Shelley Varner Perez, MDiv, MPH

About

Rev. Shelley Varner Perez is Research Chaplain and Senior Program Manager for Spiritual Care Research for the Academic Health Center at Indiana University Health. She is a graduate of the Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellowship made possible by a gift from the John Templeton Foundation. Shelley’s professional certifications include Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), and Certification in Public Health (CPH) by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE). Her research interests include the spiritual needs of surrogate medical decision makers, and spiritual assessment of those who are religiously unaffiliated. Through collaboration with her mentor, Dr. Alexia M. Torke, she is engaged in a randomized controlled trial examining the spiritual needs of surrogate decision makers in ICU settings.

Shelley graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv), Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University (MPH), and Campbell University (BA). She completed her CPE Residency at Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Portland, Oregon. She previously served as a Clinical Staff Chaplain for eight years, and she is an ordained minister with the American Baptist Churches, USA. She is past Education Chair for the Oregon-North region of the Association of Professional Chaplains. Shelley received several awards during her academic training: Seminary Fellowship (MDiv), James O. Duncan Memorial Scholarship (MDiv), and Presidential Scholarship (BA). She also is a past recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award for scholarship, character, and service.