Maki Ashe Pendergast (she/her, also okay with they/them) is an author, activist, and queer mystic whose work bridges critical theory, spirituality, and speculative fiction. With over two decades of experience in radical community building, spiritual direction, and social transformation, she weaves together personal and collective liberation through storytelling, scholarship, and direct action.

Ashe is the author of When Breath Finds Bone, a hybrid memoir and theoretical exploration of breath, sound, and resistance, and Shimmertwig, a fantasy novel exploring identity, belonging, and transformation (publications in process). Her previous books include A Wolf at the Gate, unKingdom, and That Holy Anarchist. Her essays and thought leadership have appeared in Sojourners, Geez Magazine, and The Mennonite, and her work has been featured in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Boston Globe, and CNN.com.

As the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination, Ashe develops frameworks for socio-spiritual discernment, helping individuals and communities integrate contemplative practice with radical social action. Previously, she co-founded the Mennonite Worker, an intentional community centered on hospitality and justice. She has designed and led spiritual formation programs, facilitated liturgical direct actions, and built sustainable community structures that challenge systemic injustice while nurturing authentic belonging.

Through her essays, talks, and fiction, Ashe dismantles oppressive narratives and conjures new futures. Whether critiquing the forces that shape desire and discourse or crafting speculative worlds where liberation takes root, her work challenges the status quo and invites radical imagination. She is committed to helping others navigate the tensions between power and possibility, fostering spaces where spirituality, theory, and storytelling intersect.

Ashe has a B.S. in Ministry from the University of Northwestern, an M.Div. from Bethel Theological Seminary, and studied Spiritual Direction at the University of St. Catherine’s graduate school. Ashe is currently completing her doctoral dissertation at United Theological Seminary.