Elizabeth J.A. Siwo-Okundi

Assistant Professor of Congregational Studies and Leadership

Denison University, BA in Black Studies; Harvard University, Master of Theology; Dartmouth Health, Clinical Pastoral Education; Boston University, Master of Divinity, Graduate Certificate in African Studies, PhD in Practical Theology (Homiletics)

Deeply influenced by the faithful and informed activism of her family, Dr. Elizabeth J.A. Siwo-Okundi specialises in the interdisciplinary study of the "small voice"—the unnoticed and unnamed, silenced and marginalized, rejected and neglected voices within Biblical texts and social contexts (particularly orphans, widows, immigrants; and victims of violence). She expertly weaves African/Black Studies, homiletics, practical theology, and communication studies to listen, heal, and transform communities. A preacher, spiritual advisor, and professor with professional experience in corporate, non-profit, grant-funded, and academic settings, Dr. Siwo-Okundi believes that preaching should address the realities of the human experience in its beauty and its pain.

Dr. Siwo-Okundi is devoted to cultivating the promise of emerging leaders, creating pathways through which their ambitions can take shape and flourish. As an advisor to a significant Mastercard Foundation grant, she helped expand educational access for students across Africa. She also directed the Foundation's international African Women's Leadership Conference. Dr. Siwo-Okundi has built dynamic programs in partnership with federal and private grants. In a moment of global uncertainty, she also authored a major grant that delivered vital emergency support to students affected by COVID-19. As a retirement tribute to one of her undergraduate mentors, in 2022, she established the Dr. John L. Jackson Social Movement Leadership Endowed Fund, a lasting initiative that offers Denison University students opportunities for internships, training, and networking in the social justice arena.

Dr. Siwo-Okundi is author of several scholarly articles, book chapters, and award-winning sermons. She is the first to conduct a qualitative, quantitative, multilingual research on African preaching. Her scholarly contributions are published in academic journals and books, including the 3-volume Preaching God's Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary (Westminster John Knox Press), Unraveling and Reweaving Sacred Canon in Africana Womanhood (Lexington Books), Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and Preaching the Manifold Grace of God: Theologies of Preaching in the Early Twenty-First Century. Volume 2 (Wipf and Stock). Her most recent contribution to Homiletic journal and a book chapter amplifying "small voice" leadership are scheduled for publication in 2026.

She is a member of several academic guilds including the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. She also serves on the Harvard Divinity School Alumni/Alumnae Council. In a rare distinction, Dr. Siwo-Okundi stands among the youngest alumni ever to receive an Alumni Citation–the highest award–at Denison University, her achievements etched early into the institution’s enduring legacy.