Carolyn Browning Helsel joined the faculty of Austin Seminary in 2015. Prior to her appointment she was a transitional pastor for The Presbyterian Church in Sudbury (Massachusetts). She also served as visiting professor at both the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and Wartburg Theological Seminary. She was a teaching assistant for Professors Tom Long, Teresa Fry Brown, and Luke Timothy Johnson; the title of her dissertation is "The Hermeneutics of Recognition: A Ricoeurian Interpretative Framework for Whites Preaching about Racism." Helsel was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and served as associate pastor at John Calvin Presbyterian Church (2005-2007) in San Antonio, Texas. While in Boston, she served on the Synod Work Group on Race for the Synod of the Northeast and on the Committee on Preparation for Ministry for Boston Presbytery.