Innovation and Faith Communities
Dates/Times: Tuesdays, March 4th, 11th, 25th, and April 1st, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Location: Online Session
Instructor: Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, February 18th
Faith communities, congregations and faith-based non-profits are on the front lines of doing good. They are beacons of communal trust in an ever-evolving landscape of community leaders. These spaces are worthy of our innovative ideas. Innovation doesn’t just happen. It has to be stewarded and given space to grow and evolve. In this course we will make the case for why innovation matters and employ tools & strategies pertinent to faith communities to discover how one might spark a sustainable culture of innovation within a faith community. Innovation isn’t just one ah-ha moment of brilliance, it is a systematic commitment to the exploration of ideas and possibilities. Join us in this exploration.
Note: This course is an “online-by-design” course which includes both live class sessions and required assignments/activities outside of class.
Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes
Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes is a public theologian, innovation strategist, pastor and author. She is the Director of the Technology, Innovation & Digital Engagement Lab Fellowship housed at Union Theological Seminary. She studied under the doctoral advisement of Dr. L. Gregory Jones at Duke Divinity School where she completed her Doctorate in Ministry on innovation, social change and the church.
Dr. Gabby is a sought after voice in the public square. She was a featured contributor on The 2023 Oprah Winfrey Network’s documentary series: Time of Essence (HBO MAX), a contributor to The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History’s new film, GODTALK (2023) and was a featured contributor to Dr. Henry Lewis Gates’ documentary, GOSPEL (2024) on PBS. In 2022 she released her first book: Psalms for Black Lives, Reflections for the Work of Liberation. The book has sold more than 10,000 copies worldwide. Dr. Gabby travels the nation training and equipping faith leaders to do the work of love & justice. At the height of both a global pandemic and a contentious presidential election season, Dr. Gabby was appointed to then NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s COVID-19 Clergy Task Force. She also served as an Eastern Region Convener of the Black Church PAC where she trained hundreds of clergy across the eastern region of the nation on matters of faith & voter engagement strategies. In 2024 she was appointed to New York City Public School’s Interfaith Advisory Council. She received the Woman of Excellence Award from Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network in April 2024. She is a graduate of Duke, Yale, NYU & Hampton University. She currently serves as President of The Yale Divinity School Alumni Board. She’s also a member of the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. Dr. Gabby is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She resides in New York City with her husband, Rev. Dr. Andrew Wilkes.