Monique Moultrie, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator, The Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Georgia State University.
Dr. Moultrie’s scholarly interests include projects in sexual ethics, African American religions, and gender/sexuality studies. Specifically, she has expertise examining Black women religious leaders and conducting oral histories for public archives as reflected in her work as a consultant for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Queer Religious Archives Network and Columbia University’s Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics, and Social Justice.
She has authored numerous publications including the books Passionate and Pious: Religious Media and Black Women’s Sexuality (Duke University Press; 2018 Book of the Year for the Religious Communication Association); Hidden Histories: Faith and Black Lesbian Leadership (Duke University Press, February 2023); and A Guide for Women in Religion: Making Your Way from A to Z, 2nd edition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
Rosetta E. Ross, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator of The Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism and Professor of Religion at Spelman College.
A full professor of religious studies at Spelman College, Dr. Ross pioneered scholarly work on religion and U.S. black women’s Civil Rights activism. Her scholarship explores religious consciousness in black women’s social activism, womanist social ethics, and transnational analysis of religions in the lives of Africana women. She facilitated multi-national consultations on religion and Africana women’s lives in Accra, Ghana, and Bahia, Brazil.
Dr. Ross has published more than 40 essays, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. She is author of Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women, Religion, and Civil Rights (Fortress), co-author of The Status of Racial and Ethnic Clergywomen in the United Methodist Church, with Jung Ha Kim (United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry), and co-editor of Unraveling and Reweaving Sacred Canon in Africana Womanhood, with Rose Mary Amenga-Etego (Roman and Littlefield/Lexington). Dr. Ross is also the founder and chief editor of the peer-reviewed e-journal of Black Women and Religious Cultures..
Alexandria Russell, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow and Digital Media Coordinator for The Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism at Georgia State University.
As the Digital Media Coordinator, Dr. Russell assists with design and content development for The Garden website, content implementation, and supervising graduate and undergraduate student research assistants. Dr. Russell is a historian and digital humanist that specializes in developing scholarly projects to highlight lesser-known aspects of African American history. She helped coordinate the development of Harvard & The Legacy of Slavery: Tour Experience that celebrates the multicultural history of Harvard University through ten historical sites and a curated section of artistic expression. She also directed the Alice Jennings Archibald Local History Room digitization project through a collaboration between Rutgers University’s Scarlet & Black Project and Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church (New Brunswick).
Susan Perz, PhD
Research Associate for The Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism at Georgia State University.
As a Research Associate, Dr. Perz writes content, develops graphic and video media, uploads content into The Garden website, and supervises graduate and undergraduate student research assistants. Dr. Perz’ doctoral degree is in Theology and Personality of Religious Education from Claremont School of Theology, 2002. Her research and 2016 book, Conceiving a Peaceful World, focuses on diverse women’s leadership in social justice movements, churches, education, business, international diplomacy, environmental movements, peace, nuclear and other weapons disarmament, grassroots communities, human rights, war resistance, and more throughout U.S. history. It explores characteristics of effective women’s leadership. It highlights the extraordinary role that diverse women have played as primary leaders and catalysts of most U.S. movements for social change and peace. Dr. Perz is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Georgia, with M.Ed./Ed.S. degrees from University of Florida, 1984. She has a Master of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1991. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from UF, 1980. She previously served Georgia public schools for 18 years as a school counselor. She is also a documentary filmmaker with a film currently screening in film festivals.
