CRE Staff

Director, Center for Religion and Environment

Andrew R. H. Thompson, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at the School of Theology. His work focuses on environmental ethics and eco-theology, especially around environmental racism and colonialism. His first book, Sacred Mountains: A Christian Ethical Approach to Mountaintop Removal, applies a critical ethical lens to the debate over surface mining in his home region of Appalachia. He is currently working on a book on whiteness in Christian environmentalism, tentatively titled Reconsider the Lilies: Challenging Christian Environmentalism’s Colonial Legacy, and a theological reflection on trees (conceived as an “unsystematic tree-ology”).

Dr. Thompson earned his Ph.D. in Religion from Yale University, and his M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School. He also holds a B.A. in Music Performance from Duquesne University. Since coming to Sewanee, he has served as assistant director of the Center for Religion and Environment, director of the Alternative Clergy Training at Sewanee (ACTS) program, and director of the Sewanee Ministry Collaborative.

Andy has served for many years on the Episcopal Church’s Task Force for Care of Creation and Environmental Racism, for which he drafted policies on carbon offsetting and environmental reparations. In collaboration with the Tennessee Aquarium, he created Wherever the River Goes, a theological reflection guide for Hidden Rivers, a documentary on the rivers of Southern Appalachia. He has been involved in environmental education and reforestation projects in the Dominican Republic and Burundi, and facilitated a bilingual eco-theology course at the Seminario Evangélico de Teología in Matanzas, Cuba.

Work-Study Associate, Center for Religion and Environment

Pressley R. Wilson is a junior at the School of Theology at The University of the South pursuing a Master's degree in Religion and the Environment. She also received her B.A. in Anthropology and Religious Studies from The University of the South. She is hoping to explore a variety of environmental subjects, including climate fiction and traditional ecological knowledge, through the M.A. program. In her first year as a student, she is looking forward to working with the Center for Religion and Environment and the Creation Care Committee.