Sharon E. Heaney, Ph.D. is Director of the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and Associate Professor of Theology and Latin American Studies. She has taught at Virginia Theological Seminary since 2014 and joined the full faculty in August 2019.
Before coming to VTS, Sharon was Senior Lecturer in Theology at St. John’s University, Tanzania. From 2004–09, she was a National Examiner in Religious Studies for the Assessment and Qualification Alliance, UK (AQA). She has also traveled widely and has been involved in research, teaching, and church service in Argentina, East Africa, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Heaney earned a Ph.D. in Theology from the Queen’s University, Belfast in 2004 after having completed a B.A (Hons.) in Theology and Hispanic Studies from the same institution in 1999. She gained a Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Queen’s University Belfast (with High Commendation) and a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Trinity College London in 1997 (with High Commendation).
In her theological teaching, she is particularly interested in the histories and theologies of Latin America and how these intersect with social, political, and cultural realities in the U.S.A informing ministry priorities for the Episcopal Church. She pays close attention in her research and writing to learning from Latino/a/x theologies in the United States. As Director of ARC, she is committed to equipping emerging scholars and leaders with the necessary skills for clear and cogent theological thinking, research, writing, and witness.
Dr. Heaney is the author of Contextual Theology for Latin America (Wipf & Stock, 2008) and Engaging Latino/a/x Theologies: A Conversation (Cascade, forthcoming 2023). She is currently undertaking two book projects – one on the essential contributions of Latina theologians and the other on intercultural implications for pedagogy in theological education. She is married to Seminary faculty member the Rev. Robert S. Heaney, Ph.D., D.Phil., and they have one son, Sam.