Dr. Ish Ruiz(he/him/his) is an assistant professor of Latinx and Queer Decolonial Theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, and holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union. He has previously taught courses in the fields of Catholic studies and sexuality at Candler School of Theology of Emory University and at the University of Dayton. Ruiz's research intersects queer theology, Latinx theology, ecclesiology, sexual ethics, liberation, human rights, and Catholic education. Prior to his academic appointments, he worked for eleven years as a religion teacher in Catholic high schools in California, Hawaii, and Ohio, where he served as a mentor to LGBTQ+ youth. He has also ministered to LGBTQ+ people in parishes throughout the US and offered numerous workshops and presentations in pastoral conferences.
Ish Ruiz has given us a wonderfully written, undoubtedly liberating, and remarkably powerful book charting pathways for Catholic education to accept, recognize, hire and promote LGBTQ+ Educators in Catholic Institutions. His book will be a success because, besides being well documented, theologically compelling, and profoundly personal, it is transparent and honest, two virtues often missing when church leaders ""address"" the same topic. Buy it, he won't let you put it down until you finish it. A work of moral courage.