# HDS Fund Community Impact Stories ## expand\_more ## 2024-25 Impact Stories [### HDS Media Studio ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/hds-media-studio)The media space amplifies voices of faculty, leadership, and students to a variety of audiences around the globe. ![Two people in a recording studio](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-05/Media-Studio.jpg?h=503d3b0e&itok=qkeWxvju) [### Chris Burrows, MTS candidate ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/chris-burrows-mts-candidate)“I hope to use the language skills and experience I will gain at HDS to pursue doctoral work focused on the Hebrew Bible in dialogue with Ancient Near Eastern and East Asian thought and literature.” ![Chris Burrows haedshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-05/Chris%20Burrows1.jpg?h=db9af1b9&itok=1JVYaJsq) [### Hindu Monastics Program ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/hindu-monastics-program)Through this program, Hindu spiritual leaders gain knowledge and experiences they can bring back to their communities and religious practice while contributing perspective and wisdom to this community. ![Hindu monastics speaking at an HDS event](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-05/Hindu-Monastics1.jpg?h=1b3ecf64&itok=olrk9Xxy) [### Nikki Hoskins, Assistant Professor of Religion and Ecology ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/nikki-hoskins-assistant-professor-religion-and-ecology)“I’m currently teaching a seminar called 'The Religious and Ecological Dimensions of Octavia Butler's Parables.' My hope is that students come away from the class understanding the richness of Black ecological practices and Black religion, and the... ![Nikki Hoskins headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-05/Nikki-Hoskins.jpg?h=9e954fa5&itok=SpKabufD) ## 2023-24 Impact Stories [### Religion and Climate ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/religion-and-climate)HDS has been, and continues to be, a vital partner in University-wide conversations about climate change and a leader in exploring environmental issues through a multireligious perspective. ![Panel discussion from Wild Life event](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/climate-focus-cir-landing-page-1000.jpeg?itok=jl99T5ui) [### Divinity Hall ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/divinity-hall)Divinity Hall, the first Harvard building erected outside of the Yard, is where students, faculty, and staff converge for events that build community and prepare students for their careers ahead. ![Divinity Hall](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/div-hall-cir-landing-page-1000.jpg?itok=L33AbQb_) [### Busshin Nash, MDiv '25 ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/busshin-nash-mdiv-25)For student Busshin Nash, religion has long been synonymous with service. The grandson of two pastors, he grew up going to church every Sunday—a place imbued with many happy memories, and “where values were instilled in me really early.” ![Busshin Nash smiling at the camera](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-02/Busshin-Nash.jpg?itok=UnBWBF8n) [### Swayam Bagaria, Assistant Professor of Hindu Studies ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/swayam-bagaria-assistant-professor-hindu-studies) “I think that academic research becomes most exciting when you work across disciplines, and especially when you work across disciplines that are as far from each other as possible,” says Swayam Bagaria, Assistant Professor of Hindu Studies. This approach... ![Swayam Bagria stands in front of a wall](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/02142024-swayambagaria-104.jpg?itok=HDLCnuij) ## 2022-23 Impact Stories [### Miriam Silverman Israel, MTS '24 ](/news/2023/04/17/miriam-silverman-israel-mts-24) April 17, 2023 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . Miriam Silverman Israel, MTS ’24, is bridging the worlds of international climate policy and religion. As a dual-degree student pursuing a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School at Tufts... ![Miriam Silverman Israel](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/miriam-israel-impact-650.jpg?itok=tFdhLJ6q) [### Community and Belonging at HDS ](/news/2023/04/17/diversity-inclusion-belonging-hds) April 17, 2023 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . Please note that, effective July 1, 2025, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging has been renamed the Office of Community and Belonging. Harvard Divinity School aims to educate and cultivate... ![Steph Gauchel and Melissa Wood Bartholomew / Photo: Justin Knight](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/dib-impact-650.jpg?itok=EMd7eFzp) [### Terrence L. Johnson, Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies ](/news/2023/04/17/terrence-l-johnson-charles-g-adams-professor-african-american-religious-studies) April 17, 2023 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . Terrence L. Johnson, MDiv ’00, wants his students to leave the classroom transformed. Johnson, the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies, explains, “I believe firmly that my job is... ![Terrence Johnson / Photo: Sarah Rubin](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/johnson-cir-story-600.jpg?itok=hSPskUPL) [### Art on Campus ](/news/2023/04/17/art-campus) April 17, 2023 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . The renovation of Swartz Hall honored HDS’s rich past while revitalizing the campus in keeping with the School’s contemporary goals: furthering multireligious education; nurturing diversity, inclusivity, and... ![Ramona Peters](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/art-campus-impact-650.jpg?itok=KJT3vlkV) [### Mohsen Goudarzi, PhD ’18, Assistant Professor in Islamic Studies ](/news/2022/4/22/mohsen-goudarzi-phd-%E2%80%9918-assistant-professor-islamic-studies) April 22, 2022 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . Mohsen Goudarzi has been interested in the Qur’an for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Tehran, he attended Qur’an classes and spent hours listening to, and emulating, professional Qur’anic... ![Mohsen Goudarzi](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/mohsen-goudarzi-news.jpg?itok=Uk6jx7M6) [### Multifaith Space ](/news/2022/4/22/multifaith-space) April 22, 2022 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . HDS’s new multifaith space reflects one of the primary goals of the recent Swartz Hall renewal project: to create a building that serves all members of the community. With students at HDS now representing... ![Three HDS students talking with each other in a spacious room](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/multifaith-space-news.jpg?itok=ofoRu_7C) [### Steven Salido Fisher, MDiv ’21 ](/news/2022/4/22/steven-salido-fisher-mdiv) April 22, 2022 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . Steven Salido Fisher’s path to chaplaincy began while working for the Red Cross’s Disaster Services Unit in Alaska. As his team responded to destruction caused by fires, earthquakes, and winter storms, he... ![Steven Saldado, MDiv '22](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/steven-saldado-news.jpg?h=bdf15ced&itok=riHHadaQ) [### Emily Ostler, MTS ’22 ](/news/2022/4/22/emily-ostler-mts) April 22, 2022 See the full HDS Community Impact Fund Report . When Emily Ostler was growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, religion was a constant in her life. “I think it made me really perceptive to religious influences in the world,” she says. “And it made me more... ![Emily Ostler headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/hds2/files/oster-news.jpg?itok=waRAqEXz)