It is with great sadness that Atheist Alliance International (AAI) announces the death of Christine Shellska, AAI’s Regional Director for North America. Christine also served on AAI’s Board of Directors and was a past President of AAI.
She was raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by an atheist father and an agnostic mother. In 2010 her studies led her to her first atheist conference, where she became aware of just how pervasive religion was. For the next sixteen years she dedicated herself to the secular cause.
Christine understood that the fight for a secular world included the fight for human dignity. On February 10, 2015, she appeared before the United Nations Commission for Social Development in New York on behalf of AAI. This was reportedly the first time a representative of an atheist organization had ever addressed the UN. There she condemned the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people, the practice of female genital mutilation, and the religious discrimination that denied people access to science-based education, health care, and social services.
She participated in presentations and debates at local venues and national conferences in Canada and in the U.S., on various topics of interest to atheists, humanists, secularists, skeptics, and activists.
Christine was educated and worked at the University of Calgary. As a Ph.D. Candidate, she studied the rhetorical strategies employed by the Intelligent Design Creationism movement. Her areas of focus included history, philosophy and sociology of science, Actor Network Theory, and rhetoric. She was also a talented graphic designer.
In addition to serving with Atheist Alliance International (AAI) for over ten years, Christine was also a Director, and later the Secretary, of the American Humanist Association (AHA).
In her private life she enjoyed games such as crossword puzzles, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and playing Words with Friends.
Christine will be greatly missed by her daughter and other family members, friends, and those who knew her in the international atheist and humanist community.
