Rev. Dr. Cheryl Kirk-Duggan
Tanya was born on December 17, 1975, in Raleigh, NC, to Johnny and Shirley Ann Cooper. A proud graduate of Garner Senior High School in 1994, she pursued her passion for beauty at Troutman Cosmetology School, graduating in 1997. For over 28 years, Tanya has been a master hairstylist, transforming the lives of her clients one head at a time. Married to Larry Davis for 17 years, she is a devoted mother of two sons, Darius and Damarius Davis and one grandson Raiden Davis.
Tanya is dedicated to supporting the Raleigh community through partnerships with local nonprofits. Each year, she organizes food drives, toy donations for foster children, and back-to-school hairstyle events for young girls, all aimed at uplifting and empowering those in need.
A lifelong member of Young Missionary Temple CME Church since the age of 5, Tanya has actively contributed to the youth ministry and choir, currently serving as president of the Unified Praise Team and participating in both the Senior and Mass Choirs. With plans to attend Divinity School for her bachelor’s in Theology, Tanya draws inspiration from her favorite scripture, Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
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Dr. Cheryl Kirk-Duggan's WIKIPEDIA page.
Dr. Kirk-Duggan has the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude, in Voice & Piano, University of Southwestern Louisiana; Master of Music in Voice, University of Texas at Austin; Master of Divinity, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Philosophy in Religion, with special emphasis in Theology and Ethics, Baylor University.
Dr. Kirk-Duggan has memberships in: American Academy of Religion (AAR); Colloquium of Violence & Religion; Sigma Alpha Iota; Society for Christian Ethics; Society for the Study of Black Religion; Society of Biblical Literature (SBL); and Golden Key. She is listed in Who’s Who in the World; Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in American Women, and Who’s Who in Black America. She is a former Associate Editor for Semeia, an experimental journal in biblical criticism, Series Editor for the Greenwood/Praeger Women and Religion Book Series, the Past President of the Western Region of the American Academy of Religion, a former CME Denominational Representative to the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches. Named the 2001 Quintessential Womanist Scholar of the Year, by the Womanist Approaches to Religion & Society, of AAR, Dr. Kirk-Duggan is featured in Malka Drucker’s White Fire: A Portrait of Women Spiritual Leaders in America, Skylight Paths, 2003, and was elected to the American Theological Society, Spring 2007.
Dr. Kirk-Duggan was the 2009 and 2011 recipient of the Shaw University Excellence in Academic Research Award, the 2011 YWCA Academy of Women Honoree in Education, and a 2011 Black Religious Scholars Group Honoree.
Dr. Kirk-Duggan’s current research includes: theology; justice; violence and religion; music; ethics; humor; the Bible and culture; Womanist and feminist studies; faith, spirituality, and health; women's religious and leadership experience; pedagogy; rage, grief, and transformation; gender theory; sexuality, and popular media as a praxeology for constructive and narrative theology. Currently, she is working on a systematic theology, a commentary on Joshua and Judges, and a volume of poetry.
Known for her 6 P’s as: professor, preacher, priest, prophet, poet, and performer, Dr. Kirk-Duggan is an avid athlete (who completed her first full marathon in 2010 (5 hr. 26 min. 07 seconds) and musician, who loves to tinker with her flowers, is working on a quilt, and embraces laughter as her best medicine, amid the quest for a healthy, holistic, spiritual life as foundation. With the recent death of her beloved husband Mike, in gratitude, she lives a heavily graced moment-by-moment life.
