Welcoming New Rooted in Resilience Fellows
Faith Matters Network is excited to welcome a second Rooted in Resilience cohort of high-impact spiritually grounded leaders serving organizations, faith communities, and movements in their respective regions across the United States. This Learning Journey fellowship is a convening of nine social healers who believe in the necessity of spiritual fortitude in our social justice movements and are looking to explore practices of spiritual care and repair in mobilizing for justice. This year’s cohort prioritized the wisdom and experience of BIPOC practitioners from diverse faith traditions and is centered on three main learning objectives that they will explore together during this fellowship: the importance of sabbath/shabbat, repairing legacies of harm and exploitation, and meeting the scale of power needed to transform the world without abandoning their values or people. Say hello to our wonderful and inspiring new cohort of fellows!
Jai Davis
(They/Them)
Jai Davis is an alumnx of Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL), where they received a Bachelor of Education Degree in Elementary Education. In May 2020, they graduated with a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In May of 2023, they graduated from Candler School of Theology with a Master of Theology, where their thesis focused on Black Trans Narratives within the Black Church while asking, “Can the Black Church go back to being Trans?”
As the faith organizer for GA Equality, Jai received their first grant fellowship with the organization Pride in the Pews– where their project focused on curating conversations that center on how faith-based communities can become inclusive spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community. Jai plans to continue their research by pursuing a PhD focusing on areas in religion, sexuality, and gender with an intersection of Queer Theory. In their free time, Jai enjoys reading, writing, cooking, hiking, and relaxing with those they love. Jai is a child, sibling, friend, and lover of all things.
Katarina Smiley
(She/They)
Katarina “Kat” Smiley is a queer, Black-Korean visionary, organizer, and creative from Cleveland, OH who is known for their sharp strategy, cultural innovation, and transformative leadership. She strives to co-create revolutionary structures that equip herself and others with the knowledge, skills, and healing needed to materialize a more just, kind and considerate world. Transformation—of mind, body, spirit, and planet—is at the heart of Katarina’s justice work. Rooted in a sacred partnership with the land, her ancestors, and Divine Creator, she is deeply committed to being both vessel and blade in the pursuit of freedom for the collective.
A graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Katarina is now a leader at Collinwood Friends Garden, where she nourishes seeds of liberation on common ground. She also serves as a “deaconx” at Purpose Community Church, a faith community dedicated to those who have walked away, been pushed away, or neglected by the Christian faith. As a community organizer with New Voices for Reproductive Justice, Katarina works to build power alongside Black women, Black queer folks, and other Black marginalized communities through leadership development, community care, resourcing, and mutual aid. Above all, Katarina prides herself on being a friend, comrade, and beloved sibling.
Jocelyn Jones
(She/Her)
Rev. Jocelyn J. Jones is a leading voice in trauma-informed ministry, equipping churches and faith-based organizations to become safe spaces for healing and restoration. As the Founder and CEO of Faith on the Journey, a Christian counseling practice and trauma-informed care training organization, she is dedicated to helping faith communities support individuals on their healing journey.
A Master Facilitator with the Trauma Healing Institute, Rev. Jocelyn has trained countless faith leaders across the country, equipping them with the tools to integrate trauma-informed principles into their ministries. She works closely with churches to help them launch and expand healing-centered initiatives that provide emotional and spiritual support to trauma survivors. She is also the author of Breaking the Power of the Mask, a powerful book that explores the journey of healing from past wounds and embracing authenticity in faith. Through her leadership, teaching, and advocacy, Rev. Jocelyn is committed to transforming churches into places of refuge, hope, and restoration for all who seek healing.
May Ye
(She/Her)
Rabbi May Ye is a Chinese-American Jew from unceded Wabanaki land. A weaver of tradition and fashioner of new liturgy and ritual, she seeks to center and highlight the experiences of those who have been disenfranchised and marginalized from Judaism and Jewish spaces. A passionate activist, she explores how to decouple Judaism from Zionism and is an ardent supporter of Palestinian liberation. Rabbi May is a 2023 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). She currently lives and works on unceded Duwamish and Coast Salish land. She organizes with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and is honored to sit on JVP’s national rabbinical council. She also volunteers as a movement chaplain.
Rabbi May is the founder of the Person of Color Havurah at Kol Tzedek Synagogue. In May 2022 she received the Tikkun Olam award from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College “for her inspiring & passionate Palestine Liberation rabbinate and for connecting our politics to the way that we pray.” She is also the 2023 recipient of the Rabbi Devora Bartnoff Prize for Spiritually Motivated Social Action.
