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Staff

Sara Heitler Bamberger, Director
rpgp@berkeley.edu, 643-1670, 225 Moses Hall
Sara Heitler Bamberger is the Director of the Religion, Politics and Globalization Program (RPGP). She manages project development, directs fundraising efforts including grants and fellowships; works with faculty and graduate students to support scholarship on religion and politics; and collaborates with campus area study centers, departments, and organizations to support public programming at UC Berkeley.  Sara graduated from Yale University with a degree in Religious Studies. She received her Master's in International Relations from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and has over eight years of experience running nonprofit organizations.

Lynne Gerber, Grants Coordinator
Lynne Gerber has a PhD in Ethics and Social Theory from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She coordinates grants for RPGP. Lynne received a Bachelors degree from Brandeis University and a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Her research interests include contemporary American evangelicalism, sexuality, the sociology of morality, and the cultural politics of body size. Her dissertation, Ruling the Unruly Body: Morality and Bodily Change in American Evangelicalism, is a qualitative, comparative study of a Christian weight loss program and an ex-gay ministry. Her work has been published in Nova Religio, Social Compass, and Fieldwork in Religion. Lynne also works a research consultant, and is currently working on a project investigating Baptists and sexuality.

Jessica Owen, Events Coordinator
ojessie@berkeley.edu, 642-2474, 225 Moses Hall
Jessica Owen is the Events Coordinator at the Religion, Politics and Globalization Program (RPGP).  She organizes lectures, seminars and conferences, as well as the coordination of graduate working groups and visiting scholar activities. She also helps design website, print and media development. Jessica graduated from UC Berkeley with honors in Political Science and a minor in Education. She wrote her honors thesis, "Leveling the Playing Field: American Evangelicals and Democracy Promotion" with RPGP Co-Director Ron Hassner as her adviser.