science Research Council and the U.S. Department of Defense. Her research publications have appeared in journals including American Behavioral Scientist, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Social Science Research, Perspectives on Psychological Science, and Journal of Health and Social Behavior. She is co-editor of the forthcoming Handbook of Neurosociology (Springer Press) and has a forthcoming book entitled The Racialized Brain: The Neurosociology of Race and Racism (Polity Press). Dr. Firat holds an MA and PhD from the Sociology Dept. at the University of Iowa and a BA in Sociology from Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey. She previously served as a professor in R1 research universities (University of California, Riverside and Georgia State University), held a post-doctoral Researcher position at the Evolution, Cognition and Culture Laboratory at University of Lyon, France, and was a senior researcher in a top global HR consulting firm, Korn Ferry. Currently based out of Atlanta, Georgia, she co-chairs the board of a local food justice non-profit, Slow Food Atlanta, in addition to her work as researcher and professor. Presentation
The Racialized Brain: Neurosociology, Morality, and Group Conflict Why does race remain such a powerful force in social conflict and political divisions, despite widespread commitments to equality and colorblind ideals? Drawing on her recent book, The Racialized Brain, Dr. Rengin Firat argues that racialization is not only a social ideology but a neurosociological process which emerges from the interaction between brain, culture, and institutions. The brain perceives race through a dual process: as a category, a fast and automatic way of sorting people; and as a group, a moralized boundary tied to belonging, threat, and deservingness. It is this second process that makes race especially consequential: once racial categories are interpreted as group boundaries, they shape moral emotions and social judgments about who is trusted, who is feared, who is blamed, and whose suffering is recognized. Institutions such as schools, media, policing, labor markets, and law embed racial meanings into everyday experience, training the brain to associate race with group-based moral narratives. Against this backdrop, this presentation offers not only a neurosociological account of why racial conflict persists, but also pathways for disrupting racialized cognition. Rather than focusing solely on attitude change, Dr. Firat emphasizes a framework grounded in the brain’s capacity for neuroplasticity and the multi-level resources of empathy, empowerment, and equality. Together, these capacities expand moral concern beyond narrow in-groups, empower people with agency to challenge racialized practices in real-world settings, and address the structural and institutional conditions that continuously re-racialize the brain. The talk concludes by considering what these insights mean for ethics, moral education, and the possibility of building more reflective, less reactive moral communities. |
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Dr. Stephen W. RagsdaleAt IRAS 2026, Stephen Ragsdale, Marlena Studer, and Jennifer Whitten will offer a joint presentation, Co-Creating a Thriving Future: Lessons from Microbes to Macro.
Bio
Dr. Stephen W. Ragsdale grew up in Rome, Georgia and now resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is the father of two grown children. He received his B.S. and PhD degrees in Biochemistry at The University of Georgia, and is currently a Professor of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the biochemistry of microbes and how these "simple” organisms establish and regulate processes as vast, diverse, and important as the earth's environment and human biology. He also researches the myriad roles of metal ions in biology. He has authored over 250 publications and lectured on these and related topics at over 200 US and international venues. Besides teaching within his discipline, Dr. Ragsdale developed a course on Creativity in the Sciences and Arts and has authored a book titled Science, Spirituality and Creativity, which advocates a naturalistic viewpoint that blends the attributes of science and religion. He is a member of the IRAS Council and previously presented on Replanting the Spiritual Roots of Science and Biological Capture and Removal of Greenhouse Gases at prior IRAS summer conferences. He is a Yoga practitioner as well as a guitarist, often performing with his wife, jazz vocalist Dr. Marlena Studer. He and Marlena also enjoy singing in the IRAS conference choir and have led chapels and performed music at prior IRAS. |
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Dr. Marlena StuderAt IRAS 2026, Stephen Ragsdale, Marlena Studer, and Jennifer Whitten will offer a joint presentation, Co-Creating a Thriving Future: Lessons from Microbes to Macro.
