our leadership team
Deb Conrad
Deborah DeMars Conrad, EdD, she/her. Deb founded UrbanSpirit in 2001 to help Church think in new ways about American empire and our responsibility to one another. She has served as pastor and teacher in many settings, including 8 years in Flint, Michigan, consuming and agitating against lead-poisoned water. Deb was recipient of the 2017 Esther Davis Award for Social Justice, given by the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago, and the 2018 Associated Church Press “Best of the Church Press” Award of Excellence for Biblical Interpretation. She’s at home these days in Louisville, trying to help make church the best it can be.
You can read Deb's blog and listen to her sermons at www.mendtheworld.me.
kHALILAH COLLINS
Khalilah V. Collins, MSW, she/her. Khalilah is the mother of two, a social worker, educator, community organizer and activist, and calls herself a Social Justice Practitioner. Khalilah has over 20 years of experience in community organizing, program development, and education around economic and racial justice, mental health and violence prevention. A former US Marine, she came to know poverty up close and personal after getting out of the military, and has fought the economic injustices faced by so many in this country. Currently, she is organizer for the DOVE Delegates project that is co-creating with community a program that seeks to reduce the footprint of law enforcement and judicial involvement of our most vulnerable community members. (She and Deb met at a protest in New York City; how cool is that?). Khalilah has been part of UrbanSpirt since 2005.
whitney waller
Whitney Waller, M.Div., she/her. Whitney is a professional extrovert, part-time theologian, and unapologetic enneagram 8 who spends much of her time explaining to people: "I'm not angry, just passionate." Whitney channels her passion into her roles as pastor, mother, and partner. Whitney holds a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, where her coursework focused on interfaith partnership, community education and engagement, and social ethics. For over ten years, Whitney has served as a pastor in various roles, encouraging and challenging congregations to move beyond their pews and comfort zones to embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ (instead of, you know, just talking about it).