Hannah Santos is the Religious Freedom Program Coordinator at Freedom Forum. She holds a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelors in Religious Studies and History from Brown University.
Emina Frljak
Emina Frljak is a Program Coordinator within Youth for Peace (Bosnia and Herzegovina). She is also a member of the International Youth Committee of Religions for Peace since August 2019. Her academic background is in educational sciences, interreligious studies, and peacebuilding. Her area of work and interest are peace education, interreligious dialogue, and religious literacy. Lately, her interest is focused also on using social media for educational and campaigning purposes, with special emphasis on countering hate speech. She is also a fellow with the KAICIID International Fellows Program, which is focused on equipping religious leaders, civil society actors, and academics in the field of interreligious and intercultural dialogue. She is a member of the GERIS (Global Exchange on Religion in Society) network.
Rabbi Anson Laytner
Rabbi Anson Laytner, a native of Toronto, Canada, was a participant on the first Canada-China Student Exchange Program in 1973-74, and studied in Beijing that academic year.
Today, he is a happily retired rabbi, serving as volunteer president of the Sino-Judaic Institute (www.sinojudaic.org) and editing its journal, Points East.
During his career, he served as program manager of the Interreligious Initiative at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry and adjunct faculty with Seattle University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies. He also worked as the grants and contracts coordinator for the Jewish Family Service of Seattle, a bereavement chaplain with Kline Galland Hospice, interim rabbi at Congregation Kol HaNeshamah in West Seattle, and as executive director of the Seattle chapter of the American Jewish Committee and of Multifaith Works, a Seattle non-profit agency that served people living with AIDS. He also directed the Seattle Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Council.
Laytner has a BA, summa cum laude, from York University in Toronto, a Masters of Hebrew Letters (MAHL) and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College, a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership (MNPL) from Seattle University, and an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Hebrew Union College.
Laytner is the author of 4 books: Arguing with God: A Jewish Tradition; The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity, with Dan Bridge; The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng: A Millennium of Adaptation and Endurance, with Jordan Paper; and The Mystery of Suffering and the Meaning of God.
Rabbi Laytner is married to Richelle Harrell. He has two living daughters, three sons-in-law, five grandkids and one cat.
He may be contacted via his website www.ansonlaytner.com
Wendy Goldberg
Wendy Goldberg is a fourth generation Omahan and a founding member of the Tri-Faith Initiative. She served on the Board of Trustees of Temple Israel for 10 years, including a two-year term as President of the congregation and was on the Temple Israel staff for seven years as Program Director. Wendy played a key role in communications, volunteer engagement, and the capital campaign during Temple Israel’s transition to the Tri-Faith Commons in 2013.
In 2016, Wendy earned a Master’s of Art in Communication and graduate certificate in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha after which, she joined the staff at Project Harmony as Project Manager where she partnered with agency stakeholders to custom build and implement client management software, identify program goals, measurable outcomes and build the correlating reports.
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim are the Directors of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale. Over the last twenty years, the Forum on Religion and Ecology has been drawing together the research and insights of scholars, theologians, and laity within the world’s religions. They have identified ideas, ethics, and practices regarding ecology and justice from these traditions in books, journals, and films. Now there are environmental statements from the world’s religions, educational programs, and grassroots projects on the ground.
Tucker is a Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale University where she has appointments in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as well as the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies.
Her concern for the growing environmental crisis, especially in Asia, led her to organize with John Grim a series of ten conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard (1995-1998). Together they are series editors for the ten volumes from the conferences distributed by Harvard University Press. In this series she co-edited Buddhism and Ecology (Harvard, 1997), Confucianism and Ecology (Harvard, 1998), and Hinduism and Ecology (Harvard, 2000).
Tucker has been involved with the Earth Charter since its inception. She served on the International Earth Charter Drafting Committee from 1997-2000 and was a member of the Earth Charter International Council. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Orion Magazine, the Garrison Institute, and Green Belt Movement U.S.
