Avery Erlenbach (She/Her)

Laidlaw Scholar, Duke University
  • People
  • United States of America
Lucy Ballard

Senior Program Coordinator, Hart Leadership Program, Duke University

I am the Senior Program Coordinator with Duke University's Hart Leadership Program, which supports the Laidlaw Scholars Program and several other undergraduate experiential learning programs. In May 2024, I completed my doctorate in the Study of Religion at Harvard University with a focus in contemporary Islamic studies and American religions. My dissertation work examined the shape and impact of U.S. Muslim civic organizations and community organizing in the city of Detroit. I also hold a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Appalachian State University (go Mountaineers!). My studies have been driven by a deep interest in the intersections of religion and civic life in the contemporary U.S. To that end, I've worked as a researcher for the Listening to Women about Abortion & Religion Project, a Religion, Spirituality, and Democratic Renewal Fellow with the Social Science Research Council, and an adjunct professor at Stonehill College. In my role with Hart Leadership Program, I engage my training as a researcher, educator, and program builder to provide strong student support and advance community-engaged scholarship and education. Whether you're a Duke student or a Laidlaw Scholar at another institution, I'd be happy to connect and talk about social science research design and methods, religious studies and anthropology, applying to and navigating graduate school, or putting together strong research grant and fellowship proposals.