IVP's women authors are expert practitioners, gifted writers, and leading voices in the most important conversations happening today. On this page, you'll learn more about our women authors and their books. You'll also find articles, videos, and podcasts where you can hear directly from women's voices as they share more about their books and the impact that they are having in the church and the world.
March is when we recognize women authors during Women's History Month. Looking for even more voices to learn from? Discover our authors of color or browse all of IVP's authors. You can also hear from a wide variety of diverse voices on IVP's Every Voice Now podcast.
Annette Safstrom is a senior consultant, speaker, and trainer with Ministry Architects and has served in children's ministry for over thirty years, including as director of a rapidly growing children's ministry in Texas. She speaks at a variety of children's ministry events, including the Children's Pastors Conference and Group's KidMin Conference. After graduating from Bible college with a certification in children's ministry, Annette earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas A&M University and a master's in research psychology from Southern Methodist University. She and her husband, Kevin, have two children.
Rev. Alexia Salvatierra is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She also serves as a consultant for a variety of organizations, including World Vision USA/World Vision International/Women of Vision, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, the Christian Community Development Association the Womens? Donor Network, Auburn Theological Seminary, Interfaith Worker Justice, PICO and Sojourners. She is adjunct faculty at the New York Theological Seminary and Biola University, and for over eleven years she was the executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE).
Dawn N. Sanders (MDiv, Bethel Seminary) is an associate minister at First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG), where she serves as the director of the sermon-based life groups ministry. Her passion is expository teaching and sharing the wonderful insights God has shown her in his Word. She does this through writing weekly discussion guides for the life groups as well as teaching several in-depth Bible studies. Dawn has written and taught extensively on overcoming adversity and creating a new life, both at FBCG and on her personal blog.
Jo Saxton is a pastor, missional leader, speaker, and author. She is the co-host of Lead Stories podcast and is the board chair of 3D Movements. Jo previously authored High Heels and Holiness and Real God, Real Life. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband Chris and their two daughters.
Lisa Scandrette has devoted herself to a life of care, hospitality, and teaching. She regularly facilitates workshops and provides administrative support for ReIMAGINE, a center for integral Christian practice with a mission to help people become more fully human through engagement with the life and teachings of Jesus. She makes a life in the Mission District of San Francisco with her husband Mark and their three children, and she is coauthor of FREE: Spending Your Time and Money on What Matters Most.
Kaitlyn Schiess is a staff writer at Christ and Pop Culture. Her writing has also appeared at Christianity Today, Relevant, and Fathom Magazine. She lives in Dallas.
Katie Schnack is a writer and book publicist. Her articles have appeared in Relevant, Today.com, Hello Giggles, Romper, and Scary Mommy. Katie and her family live in West Palm Beach, Florida, and she is the author of The Gap Decade: When You're Technically an Adult but Really Don't Feel Like it Yet.
Tammy Schultz (PhD, Indiana State University) is professor of clinical mental health counseling and co-coordinator of the Trauma Certificate Program at Wheaton College. She is a licensed counselor and has coauthored numerous articles on trauma healing and other topics.
Taylor S. Schumann is a survivor of the April 2013 shooting at a college in Christiansburg, Virginia. She is a writer and activist whose writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Sojourners, and Fathom. She is a contributor to If I Don't Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings. Taylor and her family live in Charleston, South Carolina.
Love L. Sechrest (PhD, Duke University) is vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and associate professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. She previously served as associate professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, and she is the author of A Former Jew: Paul and the Dialectics of Race. Sechrest served two terms as cochair of the African American Biblical Hermeneutics section in the Society of Biblical Literature, and gives presentations on race, ethnicity, and Christian thought in a variety of academic, business, and church contexts.
Heather C. Sells (MA, University of Illinois-Springfield) is managing editor for CBN News.
Beth Seversen (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is associate professor of Christian ministries and director of the Center for Christian Ministries and Practical Theology at North Park University in Chicago. Previously the director of evangelism for the Evangelical Covenant Church, she also has served as associate pastor at churches near Kansas City and Milwaukee.
Cara Sexton lives in Oklahoma with her husband and four kids and writes about life, faith, family, pain, the written word and the beautiful mystery of God.