Grim teaches courses in Native American and Indigenous religions and World religions and ecology. He has undertaken field work with the Crow/Apsaalooke people of Montana and Salish people of Washington state. He is the author of The Shaman: Patterns of Religious Healing Among the Ojibway Indians (University of Oklahoma Press, 1983) and edited Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community (Harvard, 2001). Grim is co-executive producer of the Emmy award winning film, Journey of the Universe. This film is the center piece of massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by Yale/Coursera.
Chris Alexander
Chris Alexander holds a Doctor of Ministry in the area of congregational leadership and mission and is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She was called to serve as the Associate Minister and Director of Center for Faith Studies at Countryside Community Church in Omaha NE in December of 2010. Chris lives in Omaha with her husband, Rev. Dr. Scott Frederickson, their two daughters Rachel and Maddy, and one grandson, Asher. Chris enjoys the conversation between the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam because it is rich in history, tradition, imagination and great respect.
Felipe Zurita
Felipe Zurita has been bringing awareness to the Golden Rule and empathy with his energetic Millennial, Latinx, Immigrant, Queer voice and experiences to the compassionate movement since 2017. He currently is the Marketing Director for the Charter for Compassion and the chair of the North American Leadership Council. He finds power in the intersectionality of interfaith work, social justice, and compassionate leadership as well as delving deeper into oneself to become a more aware and conscious person as we keep learning and evolving, which are all reflected by the simple phrase: Treat others as you want to be treated.
Lauren Zinn
Lauren Zinn is an Interfaith educator, minister, and consultant. Through her custom-designed youth and adult programs, she guides all people in growing spiritually – with, through, or past – religion. She also designs and officiates interfaith ceremonies for special occasions. Her background in business training bolsters her consulting to interfaith and faith-based organizations. She is currently focused on mentoring rookie religious school teachers and functionaries of any tradition in moving from a Sunday School to a Spiritual School experience with their students through her Ten Principles of Responsible Religion. Lauren earned a Ph.D. in Educational Planning, a Masters in Philosophy, and a Certificate in Gaming-Simulation from The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), studied at The Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (Montclair State University, NJ) and is a seminary-ordained Interfaith Minister (All Faiths Seminary, NYC). She is uniquely positioned to shift the paradigm underlying religious education to a spiritual one benefitting all humanity. She is available to speak on her work including her forthcoming book, Responsible Religion: From Sunday School to Spiritual School.
Michael Zimmerman
Michael Zimmerman is the founder and director of The Clergy Letter Project, an international organization of more than 15,500 religious leaders and scientists created to demonstrate that religion and science need not be in conflict. Through The Clergy Letter Project, Zimmerman created Evolution Weekend and has nurtured its expansion around the world. Evolution Weekend is an opportunity for congregations around the globe to elevate the level of discourse about the compatibility of religion and science, thousands of congregations in 20 countries have participated.
Dr. Zimmerman, a biologist, is vice president for Academic Affairs / provost at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the author of Science, Nonscience, and Nonsense: Approaching Environmental Literacy, published in 1995 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Additionally, he has published scores of scientific papers and hundreds of opinion pieces and book reviews in the popular press. He currently writes for The Huffington Post.
Andre Van Zijl
As an award-winning artist of international merit, Zimbabwean born artist Andre van Zijl’s work has historically been an artistic commentary on socio-political and global culture from a holistic spiritual standpoint. In his ancestral and adopted homeland, South Africa, he was a victim himself of the political secret police, which has deeply motivated him to give voice to those without a voice. Art to him “is a creative sword for peace.” His work from this era challenged the institutionalized inequities between the privileged wealthy few and the exploited dis-empowered masses, structured as a system of government called apartheid – “apart-hate”. This included other forms of oppressive political power that deny challenging art, cross cultural communication, and democratic spiritual growth. Andre’s art was instrumental as a historical voice of progress and change in this tumultuous period and is represented in many important international museums, public and private collections and numerous publications worldwide. Most recently he was published in the 4 volume series – “100 Years of South African Art “ – by Wits University for the South African National Gallery, 2012.
Andre's most recent one-person exhibition was at the 2015 World Parliament of Religions in USA entitled "I AM: An Archaeology of the Future". This exhibition is ongoing as he continues to add to the tableaux of images illustrating artifacts gathered from a future spiritually based civilization. Currently, the artwork is 10 ft. high and 40 ft. wide. These themes exploring the impact of mystical identity are shared through his ecstatic poetry "Emptied of Myself".
