Board Members
Linnus Emmett is an SMU undergraduate alumnus ('21), with a BS in Religious Studies and a BBA in Accounting. After graduating, he worked as a Trust Accounting Intern for 18 months with Beneficient. During the internship, he returned to SMU to pursue Master’s in Accounting, graduating in May 2023. He is a licensed CPA in Texas and currently working as an external auditor for Deloitte primarily serving the Consumer/hospitality industry.
Dr. Maria Dixon-Hall is SMU’s Chief Diversity Officer, as well as associate professor of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs in the Meadows School of the Arts. Her teaching and research focus on the intersection of power, identity, and culture in corporate, non-profit, and religious organizations. She is also a Deacon in the United Methodist Church.
Barbara Kincaid has recently retired after thirty years as a SMU-COX Senior Lecturer in Business Law. Although she continues to teach Cox students at SMU-in-Taos during interterms, her new focus is on church, family, travel, yoga, and countless first-time experiences.
Dr. James K. Lee is associate professor of the history of early Christianity in the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. His research and teachings interests include the early church fathers, Biblical interpretation, and Christian mysticism. Professor Lee's wife, Anna, is a registered nurse, and they have two daughters.
Dr. Jack Levison, who for two years led Faith and Learning cohorts, holds the W. J. A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology, SMU. He lives in SMU’s Boaz Commons, where he is faculty-in-residence with his wife, Priscilla Pope-Levison, a United Methodist minister and Research Professor of Practical Theology at Perkins.
Elizabeth Loyd is an SMU Religious Life Partner and campus minister to grad students and faculty with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the DFW area. She received her M.A. in theological studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2020 and is on the launch team for Open Door Presbyterian Church, a new church plant serving the Richardson area.
Shanterra McBride is an international teacher, speaker, author, and preacher with expertise in youth development, diversity, and inclusion and allyship. Over a decade ago, she founded MARVELOUS UNIVERSITY, a social enterprise designed to meet the diverse needs of girls and young women as they navigate life. As part of these efforts, Shanterra trains adults who engage with youth to ensure that there are well-equipped and trusted allies in the lives of the young people.
Jackson Overton is an SMU undergraduate alumnus (’21) and a J.D. candidate at Dedman School of Law ('24.) He was a Faith & Learning Scholar for two years and a member of Beta Upsilon Chi Christian fraternity. Jackson also serves as Student Trustee for SMU’s Board of Trustees
Johanna Pang is an SMU undergraduate alumna (’22) and a J.D. candidate at Dedman School of Law ('25.) As an undergraduate, Johanna won the Sheri Mooney Award, honoring “students whose Christian faith is evident as a recognizable priority in their day-to-day campus life.”
Dr. Susan Riffe has been a Clinical Professor of Accounting since 1992. She is the faculty advisor of Cox Christian Fellowship forgraduate students and is actively involved at Northwest Bible Church.
Jack Vaughn III is an alumnus of Baylor University and received an MBA from SMU in 2021. He works in finance for Deloitte Consulting. Jack and his wife have two children, and they have served in various lay leader roles at Watermark Community Church.