Bio
Dr. Marlena Studer is a jazz vocalist, inspirational speaker, and creative leader in the Ann Arbor community whose life and work are guided by a deep belief in the creativity and resilience of the human spirit. Across academia, business, entrepreneurship, and the arts, she has consistently explored how individuals and communities can reconstruct and transform social structures in response to change: with imagination, courage, and hope. Born in Denver, Colorado, Marlena lived in eleven cities, seven states, and three countries by the age of eighteen, including a formative year in Sweden as a Rotary Exchange Student. Immersed early in diverse cultures, she developed a lifelong fascination with people and a conviction in the profound power of cross-cultural relationships to bridge national boundaries, dismantle walls of separation, and transform fear and misunderstanding into connection and compassion. This global perspective led her to pursue Sociology as a lens for understanding social systems and human potential. Marlena earned a B.A. from Bowling Green State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. As a sociologist, she published research on social issues affecting women and children in leading academic journals and served on the Sociology faculties at Tulane University, George Washington University, American University, and the University of Michigan. Her scholarship illuminated how children’s cognitive development is shaped by their social environments, reinforcing her belief that thoughtful, hopeful interventions can alter life trajectories and open pathways to transformation. Living in New Orleans awakened another powerful expression of Marlena’s creativity: inspired by the city’s musical heritage and the Great American Songbook, she became a professional jazz vocalist who has recorded three CDs and performed with acclaimed musicians in New Orleans, Washington, DC, and the Midwest. Jazz—improvisational and deeply human—became both an artistic outlet and a metaphor for her worldview: listening closely, responding with intention, and creating something meaningful through collaboration. New Orleans remains close to her heart, as it is where her two daughters were born. After relocating to Michigan in 2001, Marlena embarked on a new entrepreneurial chapter, importing her own wine label from a boutique vineyard in Chile. She expanded her portfolio into a multi-state wine company, blending cultural storytelling with business acumen. After selling her wine portfolio, Marlena co-founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research and awareness for ovarian cancer—an expression of enduring belief that hope can lift people from despair and set them on a path of healing and renewal. Today, Marlena manages a real estate portfolio and serves as a trusted advisor to buyers and sellers, helping people navigate pivotal life transitions. She serves as the Youth Exchange Officer for the Ann Arbor Rotary Club; an active member of an interfaith community; and a jazz vocalist who frequently performs with her husband, Steve (Dr. Stephen Ragsdale). Whether through scholarship, song, service, or entrepreneurship, Marlena Studer is devoted to fostering connection, cultivating hope, and inspiring transformation—one relationship, one community, and one creative act at a time. |
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Ruben NelsonRuben Nelson will be offering a plenary session virtually.
Bio
Ruben Nelson was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by strong prairie women; educated in the 1950s and ‘60s at Queen’s University, Kingston, Queen’s Theological College, Kingston, and United Theological College, Bangalore, India. This background enabled him to become a Canadian pioneer of serious futures studies and strategic foresight 2.0. Ruben has long pursued his passion to make sense of our times in ways that are more reliable than the standard views offered to us today in our Modern Techno-Industrial (MTI) cultures. In 1975, he became the first person to apply the concept of paradigm change to whole cultures. In 2012, he coined the term “Civilizational overshoot” to capture the meta-crisis in which we now find ourselves. Ruben has taught at Queen’s University in Kingston and the University of Calgary. He has consulted with a host of clients in every sector within and beyond Canada. Along the way, he has conceived and created new institutions. Ruben has served as President of the Association of Humanistic Psychology (AHP) and the Canadian Association for Futures Studies (CAFS), as Vice-Chair of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) and as a Director of the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome (CACOR). Today, he is Executive Director of Foresight Canada and Secretary to the Council of Ralph Connor Memorial United Church in the upper Bow Valley of Alberta. If you want more information, search “Ruben Nelson transformation.” |
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Rev. Susan ShannonSusan Shannon will be offering a plenary session virtually.
Bio
Rev. Susan Shannon is a devotee of the heart, a Buddhist chaplain, and an ordained Interfaith minister. She has worked and taught among many diverse populations—from at-risk youth to refugees, to the incarcerated, with all her work rooted in the fields of Emotional Literacy and Restorative Justice. For nearly a decade she served as the Buddhist chaplain on San Quentin's Death Row and to the mainline population, as well as facilitating many rehabilitative programs there. After moving to Washington State, she founded the Buddhist Prison Ministry, which in just four years have shared their programs and courses with nearly 50,000 men and women behind bars in prisons and jails across the United States. Susan is dedicated to bringing awareness of the humanity of the incarcerated to the public, with the hopes of changing laws, changing lives, and creating a greater sense of understanding and compassion in our divided world today. Her greatest love is sharing the joy, buoyancy, and applicability of the Buddha's teachings in accessible language with practical applications to the times we live in. She attributes all her work to the blessings of her many teachers, especially to His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. |
Program Chairs
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Patrice K. CurtisProgram Co-Chair
Patrice Curtis will be offering a plenary session on Star Island.
