 Harkins is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature and has served as chair of the Religious Experience in Antiquity section and as a steering committee member of the new consultation on Prayer in Antiquity.She also serves on the steering committee of the Qumran and Dead Sea Scrolls program unit of the International Society of Biblical Literature.She was chair of the Program Committee of the Catholic Biblical Association and has been an active member of that society since 2004 (assoc.