We’re thrilled to announce that Hilary Jerome Scarsella will be joining us at Into Account as our Director of Theological Integrity. Hilary is a recognized writer, speaker, and scholar, with expertise in the intersections of theology and trauma, especially with respect to sexualized violence. Her role with us will be to direct our process of reading, interpreting, and assessing the theological climate of clients’ contexts in order to strategize for and support the wellbeing of the client (if the client is a survivor) or for the wellbeing of survivors of sexualized violence in that context (if the client is a religious body or institution).

Hilary has served as a survivor advocate in a number of church-related sexual violence cases, and brings to that work her deep understanding of the roles of faith and ritual in shaping experiences of violation and abuse. As a creator of liturgy focused on embodied healing from trauma, she led a group that wrote a Lord’s Supper ritual for Leader magazine, a publication for Mennonite pastors.

Many of you will be familiar with Hilary’s work as Director of Our Stories Untold, a blog focused on the stories of sexual violence survivors. Hilary’s background also includes work with the Women in Leadership Project at Mennonite Church USA, and Christian Peacemaker Teams Iraqi Kurdistan. She holds a Master of Divinity in Theology and Ethics from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She is a PhD student in Theological Studies at Vanderbilt University.