Research Fellows
2024-2025
Fr. Francis Afu | Georgetown University, Theological and Religious Studies, Ph.D.`25
Fr. Francis Afu is a Catholic priest and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University. Fr. Francis holds advanced degrees in philosophy, theology, and Islamic studies, including a Master of Islamic Studies from Charles Sturt University, where his thesis explored the Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad. An accomplished author, Fr. Francis wrote Capsule for the Day (2020), a daily devotional offering reflections to bring healing and hope to a broken world. He is also a contributing writer of scripture reflections for the online publication Where Peter Is. Previously, he served as “Reverend in Residence” at Annunciation Catholic Church and has remained deeply engaged in intercultural and religious diversity initiatives throughout his ministry. His work continues to illuminate the intersections of faith, culture, and dialogue, with plans to publish his research on the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate in 2025. His research examines the evolution of interfaith engagement through two pivotal historical documents: “the Najran Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad and Nostra Aetate.”
Jonathan Kopel, MD, Ph.D. | Medstar Georgetown University Hospital
Dr. Jonathan Kopel is a neurology resident at the Georgetown MedStar Neurology-NIH Program and a dedicated clinician-scientist with a passion for neuroimmunology and neurovirology. He completed his MD and PhD training at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Beyond his medical and scientific pursuits, Dr. Kopel has a deep interest in religious studies and interfaith dialogue. As a member of the Lubbock Interfaith Group, he engaged regularly with individuals from diverse faith traditions, fostering academic collaborations and discussions around theology and philosophy. Since 2021, he has served as editor and contributor for the Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal focusing on community hospital medicine. Dr. Kopel’s research will explore the intersection of faith and medicine, where he examines how religious traditions provide tools to navigate the profound experiences of suffering, death, and meaning faced by both patients and healthcare providers. Drawing from his own experience, he reflects on the spiritual insights gained from his patients’ diverse faith traditions and how these have shaped his understanding of God, love, and humanity.
Nicolás Panotto, Ph.D. | Director General, Otros Cruces
Nicolás Panotto is a distinguished theologian, researcher, and director whose work bridges religion, politics, and public advocacy from a Latin American perspective. He holds a degree in Theology (ISEDET), a Master’s in Social and Political Anthropology, and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences (FLACSO Argentina). As the Director General of Otros Cruces (“Other Crossings”), an organization based in Chile that focuses on religion and public spaces, Nicolás has facilitated dialogue on secularism, religious freedom, and human rights for civil society organizations across more than 15 countries in Latin America. His research investigates the intersections of religious identities, global politics, and postcolonial theory, addressing the tensions and opportunities they present within the region. An accomplished author, Nicolás has published extensively on topics such as religion and politics, public theology, and decolonial theory. Nicolás` research will continues on religious identities and global politics, contributing vital perspectives on how religion shapes public discourse and advocacy in Latin America and beyond.
Shino Yokotsuka | University of Massachusetts Boston, Global Governance, Human Security, and Conflict Resolution, Ph.D.`25
Shino Yokotsuka is a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer in the Department of Global Governance, Human Security, and Conflict Resolution at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Shino is also a certified family mediator and intercultural dialogue facilitator. She aspires to work as a scholar-practitioner, bridging research and practice to address complex global challenges. Shino’s research interests focus on religious freedom, minority rights, civil resistance, and conflict analysis, with a particular emphasis on the rights of religious minorities. Her career has been equally dynamic. Shino participated in the Religious and Civic Leaders Fellowship at the Freedom Forum’s Religious Freedom Center and later worked at Soliya as a program coordinator and dialogue facilitator. She also serves as a mediator for the D.C. Courts Family Mediation Program. Her current research examines Muslim minorities’ access to justice in Japan, contributing to a broader understanding of global citizenship, human rights, religion and governance.