Cherizar Crippen
(She/Her)
Cherizar Lee-Crippen is a Black + Indigenous bisexual troublemaker, mother to many plants, gaybies, and one perfect fur child. Cherizar’s work includes offerings of political education, healing practices, coaching, and facilitation for BIPOC led organizations and individuals with a special focus on youth leadership development and healing justice. She created the Ancestral Spirit Kollective (The ASK), an initiatory program that connects young Hoodoos with social justice mentors to create HJ offerings for their communities. She also founded the Sweet Talker Society, a cadre of healers whose members guide the HJ strategies of their respective organizations and work to increase access to healing modalities for marginalized communities across the south. Cherizar is an aborisha in the Ifa tradition and a proud Hoodoo protected by a legion of ancestors. She comes from freedom fighters, institution builders, educators, and spiritual leaders– it is literally in her blood to serve the Black liberation movement.
Hazel Gomez
(She/Her)
Hazel Gómez is a Puerto Rican and Mexican Muslim convert of over 20 years hailing from Chicago’s west side. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with double Bachelor’s degrees in Forensic Science and Biology. Hazel’s passion for studying Islam was heightened while at Al-Azhar University with a delegation of Latino and Latin American Muslim students where they studied a myriad of the foundational Islamic sciences. A lifelong student of knowledge, Hazel is currently studying the Islamic Sciences with Rabata.org Ribaat Academic Institute, a seminary program under the tutelage of Shaykha Dr. Tamara Gray and other Muslim women scholars since 2012. She has an ijazah in the Forty Hadith of Imam an-Nawawi and hopes to complete the Ribaat Scholar Certification.
Hazel has served as a curriculum developer, trainer, and mentor with a cohort of Muslim community organizers who worked on a comprehensive community organizing and leadership development program for Muslims nationwide in which an Islamic framework is core to the curriculum. Additionally, as a labor of love, she serves as a faith-based community organizing advisor with Dream of Detroit, a nonprofit that combines community organizing with strategic housing and land development to build a healthy community and empower a marginalized neighborhood. She is an avid reader of all things about Muslims in America and is interested in the research and creation of an authentic Latino Muslim experience. In 2021, she was named by the Center of American Progress as one of 21 faith leaders to watch. She currently lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband and three sons.
Nicole Morris
(She/Her)
Nicole Taylor Morris, MTS is a womanist bioethicist, scholar-activist, lifespan full-spectrum doula, and movement chaplain–but most importantly, the daughter and granddaughter of incredible Black women. She currently coordinates the Alameda County Public Health Department’s first Community Doula program in the Bay Area of California. She is also a research consultant and subject matter expert for a Black Maternal Health and the Black Church project with Dr. Wylin Wilson at Duke University and a Curriculum Advisory Committee Member with the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA). Nicole is also a Board Member of the Tamir Rice Foundation and has supported organizations including Common Good Co-op and Data for Black Lives with cultural impact production and event planning, transformative justice and equity and inclusion frameworks, and strategic partnerships for sustainability.
She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School (‘20) and Tufts University (‘18) where her scholarly work and praxis focused on the intersections of Black women and community health, community-centered healing, and the role of spirituality in wellness.
Tierney Ridley
(She/They)
Rev. Tierney C. Ridley is a social entrepreneur, operations professional, and ordained minister dedicated to liberation and wholeness for all of God’s children. A proud queer millennial womanist, Rev. Tierney curates spaces that inspire courageous authenticity and holistic wellness through her platform, Whole & Bold. She is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Connect with her on social media @TierneyCarlynn or book her for events, speaking engagements, or wedding officiation.
Schantell Taylor
(She/Her)
Schantell Taylor is a Native Hawaiian practitioner deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of her ancestors. She uses these practices as a source of grounding, healing, and connection. Schantell’s work reflects the values and wisdom passed down through generations, serving as a bridge between the past and present, the land and the people, the seen and the unseen. She is a community leader, healer, and cultural practitioner dedicated to the liberation and well-being of Native Hawaiians in both Detroit and Waianae. Though currently based in Michigan as part of the diaspora, Schantell remains deeply rooted in her home community of Waianae, continuing to support and uplift its people through advocacy, cultural education, and healing practices. Her work bridges communities, creating pathways for Native Hawaiian youth in Michigan to access and learn about their culture while actively engaging in the ongoing fight for sovereignty, self-determination, and cultural preservation in Hawaiʻi.
As a member of Healing by Choice! Detroit, a healing justice collective, Schantell is honored and deeply grateful to work alongside an incredible community of healers and change makers, offering care and support to those who have been historically marginalized. As the creator of HOUSE OF MOONS at the Great Lakes Herb Faire, Schantell has cultivated a space dedicated to supporting women and Two-Spirit individuals emotionally and physically, honoring the many aspects of identity, transformation, and embodiment. As an energy and bodyworker, she is passionate about sharing and facilitating retreats that delve into spiritual and emotional growth. Schantell is deeply invested in liberation work and is dedicated to building meaningful relationships with those she encounters, fostering understanding and connection across cultures.