Bio
Patrice K. Curtis is a Zen Buddhism practitioner. Patrice has studied Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindful Self-Compassion, Tibetan Buddhism, trained to teach shamatha meditation, and participated in Mind & Life’s Summer Research Institute (2022). They hold a particular interest in the intersections of neuroplasticity, mindfulness, and ritual practices. Patrice is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister whose current work integrates scientific insight and contemplative wisdom to teach spiritual practices that support building Beloved Community and resisting cognitive bias that leads to oppression. They have served congregations as both a parish and institutional minister. Patrice currently serves as a director of interim ministries at the Unitarian Universalist Association. They have also contributed to international humanitarian and community-development efforts. They collaborated with Kenyan leaders to establish a local mill whose proceeds have funded more than 100,000 meals for Kenyan preschoolers, and they organized the collection and distribution of often-overlooked intimate needs. Serving in the past on community and national nonprofit boards, Patrice was a founding board member of the UU Studies Network and the Bridge Builders Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. They are currently a board member for the Interim Ministries Network. In addition to ministry and nonprofit leadership, Patrice has held U.S. government foreign affairs policy and program positions in Washington, DC. They have lived in Europe and Africa and traveled for work to Latin America, the Caribbean, Melanesia, and Asia. They are a contributing author to books, journals, and research papers on foreign policy, spirituality, and Unitarian Universalist history, including one for IRAS (2023). Patrice served as an Adjunct Professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School (2017–2018), and mentors divinity students. Patrice holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs and a Master of Divinity, and undertook field research as a University of Oxford anthropology postgraduate in Bosnia-Hercegovina. They were selected as a Presidential Management Intern (1991-93) and are currently pursuing a doctorate at the Iliff School of Theology, exploring how a futurist perspective might foster radically inclusive lived religious practices. |
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Jennifer E. WhittenProgram Co-Chair
At IRAS 2026, Stephen Ragsdale, Marlena Studer, and Jennifer Whitten will offer a joint presentation, Co-Creating a Thriving Future: Lessons from Microbes to Macro.
Bio
Jennifer E. Whitten is a writer, educator, and theologian who has served as a hospice chaplain/bereavement counselor, English faculty, and college Academic Support Center Director. She currently works full time as a Deviation Investigator for a Biopharma CDMO, serves as a funeral celebrant, and provides pulpit supply ministry. She also has worked as an independent writing consultant for 30 years, with clients ranging from small businesses and academic institutions to scholars, educators, and creative writers. This work fosters her ongoing interest in the ways perceptions form and shape both behavior and writing. No matter its genre or goal, the writing and feedback process can unearth assumptions and holes in understanding, and offers opportunities to interrogate and change these, leading to stronger product creation and more flexible thinking. Jennifer Whitten holds an MA in literature and writing from the University of Colorado, a duel Poetry/Fiction Writing MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and an MDiv from the Graduate Theological Union. At the GTU, her emphases included intergenerational ministry; multi-faith theologies; pastoral care in grief and dying;"The Immigrant in the Promised Land"; and arts in ministry. Learning about the Holocaust in 7th-8th grade proved a formative influence and forged lifelong passion for working towards peace. The late Marj Davis and Karl Peters, remembered for their service to IRAS, made it possible for her to study Conflict Transformation at Hartford Seminary with the founders of Plowshares Institute, an organization focused on mediation, conflict transformation, and peacebuilding education. She continues to build on this learning. Jennifer’s interest in science-religion dialogue began in 1995 when she arrived on Star Island to work with IRAS’ Archipelagos youth program. She has continued to serve in that role and other capacities, including co-chairing the 2022 IRAS conference, "We" & "They": Cross-cultural Conversations on Identity. Currently, she serves as VP for Diversity and Intergenerational Engagement. In her spare time, she can be found engaging with the arts, hiking, kayaking, and swimming, as well as working to complete several book projects. Selected publications:
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Copyright by The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science