Teddy raShaan (Reeves), Ph.D. is a multifaceted, award-winning producer, curator, educator, and storyteller. Currently, Teddy serves as the Curator of Religion at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. Through this work at the NMAAHC, teddy has created innovative projects that have highlighted the influence of digital technologies and media in capturing, preserving, and telling the stories of Black spiritual and religious life in the Americas.

Most recently, Teddy created and produced the NMAAHC’s first featured film, gOD-Talk, which explores the lives of seven Black Millennials (Buddhist, Christians, Atheist, Ifa, Muslim, and Spiritualist) and how they are reimaging faith in the 21st century. The film has received critical acclaim having been selected in 12 film festivals and won Best LGBTQ film at the Northern Virginia Film Festival. In 2018, teddy created, and executive produced the Museum first digital series under the same name, “gOD-Talk: A Black Millennials and Faith Conversation Series.” The series garner critical acclaim–having received more than 40 Telly Awards and five Shorty Awards for digital innovation, tackling pressing social issues, production, religion and spirituality media, art direction, and more.

In addition, Teddy curated the NMAAHC’s first born-digital religion exhibition, “Jesus’ Hair Like Wool: Black Messianic Representations in Art, History, and Media,” which explores– through a recently rediscovered sculpture of the Last Supper–the historic and contemporary role of Black messianic figures (Father Divine, Martin Luther King, Daddy Grace, Marcus Garvey, etc.) and portrayals in Black history, music, art, and culture. In addition, Teddy is the curator of the forthcoming exhibition, “‘They Are Killing Me Tonight:’ The Final Words Black and LatinX Men from the Death Chamber,” which explores the role of the death penalty and mass incarceration in the lives of Black and Brown men. Most recently, teddy founded Art Like ME Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to help empower Black and Brown boys and men cultivate emotional intelligence through art and culture. One of the signature programs of the organization is gifting framed visual art prints, by established artists, to boys (newborn to 12th grade) at no cost. Working alongside Dr. Yolanda Pierce, teddy helped to establish The Betsey Stockton Center for Black Church Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. Teddy’s commitment to community led him to create The Reeves Group to help educational, cultural, and faithbased non-profit organizations, domestically and internationally, reach their fundraising and board goals. His work contributed to over $70 million in philanthropic revenue. Alongside these efforts, Teddy has also served as an English teacher at the Thacher School (Ojai, CA) and Providence Day School (Charlotte, NC), and as a teaching assistant at Princeton University Pace Center for Civic Engagement.

Teddy earned his B.A. from Hampton University, M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, and Ph.D. from Fordham University. Teddy hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and now calls Brooklyn, New York home with his wife, Briana Gibson Reeves.

Becka A. Alper is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. She contributes to the Center’s domestic religion polls and is an expert on the views and demographic profile of U.S. Jews. Alper is an author of Pew Research Center reports such as “Jewish Americans in 2020,” “A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews,” “The Religious Typology,” “What Americans Know about Religion,” and “What Americans Know about the Holocaust.”