Dr. Ronald Lawson is a professor emeritus at Queens College, City University of New York. He is the principal investigator and creator of the LISDA project. This work has been his passion for decades, often working alone and on his own dime. He grew up in a devout Adventist household but pursued an education outside of the Adventist system. He received his Ph.D. in sociology and history from the University of Queensland in 1970 and moved to New York City for post-doctoral studies at the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University. He initially researched housing abandonment and the tenant movement, but after becoming a tenured professor at City University of New York, he pursued his interest in studying the Seventh-day Adventist church from a sociological perspective. Since 1984, he has completed over 4,500 interviews of Adventists in 60 countries spanning all regions of the globe, and he continues to spearhead and write for the project.

Rachel received her Ph.D. in sociology and demography from Penn State University in 2020 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Mind and Culture. Her research interests include religious change, diet and health, geography, demography, and developing strategies to use existing data to answer new questions. She grew up in an Adventist household and attended Adventist elementary and secondary schools. As a sociology and geography major at the University of Delaware, she began researching Seventh-day Adventism. Dr. Bacon and Dr. Lawson met at a conference, and since 2022, she has served as the co-investigator of the LISDA project. She spends her time coordinating the work of other team members, developing databases to house the interviews, writing, editing, and seeking out grants and collaborators.

Landon is the Rosenthal Assistant Professor of Sociology at Cornell University. He began his academic career in theology, earning a Bachelor’s degree from Walla Walla University and a Master of Divinity from Andrews University. Subsequently, he pursued sociology, obtaining an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Indiana University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. His research interests include religion, social inequality (gender, sexuality, race, and class), public opinion, social change, and mental health. Landon’s scholarly work has been recognized by several awards, including the Early Career Award from the Religion Section of the American Sociological Association for outstanding contributions to the sociology of religion. He participates in writing and editing for the project and advises the team on appropriate research methodologies and strategies.

René is a Senior Research Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Professor, School of Social Work at Andrews University and serves as the research methodologist for the Institute of Church Ministry at Andrews University’s Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD degree in sociology with an emphasis in family studies from Texas Woman’s University and the Master of Social Work from Michigan State University. Working in higher education for nearly 30 years, Dr. Drumm’s positions have included serving as the associate dean for the college of health at the University of Southern Mississippi, dean of the school of social work at Southern Adventist University, MSW clinical program director at Andrews University, and BSW program director at Southwestern Adventist University. Dr. Drumm’s research interests lie in the intersection of social issues and faith communities. Focusing on domestic violence, faith-based residential treatment, and sexual identity formation, Dr. Drumm has authored numerous academic articles and book chapters.

Jim is professor emeritus of ethics at Loma Linda University and a retired Adventist minister. He co-founded his university’s Center for Christian Bioethics in the early 1980s, co-founded the progressive Adventist Today in the 1990s, and founded LLU’s Humanities Program in the early 2000s and currently serves as associate director. Dr. Walters has published and presented scholarly work on a wide-range of topics such as nuclear war, health care, aging, free will, and feminism. A longtime friend of Dr. Lawson, he has assisted with and been familiar with the LISDA project for a prolonged period. He is a chief fundraiser for the project and facilitates communication between donors and researchers. Having published over a half-dozen books himself, he is keenly interested in seeing Lawson’s historical/sociological analysis of Adventism published for the benefit of their church and the field of the sociology of religion.

Abby received a Master of Divinity from Boston University’s School of Theology in May 2024. She additionally received the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium’s award in International Mission and Ecumenism Studies for her extensive coursework and writing related to mission and ecumenism. She takes interest in descriptive statistics as they pertain to religion and joined the LISDA project after gaining experience as a data analyst with the Modeling Religious Change project under Dr. Rachel Bacon’s supervision. Her academic interests include pastoral care, belief systems and practices, and global Christian mission practices. As project coordinator and data quality manager, she administers, transcribes the handwritten interview notes, and organizes materials for the interview database.

Jacob is a dual-degree master’s student with the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Slavic & Eurasian Studies and LBJ School of Public Affairs. He was previously a copy editor for War on the Rocks and is currently a consultant for the National Museum of American Religion and research fellow at the Center for Mind and Culture. Raised Adventist, he contributes to LISDA as both a writer and editor.

Martin is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston University’s department of Anthropology. His primary interest is global food systems with a focus on the American poultry industry. Martin has conducted fieldwork in West Africa where he studied import-dependent food economies. He is contributing to writing and provides the project with maps and other forms of data visualization.

Tori is a sociology PhD candidate at Boston College, and has worked as a research assistant with Dr. Rachel Bacon for the past two years on various projects. Her specific research interests are in urban sociology, particularly urban neighborhood formation and how individuals, especially people of color, navigate them and enact resilience amidst lacking infrastructure and resources. As part of the LISDA project, Tori manages references, writes literature summaries, and compiles information across existing sources.

Nathaniel is a rising senior at Boston University studying computer science with a minor in history. His academic interests include algorithms, probability, and American history, and his professional goal is to work on novel applications of technology to the social sciences. Nathaniel enjoys writing and editorial work and is the primary contributor to the LISDA blog.