Shelly Christensen

Shelly Christensen, MA FAAIDD is a leader in the growing faith community disability inclusion movement. She is an international speaker and consultant to numerous faith communities and faith-based organizations. Shelly’s newest book, "From Longing to Belonging-A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community," is an important resource for any faith-based organization.

Shelly said, “"From Longing to Belonging' unites two pillars of inclusive faith communities. The Spirit of Belonging explores the iconic text from Isaiah 56.7 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples' to illustrate the essential practice of focusing on individuals and families and how they want to participate in faith-community life. She teaches readers how to weave belonging into the fabric of congregational life. The Structure of Inclusion provides practical step-by-step guidance for organizations to develop a strategic approach to in all aspects of community life.

A Little Backstory

Shelly Christensen didn’t plan to be an award-winning consultant, speaker, and author in the faith community disability inclusion field. As a budding writer, she penned her first play in the fifth grade, and was an editor and writer for her high school newspaper. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and then her life took a decidedly different turn when her son was diagnosed with a disability.

Shelly met the challenges of public school education with an intuitive passion, often saying, “Kids have one crack at an education, and no one is going to take that away from my kid!” After realizing that intimidating school professionals to get what she wanted was unsuccessful, Shelly learned the arts of collaboration, advocacy, and respect to build a strong parent-school relationship. Her graduate work focused on the experiences of parents and families when a child has a disability.

The one place that never once presented obstacles to belonging was the family synagogue and religious school. It was a home, a sanctuary, for a family that felt the stigma of disability elsewhere. Shelly thought that all religious institutions were like hers. In fact, she discovered that her congregation was the exception.

Shelly directed the Jewish Community Inclusion Program for People with Disabilities at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis for thirteen years. The same passion that guided her as a parent was the impetus for innovation in her work with local, national and international organizations to move toward inclusion and acceptance of people with disabilities and their loved ones. Shelly gained national attention as a leader in the field following publication of her first book, the "Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities." She co-founded Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) in 2009, which is recognized in hundreds of communities worldwide. Shelly is a national advisor for Faith Inclusion Network of Hampton Roads and participates in interfaith initiatives including the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability and the bi-annual Faith Community Disability Leaders Retreat. She is past president of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Religion and Spirituality Network.