Andre is currently writing a memoir on his spiritual journey. He is a board member of the Southern California Parliament of World Religions (SCCWPR), as well as co-founder, co-director of All Paths Divinity School
Sister Zeph
Likened to a “Malala with a laptop,” Sister Zeph is an award-winning crusader for girls education and digital skills in rural Punjab, Pakistan. At the age of 13, Sister Zeph began going door-to-door to recruit students for her free open-air school in her region, where 52 percent of women were illiterate. Today she braves threats to her life, and her school, called Zephaniah Free Education, provides education to hundreds of girls annually, teaching formal education, English, computer skills, business education, and sewing. Zeph attributes much of her success to the use of digital tools – from World Pulse to YouTube – which helped her inspire supporters, share success stories, and fundraise. In 2014 she was the recipient of World Pulse’s Lynn Syms Prize. In partnership with sculptor and philanthropist Lynn Syms, the prize recognizes an outstanding grassroots woman and visionary voice using digital tools to effect change. In 2015 she was also recognized by the Malala Fund, and a major documentary called “Flight of the Falcon“ was made about her life.
Kira Zalan
Kira Zalan is a freelance journalist based in Africa, where she has covered counter-radicalization, peace building, technology and sanctions. Before changing continents, Zalan was an associate editor and then a temp managing editor at U.S. News & World Report, where she oversaw the publication of the weekly feature news magazine The Report. She was also the Washington reporter for MoneyLaundering.com, where she covered financial regulation and financial crime. Her freelance work has been published by PRI/GlobalPost, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, The Root, Marie Claire, Redbook, Ms., Rewire, Center for Public Integrity, Global Investigative Journalism Network, Washingtonian and Northern Virginia magazines. Zalan received a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown University and one in Russian and post-Soviet studies from the London School of Economics.
Malcolm Clemens Young
Malcolm Clemens Young is the rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Los Altos (in California’s Silicon Valley) and a founder of Ventana School. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau (2009) and The Invisible Hand in the Wilderness: Economics, Ecology and God (2014). He did his undergraduate work at U.C. Berkeley and has a doctoral degree in theology from Harvard University.
Wai Kit Ow Yeong
Ow Yeong Wai Kit holds a master's degree (with distinction) in the Department of English Language and Literature at University College London (UCL). Born in Singapore, he graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a BA (first-class honours), majoring in English Literature and minoring in Philosophy. He has been president of the NUS Buddhist Society (2010-2011) and vice-president of the campus interfaith group NUS Interfaith (2009-2012). His research interests include modern religious literature, contemporary British and Irish poetry, as well as topics in the philosophy of religion. He is a recipient of the Singapore Ministry of Education Teaching Scholarship and teaches English and Literature at Bukit Batok Secondary School there.
Margaret Wolff
Margaret Wolff is an author, freelance writer, and retreat leader whose work navigates the intersections of spiritual, personal, professional, and societal transformation in women’s lives. Her writing and training use creativity and dialog as vehicles to explore this great adventure and provide the deepened self awareness and skills that bring concrete benefits for the individual, her family, her organization and community, and the world at large. Margaret’s expertise includes interfaith and intergenerational collaboration, change management, values clarification, and peace and reconciliation issues. Retreat topics include: “Conversations That Matter: Dialogue As Transformation & Saving Grace,” “Spirit at Work: Making Your Work & Life Be About What You Value Most,” “Women As Leaders,” “Listening to Your Inner Voice,” and “Learning to Tend & Befriend the Chaos in Our Lives.” Her writing clients run the gamut from blogs, interviews, articles, and stories for Beliefnet, Feminist.com, and Yoga International to, collateral materials, website content, project proposals, and development for the corporate and non-profit sector. She has degrees in Art Therapy, Psychosynthesis, and Leadership and Human Behavior. Contact Margaret at www.InSweetCompany.com or 760-310-3069.
