Teddy raShaan (Reeves), Ph.D. is a multifaceted, award-winning producer, curator, educator, and storyteller. Currently, Teddy serves as the Curator of Religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. Through this work at the NMAAHC, teddy has created innovative projects that have highlighted the influence of digital technologies and media in capturing, preserving, and telling the stories of Black spiritual and religious life in the Americas.

Most recently, Teddy created and produced the NMAAHC’s first featured film, gOD-Talk, which explores the lives of seven Black Millennials (Buddhist, Christians, Atheist, Ifa, Muslim, and Spiritualist) and how they are reimaging faith in the 21st century. The film has received critical acclaim having been selected in 12 film festivals and won Best LGBTQ film at the Northern Virginia Film Festival. In 2018, teddy created, and executive produced the Museum first digital series under the same name, “gOD-Talk: A Black Millennials and Faith Conversation Series.” The series garner critical acclaim–having received more than 40 Telly Awards and five Shorty Awards for digital innovation, tackling pressing social issues, production, religion and spirituality media, art direction, and more.

In addition, Teddy curated the NMAAHC’s first born-digital religion exhibition, “Jesus’ Hair Like Wool: Black Messianic Representations in Art, History, and Media,” which explores– through a recently rediscovered sculpture of the Last Supper–the historic and contemporary role of Black messianic figures (Father Divine, Martin Luther King, Daddy Grace, Marcus Garvey, etc.) and portrayals in Black history, music, art, and culture. In addition, Teddy is the curator of the forthcoming exhibition, “‘They Are Killing Me Tonight:’ The Final Words Black and LatinX Men from the Death Chamber,” which explores the role of the death penalty and mass incarceration in the lives of Black and Brown men. Most recently, teddy founded Art Like ME Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to help empower Black and Brown boys and men cultivate emotional intelligence through art and culture. One of the signature programs of the organization is gifting framed visual art prints, by established artists, to boys (newborn to 12th grade) at no cost. Working alongside Dr. Yolanda Pierce, teddy helped to establish The Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. Teddy’s commitment to community led him to create The Reeves Group to help educational, cultural, and faithbased non-profit organizations, domestically and internationally, reach their fundraising and board goals. His work contributed to over $70 million in philanthropic revenue. Alongside these efforts, Teddy has also served as an English teacher at the Thacher School (Ojai, CA) and Providence Day School (Charlotte, NC), and as a teaching assistant at Princeton University Pace Center for Civic Engagement.

Teddy earned his B.A. from Hampton University, M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, and Ph.D. from Fordham University. Teddy hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and now calls Brooklyn, New York home with his wife, Briana Gibson Reeves.

Becka A. Alper is a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center where she leads surveys exploring American religious identities, beliefs and practices, including the views and demographic profile of Jewish Americans and the religiously unaffiliated. Her work is instrumental in shaping the Center’s U.S. religion polls and offering insights into the role of religion in American public life. She has authored major reports analyzing America’s changing religious landscape, the experiences and views of Jewish Americans, spiritual beliefs and practices, what Americans know about religion, a new way of understanding religious identities in America, how religion intersects with Americans’ view on the environment, among many others. Becka holds a doctorate in sociology from Purdue University.

This program is made possible by Week Four Presenting Sponsor Erie Insurance. This program is also supported by The John and Christine Dawson Family Fund.

Besheer Mohamed is a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center with extensive experience studying Muslim American communities. More broadly, his research examines religious identities, beliefs and practices in the United States, with a particular focus on the intersection of religion and race.

He has led public opinion studies on the experiences and attitudes of Muslim Americans, a religious profile of Asian Americans, the religious composition of Hispanic Americans, and faith among Black Americans, among others. He also publishes regularly in scholarly journals and has authored book chapters for Oxford University Press and NYU Press. His insights have been featured in prominent media outlets such as CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

Besheer holds a doctorate in sociology and a master’s degree in Middle East studies from the University of Chicago.

Wajahat Ali is a writer and an exhausted, middle-aged dad who drives a minivan and shops at Costco. In his previous life, he was the author of the play, “The Domestic Crusaders,” an attorney, a co-host of a TV show, and a CNN and NYT contributor.

Currently, he is the author of the memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, and editor of The Left Hook Substack. He co-hosts the Democracy-Ish show with Danielle Moodie and American Unhinged with Francesca Fiorentini. He yearns to have abs but he cannot give up Pakistani food, so he has made peace with his dad bod.

This program is made possible by Week Four Presenting Sponsor Erie Insurance. This program is also supported by The Dr. William N. Jackson Religious Initiative Fund.