Leadership
Dr. Andrew DeCort
Andrew DeCort has been called a dissident theologian by his friends. His work is deeply inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, his writing by James Baldwin, his spirituality by Etty Hillesum.
Andrew received his PhD in religious and political ethics from the University of Chicago. In 2016, he founded the Institute for Faith and Flourishing in Chicago. In 2019, he co-founded the Neighbor-Love Movement in Ethiopia. IFF and NLM have reached over twenty million people with the invitation to nonviolent spirituality. Andrew has taught ethics, public theology, peace and conflict studies, and Ethiopian studies at Wheaton College, the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, and the University of Bonn.
Andrew is the author of Flourishing on the Edge of Faith: Seven Practices for a New We (BitterSweet Collective) and Bonhoeffer’s New Beginning: Ethics after Devastation (Fortress Academic). His words have appeared in Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the BBC, The Atlantic, The Economist, Christianity Today, Comment Magazine, Sojourners, The Other Journal, Wheaton College Magazine, The Journal of Religion, Political Theology, All Africa, BitterSweet Monthly, and numerous other platforms. Andrew writes the newsletter Stop & Think at andrew-decort.com. He lives in Chicago with his wife Lily, a gentle spirit and luminous painter.
Follow Andrew on Facebook and email him at andrew.d.decort@gmail.com.
Dr. Tekalign Nega
Tekalign serves IFF as our co-director of the Neighbor-Love Movement. He holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from Tilburg University (Netherlands) and was a 2019 SUSI Fellow on Religious Pluralism in the United States at the Dialogue Institute, Temple University. He also holds graduate degrees in Accounting, Counseling Psychology, and Theology. Dr. Tekalign is a sought-after speaker and serves as Assistant Professor at Addis Ababa University and lecturer at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. He is married to Tehitena Mesfin, and they have one son and daughter. Tekalign is the author of My Neighbor (Faith and Flourishing Books, 2020) and The Prosperity Gospel: Turning a House of Prayer into a House of Merchandise (Rohobot, 2017). Email him at tekalignnega@gmail.com.
JAMES HOEY
James serves as the chairperson of IFF’s Board of Directors. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago and works as a consultant in New York City.
LILY DECORT
Lily is IFF’s strategic adviser on culture, communication, and hospitality. She’s passionate about women’s empowerment and health. Lily co-founded the Neighbor-Love Movement with Andrew.
Dr. Steve Ivester
Steve serves as the leadership liaison on IFF’s Board of Directors. He is Dean of Student Engagement at Wheaton College in Chicago, Illinois.
LIZ BROWN EVANS
Liz serves as fundraising liaison for the IFF Board of Directors. She is marketing director at Awesome Inc and co-director of Venture Labs in Lexington, Kentucky.
Grant Hensel
Grant is the CEO of Nonprofit Megaphone, which “helps Nonprofit Organizations Acquire and Manage the $10k/month Google Ad Grant” with the mission of “equipping nonprofits everywhere to thrive.” Nonprofit Megaphone serves 450 nonprofits nationwide. Grant is an MBA student at UChicago’s Booth School and founded the RoundUp App, which enables people to roundup their purchases and donate the change to over 1,200 nonprofits. Grant is a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, which includes over 12,000 influential business owners in 52 countries.
Professor William Schweiker
Dr. Schweiker is the Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago and serves as IFF’s Academic Adviser.
Team
If you're interested in joining the work of IFF, please contact andrew.d.decort@gmail.com.