Speaking & Workshops

An engaged activist and public theologian, Dr. Ford bridges the gap between academia and community praxis — leading workshops and delivering keynotes across the country.

Workshop Topics

Dr. Craig A. Ford, Jr. is frequently sought out by Catholic parishes, universities, and professional organizations across the country for accessible, liberative workshops. Topics include:

Racism & Racial Justice

Frameworks for understanding and dismantling systemic racism in Catholic communities

Gender & Sexuality

Liberative approaches to gender and sexual identity within Catholic moral theology

DEI & Belonging

Building diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities across difference

Catholic Social Teaching

Accessing the tradition's rich resources for justice in today's world

Reproductive Justice

Engaging Catholic teaching in conversation with contemporary reproductive ethics

The Catholic Moral Tradition

An introduction to natural law, virtue ethics, and the Catholic moral imagination

Keynote Addresses & Lectures

2022 Inaugural Speaker

Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU)

Dr. Ford delivered the inaugural keynote for the ACCU's Consortium for Senior Diversity Officers in Catholic Higher Education, challenging institutions to critically adopt intersectional diversity frameworks that move beyond surface-level inclusion.

Visit ACCU →

April 7, 2025 · Dominican University

Annual Lund-Gill Lecture

"Our Transgender Moment in the U.S. Catholic Church: Towards New Solidarities in a Divided World."

Delivered as the 2024–2025 Lund-Gill Chair at Dominican University's Rosary College of Arts, Education & Sciences — an endowed chair established in 2003 for scholars of the highest moral and intellectual reputation.

Learn About the Lund-Gill Chair →

Notable Academic & Community Lectures

"Whose Aquinas? Which Natural Law?"

Candler School of Theology, Emory University

"Co-Creating Beauty: Queer Lives and Queer Loves Beyond the Anathemas"

FutureChurch

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"Letters to a White Liberal in a Black Queer Key"

Bellarmine University

"The Catholic Imagination: Sex, Gender & Race"

Dominican University (Lund-Gill Lecture, 2025)

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"Black Queer Natural Law"

Yale Divinity School

"Queering Natural Law"

Villanova University

Selected Speaking Venues

NYC WorldPride

Villanova University

Yale Divinity School

Creighton University

DePaul University

Bellarmine University

Association of Catholic Colleges & Universities (DC)

Sacred Heart Parish (DC)

St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish (NY)

American Association for Anatomy (Toronto)

FutureChurch

Candler School of Theology

Podcasts & Media

Beyond the Habit Sisters of St. Joseph

"Magnifying Love"

An intimate conversation on loving justice, the Catholic tradition, and queer lives.

Listen to Podcast →
God, Sex, and Sangria

"Queering Natural Law"

A wide-ranging discussion on rethinking natural law theology to affirm LGBTQ dignity.

Listen to Podcast →
GodPods Church in the 21st Century Center, Boston College

"On the Brink of Abundance: Signs of Hope amid COVID-19's Racialized Violence"

Reflecting on racial violence during the pandemic through the lens of Catholic hope.

Listen to Podcast →

Book Dr. Ford

To inquire about speaking engagements, workshops, panels, or keynote addresses for your parish, university, or organization, please reach out via email.