The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, 2022 Proctor Institute’s Theologian-in-Residence, serves as the Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and the Bill and Judith Moyers Chair in Theology at Union. She is also Canon Theologian at the Washington National Cathedral and Theologian in Residence at Trinity Church Wall Street.
Dean Douglas’ academic work has focused on womanist theology, sexuality and the Black church, and racial and social justice. She is the author of many articles and books, including Resurrection Hope: A Future Where Black Lives Matter (November 2021, Orbis Books), Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, and Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective.
In addition to preaching in pulpits across the nation and speaking at universities and other institutions around the globe, Dean Douglas is a frequent and vocal presence in today’s print, broadcast, and digital public square, speaking on racial and social justice, among other matters.
At the time of her 1983 ordination, Douglas was one of the first ten Black women ordained in the Episcopal Church USA. She holds a Master’s Degree in theology and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary.