Dr Tanya Riches is a scholar, speaker, and songwriter with a deep commitment to global justice and transformational development through Christian faith and practice.
Tanya currently serves as the Director of the Master of Transformational Development (MTD) at Eastern College Australia, a unique postgraduate program designed to equip Christian leaders from diverse global contexts. From her base in Sydney, Tanya oversees five international streams, with approximately 60 students gathering twice a year in Melbourne, Malaysia, Egypt, Uganda, and Zambia to explore how theology and development intersect in real-world contexts
Tanya has long worked in partnership with Aboriginal Christian leaders and currently serves on the board of Ganggalah Church led by Pastors Will and Sandra Dumas. Ganggalah is a Bundjulung word meaning “place of wisdom and learning.” Her doctoral research, published as Worship and Social Engagement in Urban Aboriginal-led Australian Pentecostal Congregations (2019), celebrates the theological and community leadership of Aboriginal Christians in three Australian Aboriginal-led Pentecostal movements.
Previously, Tanya was Senior Lecturer in theology and anthropology at Hillsong College, where she coordinated postgraduate programs and supervised research students in the degree programs accredited through Alphacrucis University College. During that time, she co-edited The Hillsong Movement Examined: You Call Me Out Upon the Waters (2017), engaging the church in insider/outsider dialogue. She has been an active advocate for safer Christian institutions, particularly through complaint collectives, with Australian feminist theology networks.
Tanya co-led the Research and Innovation pillar at the Centre for Disability Studies at The University of Sydney, where she facilitated inclusive research teams involving people with intellectual disabilities, carers, and academics. Her work included major research partnerships with government and industry to advance equity and inclusion.
She is an honourary Senior Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK and has many peer-reviewed articles, chapter publications and various media contributions.
Read Dr Tanya Riches' contribution to Tearfund's 2025 Lent devotional series, 'Transformed by Love', where she explores how genuine worship should translate into justice and compassion, impacting both individual transformation and communal change.
Read moreMy growing understanding of the Gospel led me to a growing understanding of the need for reconciliation. As I began to lead worship in my church I realised that all areas of our lives are linked. ...I was constantly reminded that if we want to be faithful representatives on earth then we must walk as Jesus walked.
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