Kevin D. Dougherty is professor of sociology at Baylor University, Waco, Texas where he is an award-winning teacher and researcher. He has studied and written about religious affiliation, religious participation, racial diversity in religious organizations, as well as congregational growth and decline. His published research appears in leading academic journals and has been featured in major news outlets.

Alexis Tardy joined the Alliance staff in the summer of 2023, working with our THRIVE cohort. Before returning to Indianapolis in 2020, Alexis led as the Program Director at Faith and For the Sake of All, where she organized trainings and workshops to end racial disparities in Saint Louis. While in St. Louis,  Alexis was deeply impacted by the protest in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown, Jr.  As a consultant for Urban Strategies, she mentored youth and worked with families and community leaders in Ferguson, Missouri. Alexis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Womanist Preaching degree at Memphis Theological Seminary.

Gerardo Marti is William R. Kenan professor of sociology at Davidson College, Davidson, N.C., and the architect of the Churches that THRIVE for Racial Justice project. He is also the author of several books including American Blindspot: Race, Class, Religion, and the Trump Presidency (2020). He worships at congregational partner Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.

Mark T. Mulder is professor of sociology at Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Mich., and focuses his work on urban congregations and their changing racial-ethnic demographics. Among his most recent publications is his book The Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry.

Reverend Elijah R. Zehyoue serves as the Co-Director of the Alliance of Baptists. In this role, he is leading them through an effort to become an anti-racist organization. As a historian, theologian, pastor, preacher, and teacher, Elijah is committed to using his many gifts to help people of all walks of life do the head, heart, and soul work required for our collective liberation. He is a graduate of Morehouse College (B.A.) and the University of Chicago (M.Div.), and he is currently a Ph.D. candidate in African History at Howard University where he is writing a dissertation on the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and the Origins of the Conflict in Liberia. Additionally, Elijah teaches African and African American Studies at Georgetown University. Prior to coming to the Alliance, Elijah served on the pastoral staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Elijah is originally from Liberia, West Africa and grew up in Baton Rouge, La.