The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Summer 2011 Intern

Liza Carens is a rising senior at Connecticut College. Her academic interests include religious theory and the constitutional rights of religious institutions. She is a selected scholar within the College’s Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy where she participates in local outreach initiatives. She recently orchestrated events to raise awareness around sex trafficking and the growing homeless population in Southeastern Connecticut. She is a member of N₂0, the college’s short form improvisational comedy troop. Liza will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of Greater Boston.

Summer 2011 Intern

Francesca Chubb-Confer graduated from Carleton College in June 2011 with a BA in Islamic Studies and will be attending the University of Chicago Divinity School in the fall. Her primary academic interests are in Arabic and Urdu language study, Islam and politics, immigration/diaspora studies, and religion and literature/poetry, with a particular focus on the relationship between religion, politics, and creative expression in the Middle East and South Asia. She is also an avid watcher of Bollywood films. Francesca will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul) in Minnesota.

Summer 2011 Intern

Skyler Oberst is a senior, pursuing dual degrees in philosophy and anthropology with an emphasis in religious studies at Eastern Washington University. After witnessing religious intolerance on campus, he founded the Compassionate Interfaith Society. Skyler was one of the North American Interfaith Network’s young scholars in 2010, and has received Student Excellence Awards for the past two years. He also was selected to attend the Interfaith Youth Core’s Leadership Institute in Washington DC, and had the distinction of speaking at the White House on interfaith leadership and student activism. Skyler will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of Greater Boston.

Summer 2011 Intern

Megan Odell-Scott will complete her Master’s in Theology and Religious Studies at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio this summer. She received her BA from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio in Political Science and minored in both Pre-Law and Religious Studies. Following her undergraduate career, Megan spent two years in the AmeriCorps*VISTA program and assisted in the development of service projects and trips, as well as community partnerships on the Kent State Campus. With an interest in religious pluralism in America, Megan’s academic education focuses on religious fundamentalism and civic religion. Her Master’s Essay, "Christianity in America: The Evolution-Creationism Debate," examines Christian fundamentalism and the broader warfare model of religion and science in America today. Megan will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of Cleveland, Ohio.

Summer 2011 Intern

April Palo recently completed her BA in Religion from Hamline University with minors in Philosophy and Psychology. In Fall 2011 she will begin her Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Religion, Ethics, and Politics. Inside the classroom, she has been most interested in the intersections of religious syncretism, interreligious theologies, and diverse religious communities. Outside the classroom, she has had leadership roles in interfaith campus and community organizing, youth leadership development, and service work. April will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul) in Minnesota.

Summer 2011 Intern

Allison recieved her BA in Religious Studies and American History from the University of Wisconsin and her MA is Religion from Claremont Graduate University. She is currently working on her PhD is religious studies at the University of California, Riverside. Her research areas include American religious history, with a special interest in material culture and new religious movements. She has conducted research on the religious diversity of her hometown in southern California and was involved in the Lubar Institute at the University of Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to expanding Abrahamic interfaith dialogue on campus. Allison will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure in San Diego, California.

Summer 2011 Intern

Rachel Templeton is a rising junior at the University of Richmond in Virginia. She is currently studying International Studies with a concentration in Global Politics and Diplomacy, as well as French and History. Rachel’s research and studies have taken her from Denmark to Spain to South Africa; her work this summer will allow her to explore these international relations on a local level. Rachel will be conducting fieldwork on the interfaith infrastructure of Richmond, Virginia.