Claudia Herrera-Montero
Dr. Herrera is a Catholic practical theologian and educator. She holds a Ph.D. in Practical Theology (2017) and an M.A. in Pastoral Ministries (2010) from St. Thomas University in Miami, FL. She earned a B.A. in Political Sciences and a B.A. in International Relations from Universidad de Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Bogotá, Colombia). Her doctoral dissertation, “Understanding Contemporary Practical Latino/a Theology Through the Lenses of College-Age Latinas in Their 20’s: A New Marianismo?” has expanded her participatory-action research on the faith identity, spirituality and access in higher education among first-generation young Hispanic-Latinx and their families in South Florida. Her research has also enabled her to better engage underrepresented communities in both Catholic higher education and the Church.
Dr. Herrera has experience in Catholic Higher education since 2008. She was appointed and served as the first Lay Director of Campus Ministry and started teaching Theology at St. Thomas University since 2014 to 2020. Before her administration and faculty experience, she served as campus minister of the Archdiocese of Miami for both St. Thomas University and Florida International University-Biscayne Bay Campus. In addition, she has taught for the past years in the M.A. program in Pastoral Ministries for Hispanics at the Southeast Pastoral Institute for Hispanic Ministry (Instituto Pastoral para el Sureste Hispano). She currently serves as the Secretary of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS).
She has published and presented at national and international academic and ministerial engagements. As a practical theologian, she draws from the spiritual and cultural wells of both the U.S. Latinx Catholic experience and the Latin American experience, all the while connecting to the larger realities of Catholicism in the United States and around the world.
"My experience as a lay pastoral minister and educator in Catholic higher education has informed my scholarship and teaching pedagogy. I am deeply committed to incorporating a practical ministerial component in theological education. I utilize participatory action research in the classroom and ministerial settings, encouraging students to create a deeper reflection and affirmation of their social location and lived experience as active participants in the classroom, their communities of faith (including their families) and their local communities."