Theresa Thames is the associate dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at Princeton University, and the founder and chief executive officer of Soul Joy Coaching & Yoga LLC. Born and raised in Biloxi, Mississippi, being a Black queer woman from the deep south informs her sense of the world. 

Theresa is a graduate of Howard University and received her master of divinity with a concentration in gender, theology, and ministry from Duke University Divinity School. She has a doctorate of ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in leadership excellence which explored how best to equip young clergy women of color to thrive in ministry. Theresa is a wife, music connoisseur, Peloton rider, avid podcast listener, certified yoga teacher, expansive reader, and dog mama. Most importantly, Theresa believes that freedom is not optional, rest is her strength, and radical joy is her resistance.