Letty M. Russell

Letty Mandeville Russell (September 20, 1929 – July 12, 2007) was a feminist theologian, professor, and prolific author.^[1] She was a member of the first class of women admitted to Harvard Divinity School, and one of the first women ordained in the United Presbyterian Church. After earning a doctorate in theology at Union Theological Seminary, she joined the faculty at Yale Divinity School, where she taught for 28 years.

Russell was a pioneer in the field of feminist theology. She authored, co-authored or edited over 17 books, including: Feminist Interpretation of the Bible (1985), Inheriting our Mothers' Garden: Feminist Theology in Third World Perspective (1988), Church in the Round: Feminist Interpretation of the Church (1993), and Dictionary of Feminist Theologies (1996). She has been described as a "prominent matriarch of contemporary feminist bible criticism."^[2] She was also active in the ecumenical movement, and worked closely with the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the YWCA.