George Wolfe
George Wolfe is Professor Emeritus at Ball State University where he served as director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies from 2002 to 2006, and Coordinator of Outreach Programs from 2006 to 2014. He is a certified mediator and was trained to conduct interfaith dialogue at All-Faiths Seminary International in New York City where he was ordained an interfaith minister. In 1991, he was awarded an open fellowship from the Eli Lilly Endowment which made possible his first trip to India where he became interested in the nonviolent philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.
Wolfe received his doctorate in higher education administration from Indiana University. As an educator, he frequently lectures both within and outside the United States on topics related to nonviolence, peace education, academic freedom, and the role of the arts in social activism. He has been a featured speaker in the Hall of Philosophy at Chautauqua Institution and has served as a panelist at the annual International Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado. He has also served on the advisory council of the Toda Institute for Peace, Policy and Global Research, and served as a visiting scholar at Limburg Catholic University in Hasselt, Belgium. In the spring of 2007, he presented peace education workshops in the island nation of Saint Lucia by invitation of the Ministry of Education.
Dr. Wolfe is also a classical saxophonist who held the rank of Professor of Music Performance at Ball State University. He has appeared as a soloist with such ensembles as the Royal Band of the Belgian Air Force, Chautauqua Motet Choir, the U.S. Navy Band Brass Quintet, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir and the Saskatoon Symphony. He has also given recitals and master classes throughout the United States, as well as at major conservatories and universities in Europe, Central America, and the Far East.
Hailey Woldt
Hailey Woldt is passionate about helping to improve the world by supporting visionary individuals including entrepreneurs, artists, diplomats, and anyone with a good idea and a good heart. She has a masters degree in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge and a bachelors in international affairs from Georgetown University, and has had a varied career including researching with the Brookings Institution, investing with the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, backpacking in New Zealand, and is currently supporting visionary startups by working with MassChallenge UK.
Diane Winston
Diane Winston is Religion Dispatches director. She holds the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, and has worked as a reporter for several of the nation’s leading newspapers, including the Baltimore Sun, Dallas Times Herald and The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of Red-Hot and Righteous: The Urban Religion of the Salvation Army (1999) and co-editor of Faith in the Market: Religion and the Rise of Urban Commercial Culture (2002).
JW Windland
JW Windland is a comparative mythologist and founder of the Encounter World Religions Centre, an internationally recognized educational organization designated as a “Gift Of Service To The World” by the Parliament of World Religions. Encounter promotes religious literacy and celebrates religious diversity. It blends academic and experiential learning, focusing on four aspects of religion: people, places, practices, and philosophy. JW has more than forty years experience in the study, teaching, and first-hand encounter of world religions. In addition to an academic background in religious studies, JW has long-term friendships with practitioners, joins in their rituals and introduces thousands of people to the distilled wisdom of diverse communities in the North American mosaic. JW lectures internationally to universities, religious groups, and service and professional organizations.
Birgitta Winberg
Birgitta Winberg was born in 1953, in Stockholm, Sweden and brought up in a working class environment, with no academic tradition. Raised in a suburb of Stockholm, she experienced the calling to the priesthood quite early, at the time of my confirmation, when she was 15 years old. Winberg studied theology at the University of Uppsala and earned a Bachelor of Divinity in 1984. She was ordained a priest in the Stockholm diocese, Church of Sweden in 1985. She felt that her calling was to work with people who were not traditional church people, so she worked her first five years in a multicultural suburb with many problems. After that Winberg was asked by the bishop who ordained her, Professor Krister Stendahl of Harvard University, to become a chaplain at a Stockholm prison. “You are the right person for that,” he said. And he was right. She worked as a prison chaplain for 22 years.
During this time Winberg was involved in international prison chaplaincy work through the International Prison Chaplains Association. She represented Europe for ten years and was the president of the organization for five years. During this time she worked with representatives of different churches and religions, chaired side-events at UN conferences, visited prisons and prison chaplaincy teams all over the world to encourage and equip prison chaplains to work with human rights for inmates. After arranging a world-conference in Stockholm 2010, she was asked by Bishop Eva Brunne in Stockholm to work with interreligious dialogue at the diocese. Since 2010 she's worked at the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue in Stockholm, for the Church of Sweden, and the diocese of Stockholm.
Winberg is single, as so many Swedes are, living in the inner city of Stockholm with her dog Mary.