Bishop Grant John Hagiya is a graduate of the Claremont School of Theology, where he received his M.A., M.Div., and D.Min. degrees. He recently received a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University.

Grant has served as a full time Professor at the Claremont School of Theology, teaching in the area of Religion and Society and Urban Ministries. He has remained as an Adjunct Professor at Claremont for the last 15 years. Prior to his election to the episcopacy, he served as the Senior Pastor at churches in Berkeley, Gardena, and Los Angeles, California, as well as the Los Angeles District Superintendent and Dean of the Appointed Cabinet of the California-Pacific Annual Conference. His most recent appointment was as the Executive Director of the Center for Leadership Excellence, a joint position between the California-Pacific Annual Conference and the Claremont School of Theology, where he served as the Director of Leadership for the annual conference and a faculty member at the Claremont School of Theology.

Grant has served as a General and Jurisdictional Conference delegate since 1996, and was the head of his annual conference delegation to General Conference in 2000. He most recently has served on the Committee on References for the 2008 General Conference. He is a trained mediator, receiving most of his training through the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. Grant has been an active member of the Nikkei Interfaith Group, a community-based coalition of Christians, Buddhists, and Shinto Ministers. He was also the ecumenical representative of the California-Pacific Annual Conference to the Los Angeles Religious Leaders, consisting of all the ecumenical leaders of the greater Los Angeles region. In 2008 Grant was elected to the Episcopacy by the Western Jurisdiction and was assigned to the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and the Alaska United Methodist Conference. He serves on the Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Ministry Study Commission. He has recently been assigned to the denomination’s Call to Action Steering Committee that is tasked to study major changes in the denominational structure in light of the current economic downturn.

Grant is married to Janet, a high school librarian, and they have three children, Lexie, an accountant for ABC Studios; Jamie, a professional basketball player in Europe; and Trent, a student at the University of California, San Diego.