Changing SEA Project Research Fellows

Walt Bower received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky in 2009. His dissertation examined how a multiracial church and a historic African American congregation adapted to racial and ethnic transformation in an urban neighborhood. His research focuses on the sociology of religion, critical race theory, and the sociology of gender.
    Walt Bower is studying a large African-American church in the Baptist tradition.

Tricia C. Bruce is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Maryville College in Maryville, TN. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2006. Previous appointments include Research Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Dr. Bruce’s research focuses on Catholic identity, culture, social movements, organizations, and discourse. She is currently finalizing the manuscript for her forthcoming book on the Catholic lay movement, Voice of the Faithful.
    Tricia Bruce is studying a Catholic parish that serves college students as well as local families.

Richard Cimino received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the New School for Social Research in 2008. He was recently a research fellow at the Ecologies of Learning project at New York Theological Seminary. He is also editor of Religion Watch, a newsletter monitoring trends in contemporary religion. His interests include Sociology of Religion and Urban Sociology.
    Richard Cimino is studying a large, non-denominational, multiracial church in New York City.

Justin Farrell is pursuing his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. Before coming to Notre Dame he completed his M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is interested in religion, sociology of technology, and culture.
    Justin Farrell is studying a large, mainline Protestant church with dedicated programming for young adults.

Ashley Palmer-Boyes is a doctoral student in Sociology at Baylor University, where she specializes in the sociological study of religion. Her research interests include Latino Catholicism and gender and religiosity. Ashley is also a Graduate Fellow with Baylor's Academy of Teaching and Learning and teaches courses in the Sociology of Religion and Marriage and the Family.
    Ashley Palmer-Boyes is studying a Mexican-American Catholic parish that serves young families.

Grace Yukich is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at New York University. Her research focuses on the shifting boundaries of religion, particularly as it relates to political activism. She is currently finishing her dissertation on the New Sanctuary Movement, an immigrant rights movement based in religious communities. She also works as a research consultant, most recently for the Social Science Research Council on their Religion & Public Life programs and for the Episcopal Church on projects examining gender inequality among clergy.
    Grace Yukich is studying a progressive mainline Protestant church in the heart of New York City.