July 2024: Welcoming New Research Staff!
As the scope of the Healing Heritage project continues to grow, so does our team…
Dr. David Chao joined the Healing Heritage team in April 2024 as a co-Investigator, alongside Drs. Manalang and Gloria, and will focus on recruitment and research on Filipino nurses in California. He is the Director of the Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary and teaches courses on Asian American theology, organizes academic programs in Asian American theology and ministry, and mentors Asian and Asian American students. His research and writing focus on Asian American theology, the uses of Christian doctrine for liberation, the convergence and divergence of Protestant and Catholic dogmatics, and the theology of Karl Barth. His first book, titled Concursus and Concept Use in Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Providence, is under contract with Routledge. He is grant co-author and project editor for the $300,000 translation grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to the Karl Barth Translator’s Seminar. He is also developing a multi-volume project on Asian American theology. Chao is a graduate of Yale University (BA), Regent College (MDiv), and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThM, PhD). He is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Association for Asian American Studies. Chao has a wide range of pastoral experience with Chinese American, Korean American, and Pan-Asian churches and ministries and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Yanan Rahim Melo, Dr. Chao’s graduate assistant and M.Div. candidate at the Princeton Theological Seminary also joined the project as a Research Assistant. His research concentrates on the intersections between race, theology, and the arts. Melo graduated with a B.A. in Theology from the Moody Bible Institute and his research has been published in Christianity Today, Sojourners Magazine, Inheritance Magazine, Interfaith America, and more. He is also the Lead Editor for the God Here & Now Magazine at the Center for Barth Studies and Managing Editor at the Center for Asian American Christianity.
Most recently, Aimary Rubio became the newest Research Assistant at Healing Heritage as of June 2024. She holds a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, a graduate certificate in Policy Development and Advocacy for Global Health from the University of Washington, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of the Philippines. Rubio also has an extensive background in mental health, learning and development in both the Philippines and United States and will assist Dr. Christian Gloria with recruitment and interviews at the New York project site.
All of us here at Healing Heritage are very excited with the addition of our three newest team members! Learn more about the rest of the project staff by visiting our Team page.
Image Alternative Text: Three portraits, side by side, of our newest team members: Dr. David Chao, Yanan Rahim Melo, and Aimary Rubio, ordered left to right. Dr. David Chao is smiling and wearing a blue-gray suit in a park with trees and a walking path in the background. Yanan is smiling and wearing a dark T-shirt, tan jacket, and beaded necklace in front of a body of water and trees with the sun shining through the background. Aimary is smiling and wearing a light blue Columbia graduation gown in a portrait studio with a dark neutral background.