Team — Steel City Theology

Gwendolen Jackson

Gwendolen is a PhD student in Theology at Duquesne University. She is also working on her master knitting certification through the Knitting Guild of America, a process that is much more tedious and prone to failure than the PhD. She practices ashtanga yoga in the earliest morning she can manage. The yoga practice may sound fancy, but don’t be fooled—she is a stone cold mess on the mat. She can’t pass a golden retriever without stopping to say hello.

Joseph Smith

Joe is the Director of Spiritual Formation at First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh and a PhD Candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow in the Department of Theology at Duquesne University. Joe is dad to three really cool kids. He’s a practitioner of aiki jujitsu, an avid Texas Hold ‘Em player, and a bluegrass enthusiast.

J. Leavitt pearl

Justin is the director of The Atkins Center for Ethics at Carlow University, and a religious educator with the United Methodist Church. He is a recent graduate of Duquesne University’s systematic theology Ph.D. program, with a focus on philosophy of religion and sexuality. Other interests include radical theology, medieval mysticism, political theology, and more. When he’s not working, you can usually find Justin reading, running, working on political campaigns, or losing his money to Joe in Texas Hold ‘Em.