About

I am a scholar based at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, where I teach in theology and Mexican American Studies and support sponsored project research. I am also an affiliated faculty at St. Mary’s Center for Catholic Studies where I serve as the Associate Director of the San Antonio and Texas Católico Project. I have previously been a Research Fellow with The Crossroads Project based at Princeton University’s Center for Culture, Society, and Religion as well as a Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellow.

My first book, God of the Whirlwind: Horror, Memory, and Story in Black Waco (Baylor University Press, 2025), is a community-based project that recovers and examines storytelling traditions about divine justice in one Black Texas community. My current research is focused on two projects. The first is a re-appraisal of the international development of liberation theology that focuses on the role of everyday practices of community-building. The second examines contemporary global expressions of sanctuary and migrant solidarity among communities of faith.

I completed my PhD in Religion at Baylor University (2021) and have an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary (2015).