Justine Esta Ellis (PhD) is Associate Director of the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life. She oversees IRCPL's operations, including its programming, partnerships, grant-making portfolio, and public humanities work. Her research focuses on the intersection of religion, secularism, and public policy. Justine's past professional experiences include leading educational and outreach initiatives in higher education, non-profit, and policy contexts. Immediately prior to joining IRCPL, Justine served as a senior advisor to a DC-based government ethics nonprofit and was an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) postdoctoral Leading Edge Fellow. She holds a doctorate in Theology and Religion from the University of Oxford, and has published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Law, Culture, and the Humanities, and the Journal of Sacred Texts and Contemporary Worlds. Justine's first book, The Politics of Religious Literacy: Education and Emotion in a Secular Age, examines the changing dynamics of religion and secularism in public life.
