LSTC Welcomes Dr. Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski
Dr. Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski will join LSTC as Visiting Assistant Professor – Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and Strategic Alliance Coordinator for the Lilly Pathways Grant. She will begin her full-time faculty role on July 1, 2026, and has already been contributing to Lilly grant initiatives at the seminary.
Prior to joining LSTC, Dr. Salinas-Lazarski served as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient and taught theology and honors courses at Dominican University, where she focused on interdisciplinary, equity-minded approaches to teaching and learning.
Her scholarship explores theology as lived and embodied experience across culture, identity, and community. Drawing on Lutheran incarnational theology, queer Latina theology, phenomenology, and the arts, Dr. Salinas-Lazarski’s work reflects a deep commitment to expansive and accessible theological education. In addition to her scholarly work, she is also a writer, poet, and performer who incorporates arts-based pedagogy into the classroom.
Dr. Salinas-Lazarski earned her Ph.D. in Theology from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, holds a Master of Divinity from LSTC, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Valparaiso University.
LSTC looks forward to the leadership and vision Dr. Salinas-Lazarski will bring to the seminary community.
The Lutheran School of Theology (LSTC) is dedicated to bearing witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Based in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, it is the leading urban Lutheran seminary training students for purposeful vocations in the global community. Aligned with its Lutheran heritage and built on a foundation of intellectual rigor, LSTC’s innovative, nationally recognized curriculum gives students skills for visionary Christian leadership in the public sphere.