About the Center
The Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation is a community of scholars, faith leaders, organizers, and citizens dedicated to being and building a beloved community in Virginia and beyond. Recognizing the ongoing crisis in our nation and world, the Center embarks on a bold journey of living faith, advancing justice, and building sustainable paths for authentic reconciliation and community.
The Center offers a variety of educational programs – seminars, conferences, institutes, and symposia – for students, congregations, community and faith leaders and public officials that advance justice and build cultures for reconciliation. The Center also curates innovative public programs to enhance and support public conversation and engagement on issues of justice and reconciliation.
Dr. Sabrina E. Dent, President
Sabrina E. Dent, D. Min., is a life-long advocate for human rights and social justice. As an interfaith leader, Dr. Dent developed a strong passion for religious freedom as a 2015 BJC Fellow with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Her public scholarship addresses the complexities of religious freedom, religion and public policy, and race, religion, and American public life.
Prior to assuming the presidency of Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation, Dr. Dent served as director of programs and partnerships for the Religious Freedom Center of the Freedom Forum Institute and, most recently, as senior faith advisor for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. At Americans United, Dr. Dent served as a member of the Faith for Equality working group where she mobilized religious leaders to amplify faith voices on legislative issues such as the Equality Act to ensure and expand federal legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, women, and religious minority groups.
Dr. Dent’s faith outreach and advocacy efforts were recognized by the Center for American Progress when she was named one of 21 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2021. Dr. Dent led the charge in organizing the Washington Interfaith Staff Communities “Interfaith Rally and March: A Call for Justice and Healing” calling on elected officials to address police reform and public policies that target historically marginalized communities.
A much sought after speaker, Dr. Dent has lectured widely at universities, seminaries, and conferences across the nation. In 2020, she was nominated for the American Academy of Religion’s Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion. Dr. Dent co-hosts the Sister Act Podcast with Hurunnessa Fariad and Rabbi Sue Shankman. The podcast is dedicated to women of faith from different religious traditions and engages various topics around life, faith, and resilience.
Dr. Dent is the editor and contributing author of the book African Americans and Religious Freedom: New Perspectives for Congregations and Communities and her articles have appeared in Religion News Service, Freedom Forum, Christian Citizen, and Americans United. Dr. Dent received her bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.
Contact Information for Dr. Dent
Mailing Address
Dr. Sabrina E. Dent, President
Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation
3401 Brook Road
Richmond, Virginia 23227
reimaginereligiousfreedom@gmail.com
Media Inquiries
communications@faithandjusticerva.com
Social Media
Follow Dr. Dent on Twitter @PROVERBSKIDS
Board of Directors
Brian K. Blount, President and Professor of New Testament in the Walter W. Moore and Charles E.S. Kraemer Presidential Chairs, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Brad R. Braxton, President and Professor of Public Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary and Founding Senior Pastor, The Open Church
Linda McKinnish Bridges, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Salem College and Former President and Founding Faculty Member, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
Sabrina E. Dent, President, Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation
Steve Law, Principal, Financial Leadership for Churches and Nonprofits, LLC
Bill J. Leonard, Founding Dean and Professor of Divinity Emeritus, Wake Forest University School of Divinity
Keisha E. McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Programs, Auburn Seminary
Amanda Tyler, Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee
Corey D. B. Walker, Interim Dean, School of Divinity and Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, Wake Forest University
Jonathan L. Walton, President, Princeton Theological Seminary
Bill Wilson, Director, Center for Healthy Churches and Former Chair, Board of Trustees of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond
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