About the Researcher

Rev. Renee Ford, Ph.D.

I am a mother (of Wesley, a college student), a spouse (of Bob who’s also a pastor in the Susquehanna Conference), minister, musician, beagler, learning designer, and lover of God and people. I live in Happy Valley, PA serving the Nittany Charge in the State College District of the Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church. My ministerial experience includes serving in campus ministry at SUNY Plattsburgh, in youth ministry for a large church in the West Ohio Conference, as a circuit minister in the British Methodist Church, and as a pastor in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.

I am from a small town in Northeastern NY on the Canadian Border. I did not grow up in a “churched” family and have a heart for building authentic church community, engaging in community networks and reaching out to the vast majority of people around us who love God but aren’t necessarily “churchy” (and often feel very uncomfortable in most churches). I am passionate about ministering to people who are the “last, least, and lost” among us with a particular concern for individuals and families struggling with poverty. I also have a “day-job” working at the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University as an instructional designer (which I love). People sometimes don’t believe I am a pastor because I don't “fit the mold”...or maybe it’s because my dad is a truck driver and I haven't forgotten all the words I learned growing up!!!

I received my B.A. in Individualized Studies (Music, Philosophy & Religious Studies) from SUNY Plattsburgh in 1994, Master of Divinity from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio in 1999 and also my Ph.D. in Workforce Education and Development from Penn State University in 2015.