About Jana

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest as a PK and MK (pastor’s kid and missionary kid), Jana lived in 15 homes in 3 countries before choosing to put down roots outside of Bozeman, MT.  She is a wife and mother, scholar, and shalomic dreamer.  When she is not researching for her next project, she can be found talking with the flowers in her garden, building furniture in her garage, or kayaking on her favorite mountain lake.

As a public theologian, Jana is on a mission to dismantle systems of harm and nurture thriving communities. Shaped by a theology of abundance, she is passionate about constructing theologies of hope that expose and dismantle colonial harms. Believing that Jesus is always present and actively breathing life into places where all was lost, Jana seeks to cultivate creativity and imagination so that trauma may be healed and deep, rooted faith may grow.

She is deeply grateful for those in her academic lineage whose own passions fueled her hope and expanded her imagination for what could be.  These include Dr. Angela Parker, Randy Woodley, Dwight Friesen, and many others who are cited in her work.

In 2021, Jana graduated with a MDiv from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology where she was invited to create interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersections of text, soul, and culture.

As a current PhD student with NAIITS, an indigenous learning community,  Jana spends her time researching what it means to live out her faith as a settler in Montana, living on unceeded lands of many tribes, including the Salish-Kootenai, Blackfeet, and Crow.

“We exist in each other’s songs.” Ephesians 4:16, Jana’s translation