Sara L. H. Shady (PhD, University of South Carolina) is professor of philosophy at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Luci Shaw is a poet, an editor, a retreat leader, a lecturer, and the author of forty books, including Thumbprint in the Clay, The Adventure of Ascent, and The Genesis of It All. Luci and her husband live in Bellingham, Washington, where she enjoys sailing, tent camping, knitting, gardening, and wilderness photography.
Judith Allen Shelly (BSN, DMin) previously served as publications director for Nurses Christian Fellowship, director of NCF Press, and editor of the Journal of Christian Nursing. She is also the author of Spiritual Care: A Guide for Caregivers and the coauthor of Values in Conflict.
Amy L. Sherman directs the Sagamore Institute's Center on Faith in Communities, which trains and consults with faith-based social service providers and religious congregations desiring to invest more effectively in their neighborhoods. She is also the founder and former executive director of Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries and a senior fellow with International Justice Mission. She earned her BA in political science at Messiah College and her MA and PhD in international economic development from the University of Virginia. She is the author of Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good.
Diana Shiflett is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant church. She is an adjunct professor of youth ministry at North Park University, and a certified spiritual director. She has a master's degree in clinical psychology from Wheaton College.
Sarah Shin is associate national director of evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). She is a speaker and trainer in ethnicity, evangelism, and the arts, and she previously served IVCF as an area director in Boston and as a regional coordinator of multiethnicity. A fine artist and painter, Sarah has a master’s degree in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a master’s in city planning and development from MIT. She and her husband live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Laurie Polich Short serves as associate pastor at Oceanhills Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, California. A speaker at numerous conferences and colleges, she is also the author of Finding Faith in the Dark.
Alison Siewert is a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, and also attended Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She currently serves as an arts pastor and church planter in the Hershey, Pennsylvania area. She cowrote and edited Worship Team Handbook after leading worship at Urbana 93 and Urbana 96.
She was director of the Urbana 03 Theater Team and is cofounder and director of ransomTHEdonKey, a theater group that performs in many settings, including campuses and churches. Previously, she has worked as a church planter, worship designer and InterVarsity staff trainer.
Eeva Sallinen Simard is the project director (chief of party) at SCOPE Project at World Relief and has more than ten years of experience working with missional NGOs from research to ministry. She is cofounder of BE Development Partners, a consulting firm that trains organizations to develop belonging cultures. Eeva holds an MSc in international politics from the University of Helsinki and an MBA from John Hopkins University, and she is a coconvener of the Wheaton Consortium for Development, Gender, and Christianity.
Caroline J. Simon is the author of several books, including The Disciplined Heart: Love, Destiny and Imagination. She is the John and Jeanne Jacobson Professor of Philosophy at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, with a concentration on humanities and ethics.
Amy Simpson is an award-winning writer and the author of numerous books, including Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church's Mission and Anxious. She is a former publishing executive who has worked for Tyndale House Publishers, Group Publishing, Gospel Light, Standard Publishing, LifeWay, Focus on the Family, and Christianity Today. She is also a life and leadership coach. Amy has published articles with Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Today's Christian Woman, Christian Singles, Group magazine, Relevant, Her.meneutics, and others. She holds an English degree from Trinity International University and an MBA from the University of Colorado. She and her husband, Trevor, live in Illinois and have two children.
Beth Allen Slevcove is a spiritual director, retreat leader, writer, surfer and mother in San Diego, California. She served as the director of spiritual formation for Youth Specialties for seven years and holds advanced degrees in theology and education. She also co-led a spiritual direction training program through Christian Formation and Direction Ministries (CFDM) and recently co-led the San Diego Spiritual Directors Association.
Beth is deeply rooted in her urban Lutheran congregation, and is an Oblate at a Benedictine monastery. She created and runs the Surf Monkey Fellowship, a Southern California surf company and online community. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two young children.
Hear More from Our Women Authors
What good gifts has God given your children? Amy and Rob Dixon, authors of the IVP Kids book "Penny Preaches," help parents and caregivers discern, embrace, and cultivate the vocational giftings of the children in their lives.
In her book "Nobody's Mother," New Testament scholar Sandra Glahn digs deep into evidence about the ancient Greek goddess Artemis of the Ephesians from both biblical and classical sources in order to bring into focus Paul's teaching in 1 Timothy. Read this interview to learn more about her thoughts on scholarship, mentoring, and the role of story in academic writing.