Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, B.A., M.Div. is a pastor, teacher, consultant, and community activist. Shanea is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. A native of Philadelphia, she received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She has been serving communities and congregations in various capacities for over fifteen years. Pastor Leonard has done extensive work with urban areas to eradicate systemic oppression in the areas of race, gender, and sexual orientation. She has spent time doing international ministry in Mexico, Africa, and the Dominican Republic. Rev. Leonard believes that God has given her a burden for people whom others have disregarded, oppressed, forgotten, or simply don’t even see.
Shanea is the senior pastor & founder of JUDAH Fellowship and founder & moderator of the Pittsburgh Clergy Consortium, the city’s inter-faith cohort of faith leaders with an affirming theology towards advocacy for the LGBTQIA community. Having had the pleasure of being reared in the Baptist church, spiritually enhanced in the non-denominational church, and trained for ministry in the Presbyterian Church, she brings a plethora of wisdom and passion for the word of God. Shanea also serves other organizations as: past chair of New Voices Pittsburgh, member of the Pennsylvania State ACLU Board of Directors, and chair of Mayor Peduto’s LGBTQIA Advisory Council, as well as other boards around Western PA. Pastor Leonard is an often quoted media contributor and an active, outspoken faith voice in this city. Shanea is also the founding director of Diversity Consulting, an organization that focuses on the education of individuals and groups around intersectional advocacy and issue- based leadership in the areas of faith, race, gender, and sexual orientation.
