4th Annual Mama Leo Lecture Series
Union Theological Seminary, in partnership with Dr. Samuel Cruz, Associate Professor of Religion and Society, is establishing The Mama Leo Latinx Lecture Series to honor the Puerto Rican spiritual leader, the Reverend Leoncia Rosado Rousseau, known to many as Mama Leo.
The Mama Leo Latinx Lecture Series will memorialize her legacy as a Latinx pioneer in the New York City faith community for those like her, who seek to give their lives in service to transforming and liberating the oppressed on the margins of our city and the world.
Date & Time:
Saturday, October 18, 2025
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST
James Chapel, Union Theological Seminary
90 Claremont Avenue, New York, NY 10027
Meet the Featured Speakers:
Rev. Samuel Cruz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Religion and Society at Union Theological Seminary. He completed his Ph.D. at Drew University (Madison, NJ) in 2002 under the directorship of internationally renowned Philosopher and Sociologist of Religion, Dr. Otto Maduro. Dr. Cruz also received his M.Phil. degree from Drew University in 1999 and M.A. degree, Magna Cum Laude, from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Cruz is a 1987 graduate of the College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, N.Y.. Prior to Union, Cruz was a lecturer in the Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies Department at Rutgers University. He has also been a professor at Drew University and New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
Dr. Cruz’s publications include two books: Masked Africanisms: Puerto Rican Pentecostalism (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2005) and Christianity and Culture in the City: A Post Colonial Approach (Lexington Books, 2013). He has an extensive background in the field of Sociology of Religion publishing and presenting ethnographic research on Afro-Latinx spiritualities, most specifically on Pentecostalism and African spiritualities of the Caribbean. Dr. Cruz’s interests have led him to study major social theorists of religion, such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Patricia Hill Collins, W.E.B. Dubois, Nancy Ammerman, Mary Jo Neitz, and Juan Luis Segundo. He has lectured throughout Central America, the Caribbean, and the United States. He is currently a guest editor for the Religions Journal’s Special Edition on Global Latinx Pentecostalism and he is working on the publication of his edited volume about African spiritualities in the Americas. Dr. Cruz’s research has remained committed to the intersection of religion and social processes, especially regarding the potential liberation spiritualities/theologies offer those who are oppressed.
With various experiences serving as a pastor in several churches in the Greater New York City region, Dr. Cruz now serves as the Senior Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in the predominantly Latinx community of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. His progressive sermons are known to follow in the legacy of Latin America’s ecclesial base communities and liberation theologians which assist his congregation in being social activists within their community. Pastor Cruz is known in New York City and Puerto Rico for advocating for Afro-Latinx rights regarding sexuality, gender, race, immigration policies, the prison industrial complex/police brutality, environmentalism, fair housing/gentrification, the release of political prisoners, and the independence of Puerto Rico. Dr. Cruz has been featured in the Stop and Frisk docu-series: “The Pastor”; he is a frequent guest on MSNBC, the Melissa Harris-Perry Show, and a guest host to WBAI-FM.
Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz is a Brooklyn native and Afro-Boricua. He is married to Tania Stanchich and has three daughters: Amber, Jovana, and Naome.
A pioneering Afro-Boricua from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Rev. Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Rios founded Passion2Plant, the only nationwide church-planting network founded and led by a woman of color. Passion2Plant helps leaders from the global majority build holistic, justice-oriented churches from a decolonized lens.
Dr. Rios has consistently been a theological innovator and has been at the forefront of digital ministry since before the pandemic, leading the phygital Passion Center faith community. She created the Lilly Endowment-funded Pulpito Fellows Program, which equips Latina/o religion leaders to use technology and social media for ministry. This initiative inspires leaders to use the digital pulpit to preach gospel-centered, justice-oriented messages.
As a senior nonprofit leader, educator, and ordained minister, Dr. Rios has served on various national boards. Most recently, serving Sojourners, an organization that publishes a magazine and mobilizes and advocates for social justice. She is an engaging speaker, teacher, and writer on women in ministry, church planting, civic involvement, and workplace culture. Sojourners, Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Religion News Service have published her work. She wrote Don’t Buy the Lie: Eradicating False Belief Systems That Keep You From Your Destiny and, most recently, contributed to Need to Know: Empowering Female Leadership and Rhythms of Rest: 40 Devotions for Women on the Move. She also serves her denomination, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in the Florida Commission on Ministry and the 25 in 5 church planting initiative under La Obra Hispana.
Rios has made significant contributions to Latiné Pentecostalism. Her chapter, “The Women are Warriors,” in Latino Religions and Civic Activism (Oxford University Press), about NYC Latina Pentecostal women’s activism, was republished in Azusa Street and Beyond. The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America and Latinas in the US: A Historical Encyclopedia lauds her accomplishments.
She was designated one of 12 Hispanic Women of Distinction by Latina Style Magazine and Bank of America (2014), received the Multicultural Excellence Award from City to City Miami (2022), and was inducted into the Morehouse College, Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers (2023). She also received the Unsung Sheroe Award from former Ambassador of International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook and a Trailblazer Award from Sacramento Midtown Church (2023).
Dr. Rios has a BA in Liberal Arts, an MA in Management, and an MA in Social Justice from Union Theological Seminary, an EdD in Organizational Leadership (Nova Southeastern University), and a Doctor of Ministry (Southeastern University).
Dr. Rios loves her boys Samuel (25) and Daniel, her special-needs angel, who died on his 23rd birthday (9/22/22). She and her husband of 35 years, Rev. Hiram Rios, live in Miramar, FL. Visit her site here: https://elizabethrios.com/media.