James Shelton Nalley, Ph.D. | Georgetown University, Theological and Religious Studies, Ph.D.`24
James Shelton Nalley is a Georgetown University Theological and Religious Studies doctoral student. His research focuses on philosophical theology as it relates to spiritual life and how the contemporary incarnation of comparative theology offers an opportunity to enrich our understanding of one another, our traditions, and ourselves. While Shelton is interested broadly in historical and contemporary encounters between Christianity and Islam, he is mainly engaged with the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and Ibn al-‘Arabī. Shelton seeks to reimagine the works of Aquinas through an encounter with Ibn al-‘Arabī’s intellectual mysticism, in the same way Aquinas reimagined Christianity due to his encounter with Greco-Arab philosophy. Shelton received an M.T.S. degree in Comparative Theology from Harvard Divinity School (2016) and a B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Christopher Newport University (2012). He worked as the Office Manager at the Christian Association and Muslim Life at UPenn.
Allison K. Ralph, Ph.D. | Founder and Principal, Cohesion Strategy
Allison K. Ralph is a thought leader in religious pluralism and social cohesion with 20 years of experience in strategy, research, and nonprofit and philanthropic leadership. She served at The Aspen Institute`s Religion & Society Program as an Assistant, Associate, Interim Director, and Director of its Religion and Philanthropy Initiative. During her five-year tenure at Aspen, Allison edited Pluralism in Peril: Challenges to an American Ideal, developed a seven-component framework to understand the system of religious pluralism, published both academic and industry papers on religion and philanthropy, and contributed to a special journal issue on Religious Literacy in Education. She also previously managed events at the El-Hibri Foundation and The Catholic University of America. She has spoken from the main stage at the IRF Summit and the El-Hibri Peace Awards. She has given talks at the United Philanthropy Forum and the American Academy of Religion. Allison has a Ph.D. in church history from The Catholic University of America and an MPhil from Cambridge University. Her graduate research focused on how societies manage or fail to manage their internal diversity and how they create and maintain social boundaries.
Kate Kelly Middleton | The Catholic University of America, Religion and Culture, Ph.D.`24
Kate Kelly Middleton is a Ph.D. candidate & Teaching Fellow in Religion & Culture at Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies. Her research interests focus on interreligious study and comparative theology, with her doctoral work applying a Muslim and Catholic comparative theological framework of hope and fear to analyze contemporary problem sets. As a 2021 FASPE Fellow, Middleton engaged in historical case studies of atrocity, studying religious actors and communities and the role religious traditions play in cultivating and operationalizing particular forms of hope and fear. Middleton also studied through the WTC, receiving a certificate in Muslim & Christian Studies, participating in the ICJS` “Emerging Muslim-Christian Leaders” inaugural cohort and 2022 Faculty Seminar on Genocide and Interreligious Studies, and training through Georgetown University’s interfaith Clinical Pastoral Education program. She is a former U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer and holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy (BS), Marquette University (MA), and Catholic University of America (MA).
Aisha Subhan | Chicago Theological Seminary, Islamic and Interreligious Studies, Ph.D.`25
Aisha Subhan is a Ph.D. candidate at the Chicago Theological Seminary in Islamic and Interreligious Studies. Her work largely engages mysticism within her tradition of Islam and others with special consideration of female mystics, the feminine element/divine feminine, and ways in which feminism(s)/womanism(s) may contribute to this study and in fostering peace and healing within and into the world. Previously, Aisha attended Bayan Islamic Graduate School where she received her Master’s of Arts in Islamic Studies, and the University of California, San Diego where she received her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science and the Study of Religion. Aisha enjoys traveling, writing poetry, and walking by the lake. In the future, Aisha hopes to become a professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies.
David Tassell | George Mason University, Religious Studies, Adjunct Faculty
David Tassell teaches courses in Religious Studies as adjunct faculty at GMU, including Religion and Literature, Religions of the West, and Human Religious Experience. His classes often focus on the connections between religion, politics, and culture, from ancient Near Eastern religions to modern developments like American civil religion. He holds a Master of Theological Studies with a concentration in Political Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. He is continuing his Virginia Commonwealth University.