Damaris Seleina Parsitau, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of World and African Christianity and Gender Studies. She is also the Director of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.

Previously, Dr. Damaris Seleina Parsitau served as the Country Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa and as the Director of the Institute of Women, Gender, and Development Studies at Egerton University in Kenya. Since 2019, Dr. Parsitau has been the President of the African Association for the Study of Religion (AASR) in Africa and the African Diaspora. She holds a Ph.D. in African Christianity, with a focus on its intersections with women, gender, and leadership in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches.

Dr. Parsitau has been a Visiting Professor and Research Associate at the Women’s Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School and a Global Scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. A passionate advocate for social justice and gender empowerment, she is also a leading voice in girls’ education and women’s leadership in her native Kenya. Her work spans three key areas: teaching and research, academic leadership and administration, and social justice advocacy and community service. She has co-authored two books and published over 70 book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, policy blogs, and opinion pieces. Additionally, she serves on multiple boards and editorial committees worldwide.