Rev. Jennifer Hosler, PhD

Community Psychologist

I am a community psychologist by training (PhD and MA). Community psychology seeks to understand and address social issues from beyond an individual level – examining and working for change at individual, family, group, setting (congregations, schools, workplaces), locality, and macrosystemic levels (culture, politics, economic systems).

Community Psychologists use tools and methods like community organizing, community based participatory research, program evaluation, needs assessments, and more.

Community psychologists use research and action to promote empowerment, work to prevent harm and improve community well-being. We talk explicitly about values and the frameworks guiding our research and action; no one is purely objective. Acknowledging our subjectivity and positionality are crucial tasks; we do research and action with social justice in mind.

We talk about power and privilege; we seek to share control of research agendas and funding with community partners. Who decides the research questions, who tells the story, who gets the money? These are important questions and issues.

In my community psychology work, I have focused on three things: 1. religious and interfaith settings, 2. program evaluation, and 3. research area versatility.

  1. Religious and Interfaith Settings. I bring my community psychology lens to Christian congregations and interfaith engagement. My doctoral dissertation focused on how and why people get involved in interfaith engagement. Other research studies have focused on Christian religious settings.
  2. Program Evaluation. I thrive on working with organizations and community groups, assisting them in assessing what they are doing, if they are meeting their goals, and how to improve.
  3. Research Area Versatility. I am nimble and flexible, a quick study with interest in a variety of social justice issues. I have pivoted when research opportunities or salient causes present themselves. Areas where I have worked include interfaith engagement, asylum and immigration, youth perspectives on police in public schools, maternal health, STEM education, and housing and homelessness.