Tanya Erzen [1] is an associate professor of Religion and Gender Queer Studies at the University of Puget Sound. She is also an author who has written four books[2] as well as articles about religion, sexuality, gender and American conservatism. Her book Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian Conversions in the Ex-Gay Movement received the Ruth Benedict Prize from the American Anthropological Association and the Gustave O Arlt Award from American Anthropological Association.[2]
Erzen received a Ph.D. in American Studies from New York University in 2002 and has a B.A. in American Civilization from Brown University (1995).[1] She lives in Seattle and is the executive director of the Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS), a group providing college classes to women in Washington's prisons and raising awareness about issues educational access and incarceration.[3]