CAP Academic Advisors & Bios
Academic Advisory Board
Professor Barbara McGraw, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor J.D. McGraw is a leading expert on American identity, the role of religion in public life, and religious pluralism. She's a highly accomplished academic, holding a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics and a J.D. from the University of Southern California, and is also a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout her career, McGraw has held several influential positions, including a five-year term on the American Academy of Religion's Committee for the Public Understanding of Religion. She also served as president of the AAR/Western Region and co-chaired the AAR national's Religion and Politics Section for seven years. McGraw founded the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism and has dedicated over a decade to directing the Governmental Chaplaincy and Religious Diversity program. She is also the International Interfaith Ambassador for the McCollum Foundation for Peace. Her expertise and extensive work have established her as a prominent author, speaker, and commentator on these critical issues.
Professor Leo. D. Lefebure, Ph. D.
Professor Lefebure is the inaugural holder of the Matteo Ricci, S.J., Chair of Theology at Georgetown University. He is the author of the award-winning Transforming Interreligious Relations: Catholic Responses to Religious Pluralism in the United States. His other award-winning books include Revelation, the Religions, and Violence; True and Holy: Christian Scripture and Other Religions; Revelation, the Religions, and Violence, and The Path of Wisdom: A Christian Commentary on the Dhammapada, coauthored with Peter Feldmeier. Lefebure is the president of the American Theological Society, the co-chair of the Interfaith Coalition Conference for Global Citizens, a past president of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, a research fellow of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a trustee emeritus of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Professor Jeffery D. Long, Ph. D
Professor Long, the Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religion, Philosophy, and Asian Studies, specializes in the religions and philosophies of India. He is the author of several books and numerous articles, as well as the editor of the series Explorations in Indic Traditions for Lexington Books. In 2020, he received Elizabethtown College’s Ranck Award for Excellence in Research, and in 2022, his book, Hinduism in America: A Convergence of Worlds, received the Rajinder and Jyoti Gandhi Book Award for Excellence in Theology, Philosophy, and Critical Reflection from the Dharma Academy of North America. He has spoken in numerous venues, both national and international, including Princeton University, Yale University, the University of Chicago, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Delhi University, and has also given three talks at the United Nations.
Curriculum Designers
Anneda Nettleton, B.Ed., M.Ed., Ed.S.
Anneda Nettleton is an eminently qualified educational resource creator who has been an English teacher for over 22 years at an independent K-12 school near Somerset, Kentucky. Anneda is a passionate educator and a seasoned curriculum freelance writer. Her professional interests include helping students become better communicators through written expression, integrating technology, and utilizing innovative activities to keep students engaged in learning.
Brooke Pillifant, M.A., MSc.
Brooke is an educator, curriculum designer, and storyteller with advanced degrees in Sociology and Mathematics. She has taught at the college and K–12 levels, worked on NIH-funded research, and spent the past decade developing engaging, inclusive learning materials. In 2016, she founded a nonprofit that helps incarcerated individuals heal through art.
Staff
Devala Rees
B.A, Religious Studies (Minnesota)
Education Research Assistant
Devala Rees currently works in education research and has experience teaching about Hindu traditions in the high school classroom setting. Additionally, he has over six years experience in teaching about Hindu Dharma traditions online to a variety of audiences, from novice to somewhat familiar, with his writings receiving over 108 million views.
Vijay Satnarine
M.A. (Hons)., Ph. D. Literatures, Languages and Cultures of Asia (Edinburgh)
Senior Director of Education
Dr. Satnarine has over 15 years of research, teaching and administrative experience in U.K. and U.S. higher educational institutions. He has created and instructed courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, taught and supervised Ph.D. students, contributed regularly to scholarly journals and publications, and has worked with state and district educational bodies facilitating teacher trainings and providing content review services.
Academic Advisory Board
Staff
Mr. Devala Rees
B.A. Religious Studies (Minnesota)
Education Research Assistant
Devala Rees currently works in education research and has experience teaching about Hindu traditions in the high school classroom setting. Additionally, he has over six years experience in teaching about Hindu Dharma traditions online to a variety of audiences, from novice to somewhat familiar, with his writings receiving over 102 million views.
Dr. Vijay Satnarine
Ph. D. Literatures, Languages and Cultures of Asia (Edinburgh)
Director of Education
Dr. Satnarine has over 15 years of research, teaching and administrative experience in U.K. and U.S. higher educational institutions. He has supervised Ph.D. students, created and instructed courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and has worked with state and district educational bodies conducting teacher trainings and providing content review services. He currently serves as a subject matter expert to produce material, in collaboration with other academics, suitable for K-12 audiences.
Curriculum Design Partners
Anneda Nettleton
B.Ed., M.Ed., Ed.S.
Anneda Nettleton is an eminently qualified educational resource creator who has been an English teacher for over 22 years at an independent K-12 school near Somerset, Kentucky. Anneda is a passionate educator and a seasoned curriculum freelance writer. Her professional interests include helping students become better communicators through written expression, integrating technology, and utilizing innovative activities to keep students engaged in learning.
Brooke Pillifant
M.A., MSc.
Brooke is an educator, curriculum designer, and storyteller with advanced degrees in Sociology and Mathematics. She has taught at the college and K–12 levels, worked on NIH-funded research, and spent the past decade developing engaging, inclusive learning materials. In 2016, she founded a nonprofit that helps incarcerated individuals heal through art.