Scholar. Nurse.
Advocate.

— A B O U T

Dr. Beth Koser Schwartz, PhD, RN, PHN, MAT, is a Population Health Nurse, feminist researcher, ordained minister, and interfaith ally whose work bridges nursing, theology, and social healing. She teaches at the University of San Francisco and UCLA, focusing on trauma-informed and equitable public health practice.

Her research on Adverse Religious Experiences (AREs) produced the Discovering Self Theory — the first nursing-generated explanatory model of women's recovery from religious harm — and informs the development of theory-based tools for assessing the health impacts of spiritual harm.

Her forthcoming book, Unbound: How Women Can Discover the Self After Religious Trauma and Awaken to Wholeness, currently represented by Punchline Agency, integrates nursing, theology, and women's healing into an accessible public framework.

"You're not just telling stories. You built a theory. That's rare. The Discovering Self Framework positions Beth as a research translator — not just an opinion voice — in a moment when credible scholarly voices are urgently needed."

Before entering academia, Dr. Schwartz served as Director of Women's Ministry at Saddleback Church, overseeing 19 campuses and mobilizing women across global justice initiatives in Rwanda and the Middle East. She spent 17 years as an RN Health Promotion Specialist at Penn Medicine / Lancaster General Health, directing obesity prevention, community health assessment, and coalition leadership. She is also co-founder of Revolution, a social enterprise serving people experiencing houselessness.