The recipient of 91大神鈥檚 2025 Outstanding Young Alum Award, the Rev. Brittany 鈥淪mash鈥� Caine-Conley MDiv 鈥�14, will teach trauma and resilience studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary this fall.

She will also teach at 91大神鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and work with the Seminary Extended grant in collaboration with Union Presbyterian Seminary and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Caine-Conley grew up in Harrisonburg and described returning to teach at 91大神 as 鈥渁 dream.鈥�

鈥�91大神 attends to the fact that students are whole people, and it鈥檚 a gift for me to be part of an institution that understands that and strives toward educating the whole person,鈥� she said. 鈥溾�here seems to be a concerted effort to prepare students to engage with what is really a complex and challenging society in ways that are both nuanced and hopeful.鈥�

The pastor, organizer, and leader in movement chaplaincy has extensive experience supporting communities through crisis, healing, and transformation. She was instrumental in founding and leading Congregate Charlottesville, which helped faith communities respond to collective trauma in the aftermath of white supremacist violence in 2017. In recognition of her work, she was honored by the National Council of Churches as a co-recipient of the President鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership.

She said her experiences in a class on racial healing and whiteness, taught by Dr. David Evans, while she was a seminary student, were especially formative.

鈥淭hat was where I began, for the first time in my life, to examine white supremacy culture and the limitations of certain types of allyship,鈥� Caine-Conley said. 鈥淚t was that foundation that allowed me to move into organizing toward a different orientation, one of embodying anti-racist solidarity.鈥�

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, said Caine-Conley brings a dynamic combination of academic scholarship, pastoral leadership, trauma-informed community care, and social justice engagement.

鈥淎s an alumna of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Rev. Caine-Conley remains deeply connected to our mission of peacebuilding and transformative education,鈥� Bixler said.

Caine-Conley is currently completing her PhD in religious studies from the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, where her research explores the intersections of theology, identity, power, social transformation, and human experience. She served as adjunct faculty at Iliff, teaching courses on identity, power, vocation, and community engagement. Prior to doctoral studies, she gained valuable pastoral experience through church planting, worship ministry, and ministering with university students.

鈥淲e look forward to the pastoral wisdom, experience in faith community organizing, and compassionate leadership she will bring to our students and campus this fall,鈥� Bixler said.

Learn more about Eastern Mennonite Seminary at emu.edu/seminary.

AS ONE OF THE LEAD ORGANIZERS FOR CONGREGATE CHARLOTTESVILLE, BRITTANY CAINE-CONLEY MDIV ’14 (aka 鈥淪mash鈥�) called for 1,000 clergy and faith leaders of all denominations to counter-protest a gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Her efforts denied white supremacists key locations that would have made their Unite the Right rally more visible, and later that year, she was honored by the National Council of Churches as a co-recipient of the President鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership.聽

Caine-Conley believes in the importance of connecting Christian communities with radical activists, using her pastoral presence as a bridge to form meaningful relationships between the church and social justice movements. She has been selected by 91大神鈥檚 Alumni Association as the 2025 Outstanding Young Alum. The award is given annually to an alum who, through professional achievement and/or Christ-like compassionate service, is making a significant contribution to the local, national or global community. 

鈥淚 feel honored,鈥� said Caine-Conley. 鈥淎s a queer, Christian woman called to serve in the clergy, the space hasn鈥檛 always been welcoming. This award feels like an acknowledgement of my work and an affirmation for other queer folks who are serving the church and the kin-dom of God.鈥�

The space between聽

Caine-Conley learned to bridge the gap between communities at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS), where she earned a master of divinity degree. Professor David Evans鈥� Christianity through the Eyes of the American Outsider course impacted her deeply. Reading from the texts of enslaved people, Jewish individuals and queer Christians, she was able to explore the experiences of marginalized groups within Christianity.聽

In another course, Formation in God鈥檚 Story with Dawn Monger, Caine-Conley鈥檚 small group was challenged to think about life journeys and how they intersect with God鈥檚 story.聽

鈥淥ur group considered how many loops, intersections, roadblocks, obstacles, and reversals we experience in our individual paths. The conversation led us to one word: mangled.鈥� 

The 鈥渕angled鈥� moment stuck with Caine-Conley, as did the seminary experiences of discussing theology over beers at Billy Jack鈥檚 and sitting on the campus lawn learning about peacemaking from people across the globe. 

Caine-Conley graduated from EMS in 2014, the same year she married her wife, Lindsay. The two met while working on the leadership team for RISE United Methodist Faith Community in Harrisonburg. 

鈥淢y love for ministry was significantly shaped by RISE and its pastor, Amanda Miller Garber. There, I learned to yearn for beloved community, and now I seek to co-create such community wherever I go.鈥� 

Baptism by fire

In the summer of 2017, co-creating community in Charlottesville meant undergoing 鈥渂aptism by fire.鈥� 

鈥淓veryone remembers that night on August 12, but there鈥檚 so much that came before it鈥� prayer and worship meetings, late-night strategizing, direct action training on nonviolence, even active shooter training. It was a lot,鈥� said Caine-Conley. 

Through it all, she was focused on building bridges between communities that didn鈥檛 want to interact with each other, between people鈥攑articularly white, progressive Christians鈥攚ho had different ideas about what it meant to resist, from peacefully protesting to doing nothing. 

To build greater understanding between progressive groups who desired change, Caine-Conley organized educational seminars and anti-racism training. She wrote various post-rally articles, and Congregate Charlottesville received national press coverage. 

Vocation and community聽

Caine-Conley is now bringing her experience to the classroom at Denver鈥檚 Iliff School of Theology where she is a PhD student in religious studies and adjunct instructor of Identity, Power, and Vocation in Community. A theme of the yearlong course is understanding how individuals are shaped by histories, structures, systems, practices, and memories. She aims to create a 鈥渄isruptive,鈥� yet caring, environment to help students become better ministers, leaders, and caregivers.聽

鈥淚 am inspired every day by people who allow the spirit to shake their assumptions, trajectories, and long-held orientations,鈥� said Caine-Conley. 鈥淚t takes so much courage to allow the spirit to truly move us in new directions.鈥� 

Caine-Conley will share her story at 91大神 TenTalks, held on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in Martin Chapel during Homecoming 2025. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit聽emu.edu/homecoming.