“Participating in the collaborative work of those involved with the Louisville Institute inspires and affirms the future-thinking of this organization for church, academy, and society.”

Neomi De Anda, serves as the Executive Director for the International Marian Research Institute. She is also a tenured Professor at the University of Dayton Department of Religious Studies. She teaches courses in religion, languages and cultures, Latinx and Latin American studies, race and ethnic studies, and women and gender studies. She is a  Marianist Educational Associate. Dr. De Anda is a Catholic Lay Marianist and part of the Micah Theotokos Marianist Lay Community. 

Dr. De Anda holds a Ph.D. in Constructive Theology from Loyola University Chicago.  She also has master’s degrees in Theology (Oblate School of Theology) and Educational Leadership (St. Mary’s University). Dr. De Anda has scholarly presentations, publications and exhibitions on her research interests of Mary and breast milk; chisme; LatinoXa Christology; migrations in conjunction with the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative Immigrant Justice Team. She maintains a commitment to a border theology at the intersections of the environment, migrations, labor, and women because of her roots in El Paso, Texas.  Dr. De Anda hosts the Chisme Symposium at the University of Dayton. Learn more at www.chisme.space. 

She is the recipient of the 2021 University of Dayton Award for Faculty Teaching; the 2021 University of Dayton College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Service Award for faculty; and the First Book Prize for Minority Scholars from the Louisville Institute, where she now serves on the board. She is a past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). She has also served as “Theologian in Residence” for First United Methodist Church of Boulder and “Scholar in Residence” for the North American Center for Marianist Life (NACMS). Dr. De Anda also has received various grants from the Hispanic Theological Initiative, the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Religion and Theology, and the Association of Marianist Universities.