Austen Hartke
2019 Bush Fellow
Austen Hartke wants more faith communities to be safe and inclusive places for LGBTQ people. A bisexual and transgender theologian, he is passionate about providing the educational resources faith leaders need to welcome, accept and celebrate gender diversity. He knows that transgender youth do best when their parents are supportive, and parents do best when supported by a faith community. To provide the depth of leadership it will take to transform faith communities into affirming places for all, he will increase his knowledge of theology and gender theory and cultivate his own spiritual resilience. He will also travel throughout the region to better understand the needs of transgender people and how positive change happens in faith communities, especially in rural areas.
Learning Logs
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The first lesson I learned from the Bush Fellowship came during the application process—before I had any real hope that I’d be one of the…
Learning
Over the course of the past year, one image has stuck in my mind as an illustration of the kind of leadership I’m trying to…
Learning
During my time as a Bush Fellow I’ve gathered a handful of helpful metaphors for leadership that remind me of what I’m called to do.…
Learning
When I think about landmark periods in my adult life—years when things changed drastically, either for better or worse—I think about my first year in…