Alumni Advisory Board
The Comparative Religion Alumni Advisory Board (CRAAB) consists of graduates or friends of the Department of Comparative Religion who generously volunteer their time and expertise to support the department and its students. Board members help connect students with mentoring and other opportunities for professional development; they also advise the department and the dean of the College of Arts and Science about programming and fundraising.
Click on an alum's photo or name to read more about how studying religion at Miami helped prepare them for the work they do today.
Chair
Jennifer M. Sanka
Class of 2001
Miami degree: B.A., anthropology and religion
Jennifer Sanka has worked in the environmental compliance industry for 15 years and has nearly 20 years of archaeological field experience in the U.S. and Jordan. She currently works as a project manager and professional archaeologist on projects throughout California and in the Great Lakes region.
Vice-chair
Richard K. Rappleye
Class of 1962
Miami degree: B.A., humanities
Dick Rappleye currently works with individuals and organizations as an executive mentor and transition coach. He has extensive experience in the non-profit sector, including vice-presidential leadership at both the Kresge Foundation and the C.S. Mott Foundation.
Other board members
Amy Allison
Class of 1986 and 1989
Miami degrees: B.A., religion and English; M.A., English
Amy Allison has been employed for the past 15 years teaching high school English at a democratic school of choice. She is a former technical writer and "chemical gypsy" (moving wherever her husband's job in the chemical industry took them).
Whittney Barth
Class of 2008
Miami degree: B.A., religion and American studies
Whittney Barth is a J.D. candidate at the University of Chicago Law School, where she is interested in civil rights and constitutional law. She also holds an M.Div. degree from Harvard Divinity School and, prior to law school, served as the assistant director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard.
Alex Boster
Class of 2019
Miami degree: B.A., religion (in process)
Alex Boster is an undergraduate member of the board. She is a senior, double-majoring in religion and political science. She is an executive member of the Comparative Religion Student Association and served a two-year term as a Student Trustee on Miami's Board of Trustees.
Kathleen (Mahoney Hladky) Grant
Class of 2004 and 2006
Miami degrees: B.A., philosophy and religion; M.A., religion
After a few years working in academia, Kathleen Grant opted to pursue a more flexible career. She is now employed part-time as an operations manager for a small non-profit, Camp Quest. She is also helping the Department of Comparative Religion build its online curriculum.
Christopher M. Kromer
Class of 2010
Miami degree: M.A., religion
Chris has worked in the Ohio Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives; he was also a legal intern in the U.S. State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. He currently works as a journalist in his home state of Ohio.
Matt Jackson-McCabe
Class of 1989
Miami degree: B.A., religion
Matt Jackson-McCabe earned graduate degrees in New Testament & Early Christian Literature from the University of Chicago. He now teaches comparative religion at Cleveland State University.
Olivia K. Mote
Class of 2011
Miami degree: M.A., religion
Olivia Mote is a law clerk at Eustice, Laffey, Sebranek & Auby, S.C., in Sun Prairie, WI. In addition, she has been a legal intern at Forward Health Group, Inc., and a student attorney at the Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Shelley Walker Pieklik
Class of 2002
Miami degree: B.A., religion
Shelley Pieklik worked for over a decade in corporate retail, including as a regional human resources recruiter, before opening her own high-end retail store. Currently a stay-at-home mother of four, she also does non-profit fundraising and serves as president of the board of trustees of a local school.
Connect with our alumni
