Faculty Webinar: From Aspiration to Action – Equipping White Folks for Anti-Racist Practice
Many White individuals express aspirations toward anti-racism, yet struggle to translate these intentions into meaningful action that fosters belonging for all. How can we help White members of our organizations move beyond ideological platitudes to embodied practices that build equitable communities?
Drs. Paul Hoard (psychology) and Ron Ruthruff (theology) have spent the past three years grappling with this challenge within a theological institution. In this webinar, engage with the psychological and theological factors that often inhibit white individuals’ ability to sustain anti-racist action—particularly the temptation to protect an idealized self-image rather than confront uncomfortable realities.
Participants will explore policies and practices that cultivate equity and inclusion in churches, schools, and agencies. This conversation asks new questions to help organizations move toward credible, community-rooted anti-racist practice.
Dr. Ron Ruthruff has served homeless and street-involved youth and their families for the past 30 years. He has provided case management services, designed programs, and educated the community on the issues that impact this vulnerable population. Ron’s career goal is to empower persons to live lives of significance, to equip the church to love and serve their neighbors, and to engage communities in cross-cultural and global conversations.
Ron’s education is an eclectic blend of social work, counseling, and theological studies. Ron holds a BA from Western Washington University, an MS from Pepperdine University, and a Doctorate of Ministry in Complex Urban Settings from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston.
Dr. Paul Hoard is a licensed counselor who holds a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. He completed the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program at the Greater Kansas City Psychoanalytic Institute and he specializes in working with adolescents with sexual behavior problems. A “third culture kid,” he was raised in Ankara, Turkey, and has provided mental health counseling and clinical supervision in the United States, Ukraine, and Turkey. His research and scholarly work draw on Lacanian psychoanalysis and focus on the intersection of perpetration trauma, sexuality, white-body supremacy, and adolescent mental health. An interdisciplinary thinker, he works at the convergence of psychoanalysis, theology, and cultural formation.