The Transformational Leadership program at Yale Divinity School offers intensive, two-day weekend courses taught by leaders in church and society, recognizing that such close interaction with notable leaders serves to inspire the vocational vision and build a more expansive understanding of what is possible for the theologically trained leader of the future.
The one-credit courses are limited to matriculated students at YDS and other Yale graduate and professional schools. Friday evening public conversations are open to the public and are broadcast on the YDS Livestream channel, so that a broader audience can experience the witness and the model of our guests.
Students may register for these individual courses just as they register for any other class. No more than two may be taken for credit within a semester, and no more than three may be applied to a degree program. Questions may be addressed to Associate Dean Bill Goettler at william.goettler@yale.edu
See videos of many of our guest speakers at the Yale Divinity School YouTube channel.
Speakers
Spring 2026
Friday, January 23, 7 pm, YDS Second Floor Common Room
Transformational Leadership Public Conversation featuring Dr. Vonnetta West, who is a Senior Nonviolence Trainer and Instructor for The King Center in Atlanta, in conversation with Rev. Tony Tian-Ren Lin, PhD, Associate Director, Theology and Public Policy Center at Yale Divinity School, on the topic “Creative Maladjustment”
Friday, February 6, 7 pm, YDS Second Floor Common Room
Transformational Leadership Public Conversation featuring Rev. Lisa Greenwood, President and CEO, Texas Methodist Foundation, in conversation with Dean Gregory Sterling, Yale Divinity School, on the topic “Does Organized Religion Still Matter?”
Contact
William Goettler
Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership, Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration