Leadership Team
Eric M. Brown, Ph.D.,
Co-Director
Dr. Eric Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program at BU School of Medicine. For the past 12 years, he has worked in various clinical settings: in a level one trauma hospital, a community mental health counseling center, and a private practice. He is a member of the American Counseling Association, International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling, and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. His service to the community focuses on consulting and training in areas related to the mental health development of marginalized populations and trauma-informed care. Before entering academia, Dr. Brown served as a Senior Minister of a church for 11 years.
Rev. Dr. Eunil David Cho,
Co-Director
Dr. Shelly Rambo,
Co-Director
Rev. Dr. Cho is Assistant Professor of Spiritual Care and Counseling at BU School of Theology (STH). He is a practical theologian whose research in pastoral theology and spiritual care, especially among immigrant and refugee communities, engages the fields of narrative theories, psychology of religion, and sociology of religion. Dr. Cho approaches spiritual care from the position of an ethnic and racial minority by integrating proficiency in critical race theory, global migration, and qualitative research methods. He is committed to teaching out of his personal and academic expertise as a former middle school teacher, minister, and chaplain in a way that contributes to the transformation of personal, communal, and public life. Dr. Cho currently serves as a Co-Director of the Center for Practical Theology at STH. He is also an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Shelly Rambo is Professor of Theology at Boston University. Her writing and teaching bridges theological understandings of suffering with contemporary clinical discourses in trauma and moral injury. She is the author of Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining, Resurrecting Wounds: Living in the Afterlife of Trauma, and a co-editor of Post-Traumatic Public Theology. With Wendy Cadge, she is co-author of Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the 21st Century: An Introduction. Through recent grants and collaborations with Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, she is rethinking the education and training of “spiritual first-responders.”
Dayna Olson-Getty,
Project Coordinator
Dayna Olson-Getty joined the Center for Practical Theology as Program Coordinator for the Trauma-Responsive Congregations grant in 2021. She holds an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary and is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She previously worked as a program coordinator at the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconciliation and has experience in church publishing, pastoral ministry, and campus ministry. She enjoys worshipping with and volunteering with the youth group of Shalom Mennonite Congregation, and lives with her husband, son, and five cats in Harrisonburg, VA.
Jacob Farmer-Rylands, Graduate Intern
Jacob Farmer-Rylands is a Master of Theological Studies candidate at the Boston University School of Theology. With a background in political organizing, legal studies, and communications, Jacob has worked in campaign management, student development, parish ministry, and service-learning, always with a focus on building more compassionate, inclusive communities. Just prior to joining the Trauma-Responsive Congregations team, Jacob served as a chaplain at the Institute for Human Services, Hawaii's largest homeless service organization, and he is especially interested in how faith can inform policy, law, healing, and advocacy.