Project Staff

Rev. Sarah Ann Bixler, PhD

Program Director and Co-Principal Investigator

Sarah Ann Bixler (PhD and MDiv Princeton Theological Seminary, BA Eastern Mennonite University) is Assistant Professor of Formation and Practical Theology and Associate Dean of the Seminary at Eastern Mennonite University. Her research focuses on adolescent belonging, attachment, faith and meaning-making throughout the life course, human and spiritual formation, and communal practices of teaching and learning.

Sarah is currently working on a book manuscript that draws on attachment theory to understand the paradox of adolescent happiness without belonging in religious communities, and equip communities to respond in ways that support belonging and faith. She is the editor of the Collected Essays of Richard Osmer (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2022) and her chapter "Religion Has No Bo(u)nds? Expanding the Dimensions of Religion to the Attachment of Spiritual Friendship” is featured in Multireligious Reflections on Friendship: Becoming Ourselves in Community (Lexington Books, 2023).

Sarah is ordained for teaching ministry in the Virginia Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. Prior to university and seminary teaching, Sarah was a middle school teacher, congregational youth minister, Sunday school curriculum writer and regional church administrator. She and her spouse enjoy the adventure of parenting their three school-aged children.

Rev. Almeda Wright, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator

Almeda M. Wright (PhD Emory University, MDiv Harvard Divinity School, MAT Simmons College, BS Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is the tenured Associate Professor of Religious Education at Yale Divinity School. Her research focuses on African American religion, Womanist practical theology, adolescent spiritual development, and the intersections of religion, education, and public life. Almeda recently launched Communitas, a young adult ministry innovation hub at Yale.

Almeda’s most recent book Teaching to Live: Black Religion, Activist-Educators and Radical Social Change (Oxford, 2024) explores religion, education, and radial social change among African Americans through the stories of eight educators across the twentieth century. She is also the author of The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans (Oxford, 2017) and the editor, with Mary Elizabeth Moore, of Children, Youth, and Spirituality in a Troubling World. Almeda contributed to the exciting student bible, the Common English (CEB) Student Bible.

Almeda is an ordained minister of the American Baptist Churches and has worked with young people for over 25 years, including as a 5^th and 6^th grade teacher, as a youth minister, and the Assistant Director of the Youth Theological Initiative at Emory University.

Amanda Gilbert

Graduate Research Assistant

Amanda Gilbert (she/her) is a Masters in Counseling student at Eastern Mennonite University and is eager to be a research assistant in the Restoring Connections Lab. Amanda graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in neuroscience.

Amanda grew up in DC and Maryland, but is currently interning at Adagio House in Harrisonburg during her graduate studies. Amanda is excited to work alongside families as they strengthen their bond and attachment and work towards healing together. In her free time, she loves to read, spend quality time with friends, and dance.

Katie Liskey

Graduate Research Assistant

Katie Liskey (she/her) is a graduate student in the Masters of Counseling program at EMU and is excited to join in with Conectere as a graduate research assistant with the Restoring Connections Lab. Katie grew up in Harrisonburg and graduated from James Madison University in 2021, where she studied psychology and sociology. She is particularly interested in the role of attachment and power as individuals interact with family and social systems they’re part of. Katie has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults through various roles in counseling, school, and church settings. In her free time, Katie enjoys reading, playing board games, and tending to her garden.

Sarah Layman

Graduate Research Assistant

Sarah Layman is in her third year at Eastern Mennonite University and is soon starting her internship at Wildly Rooted Counseling in Harrisonburg. In the past, she worked with kids ranging from the age of infant to 5th grade. She has a passion to work with individuals and families to help them discover the best versions of themselves. Sarah enjoys reading, knitting, and being in the mountains in her spare time.

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Project Staff

Rev. Sarah Ann Bixler, PhD

Program Director and Co-Principal Investigator

Rev. Almeda Wright, PhD

Co-Principal Investigator

Amanda Gilbert

Graduate Research Assistant

Katie Liskey

Graduate Research Assistant

Sarah Layman

Graduate Research Assistant

Gregory Czyszczon, PhD, LPC

Restoring Connections Lab Professor

Tamika Jackson

Assistant Professor of Counseling

Debra Pardini

Administrative Assistant

Kathy Smith

Finance Administrator

Michael Droege

Postdoc in Practical Theology

Tony Robertson

Graduate Research Assistant

Yenifer Dottin-Carter

Graduate Research Assistant