Damayanthi Niles’ writing and research have been focused onconstructive and contextual theology. She has taught courses on foundationaltheology, missiology, and post-colonial thought. She has also served as theresearch associate of the Christianity in Asia Project at the Centre forAdvanced Religious and Theological Studies at Cambridge University, UnitedKingdom.

Dr. Niles was inducted into the Martin Luther King Collegiumof Scholars at Morehouse College in 2008. In 2014 she served as a member of theSteering Committee of the Association of Asian/North American TheologicalEducators. She was a part of the leadership team for the 2014-15 Wabash Centerworkshop for Pre-Tenure Theological School Faculty with Evelyn Parker, MichaelBourgeois, and Francisco Lozada Jr.

She has been a member of the General Assembly Committee onEcumenical Relations (GACER) of the Presbyterian Church USA since 2006 and wasChair of the subcommittee on Interfaith Relationships for GACER 2007-2012.

A frequent lecturer, Dr. Niles has expertise in Asiantheology and missiology. Her areas of interest and teaching includeconstructive theology, inter-faith, comparative theology, theology and power,contextual theology with a particular interest in Asia, language of theology ina landscape of conflict and violence, using aesthetics in the teaching oftheology. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, particularly Asian curries. Shealso enjoys music, reading, and theater. She is an ordained Minister of theWord and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (USA).