Itihari Touré
Itihari Touré EdD is the Senior Director for Major Grants for Program Development at McCormick Theological Seminary. She is an ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church USA.
Prior to joining McCormick, Dr. Touré’s work with the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta Ga. included teaching in Religious Education, administration as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Quality Enhancement, and, accreditation liaison officer for both the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Southern Association Commission of colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Her tenure at the Interdenominational Theological Center launched The Sankofa Center for Data Evaluation and Quality Enhancement and the Sankofa Public Fellows Project- a collaborative course intensive with all five Historically Black Theological Institutions through the Religious Freedom Center, Washington DC. The work of the Sankofa Center situated her research (Sankofa Paradigm) and sacred memory work into all of the academic programs at the ITC. She is the owner and lead consultant of the Sankofa Center for Strategic Planning and Evaluation currently developing curricula and evaluation designs for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference (SDPC) Inc. based in Chicago for three Lilly Endowment Initiatives.
Dr. Touré has worked in the field of education, the Black church, and with Black women in ministry since 1976. As an African-centered educator, Dr. Touré served as the program coordinator for the Black Women Ministerial Leadership program (BWML) for the Office of Black Women in Church and Society founded by Dr. Jacquelyn Grant womanist theologian, a grants writer for several funded programs including the Womanist Scholars program at the ITC, and local church grants while serving as the religious education director at First African Presbyterian Church in Lithonia, Georgia. Her recent efforts launched, “The Souls of Black Girls” — an education and action platform for netweaving existing advocates, agencies, and organizations addressing the intersecting realities facing Black girls and Women. Dr. Touré holds a B.A. in Education and Psychology, a M.A. in Human Development, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership.