A law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, Steven T. Collis is one of the leading academics in the nation on religion law, productive discourse, and the First Amendment. His scholarship has been cited by numerous state and federal appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court. He is also the founding faculty director of Texas's Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center and its Law and Religion Clinic.

Before joining the faculty at Texas, he was a research fellow at Stanford Law School and an equity partner at Holland & Hart LLP, where he chaired the firm’s religious institutions and First Amendment practice group.

The author of three critically acclaimed books related to helping a pluralistic society thrive, he has been interviewed by and quoted in various news and media outlets, including The New York Times, Bloomberg, NBC, CBN News, NPR, The Washington Post, PBS, and numerous podcasts and television shows. His fourth book, Habits of a Peacemaker, launches in September 2024.

Shayda Safapour is a member of the Bahá’í Faith and serves as the Bahá’í representative on the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago and other interfaith and community organizations.  She has spoken over the years at many interfaith gatherings, including the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions convening in Chicago.

Shayda is an immigration attorney with a B.A. from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University School of Managaement in Boston.  She holds a certificate on Women in Leadership from Harvard University and a certificate on Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.

Shayda has practiced at several prominent law firms in Chicago, and currently serves as a business development manager for the firm of Honigman LLP.  She lives in downtown Chicago with her malshi dog, Asal.

Rabbi Shoshanah Conover is the 8th Senior Rabbi of Temple Sholom of Chicago in its 152-year history.  She earned a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dean’s List, Cum Laude. Her love of the Jewish people and Jewish texts, as well as a strong commitment to social justice, led her to rabbinical school.

Rabbi Conover’s responsibilities at Temple Sholom of Chicago reflect her passions: learning and teaching inspiring (and challenging) texts, leading dynamic and engaging spiritual experiences, serving as pastoral counselor, and finding ways to improve our world through the guidelines of her faith.

Rabbi Conover is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute.  She serves on the Steering Committee of the Chicago Status of Women and Girls Working Group and is in the founding cohort of the Aspen Institute’s Powering Pluralism Network, a national network of faith, civic, and academic thought-leaders who seek to weave a stronger fabric of civility in our national dialogue through institutions of faith.

Rabbi Conover was honored to receive AVODAH’s Partner in Tzedek Award and the Chicago Board of Rabbis’ Rabbi Mordecai Simon Memorial Award as well as being a featured speaker at the Women’s March on Chicago 2017.

She enjoys co-hosting a podcast on Jewish and Israeli films called The Chosen Films.  Her poems and essays have been published in numerous collections including A Life of Meaning: Embracing Reform Judaism's Sacred Path, Seven Days, Many Voices: Insights into the Biblical Story of Creation, and Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority.

Rabbi Conover is grateful to work in and for a community in which she is proud to raise her two sons Eli and Ben with her husband Damien.

Fr. Larry Dowling, ordained in 1991, retired on June 30, 2024 as 17-1/2-yr pastor of St. Simon of Cyrene Parish (locations at St. Agatha & St. Martin de Porres Churches), a predominantly African American parish on Chicago’s west side. He has served as pastor of St. Denis Parish and as Associate Pastor at St. James in Arlington Heights, IL.

He has a passion for healing and restoration of spirit, mind and body of those who have suffered trauma from the multiple ongoing manifestations of systemic racism. He helped establish a free mental health center, the Encompassing Center, for the Chicago West Side community.

He served on the Steering Committee to create the first Restorative Justice Community Court in Cook County. He is a founding member of the Archdiocesan Healing Garden Committee, a coalition of clergy and victim-survivors of child and youth sexual abuse. His justice work includes moderator of the 150 member Priests for Justice for Immigrants in Chicago; former President of the Board for ARISE Chicago, an interfaith labor rights organization; Advisory Board chair for the Archdiocesan effort to respond to the men, women and children seeking asylum; Advisory Board member for Parenting for Non-Violence (P4NV) in Chicago; and, Board member of the Tolton Black Scholars Advisory Board at Catholic Theological Union.

He also serves as Board President of the ACTA Foundation, promoting innovative adult Catholic teaching and formation programs addressing current societal problems. He is a Board Member of CodeSwitchers LLC, helping Executive Director Deontay Wilson produce documentary projects focused on the Black community and pan-African connections. He is a trained Restorative Justice practitioner, published writer, an avid reader, hiker and cyclist.

Imam Hassan Mostafa Aly is the Director of the Humanitarian Faith Initiative, bringing over 15 years of experience as a respected faith leader, scholar, and advocate for humanitarian causes. He also serves as the Director of Community Engagement and Global Partnerships at MedGlobal, where he works to connect faith-based and humanitarian organizations to address critical health needs in crisis-affected areas.

Imam Aly has served as Principal Imam and Director of Religious Affairs at The Mecca Center in Willowbrook, IL, and has held key leadership roles at various Islamic centers across the United States.

A distinguished graduate of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, Imam Aly earned a degree in Islamic Studies and Theology. His oratory skills were recognized early in his career when he received the prestigious Best Religious Speech Award from Al-Azhar University in 2002. He has also expanded his outreach by hosting several Islamic radio programs in the U.S., promoting dialogue and education on Islamic principles.

Currently, Imam Aly is pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Lewis University. His work continues to bridge faith and humanitarianism, fostering interfaith collaboration to address both local challenges and global crises.

Bishop Simon Gordon is the current president of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.  Since 1989, Bishop Gordon has served as the Senior Pastor of Triedstone Church of Chicago, a Full Gospel Baptist Church, located on the south side of Chicago, IL. In this position, he shepherds a congregation of 3,000, 30 support ministries, and 14 senior pastors who are also responsible for their own congregations.

Bishop Gordon has served as an advisor on the White House Faith-Based Council during the first term of President Barack Obama and with St. Jude’s Cancer Research Children’s Hospital as the Associate of the Sunday of Hope Promotions out of Memphis, TN. He is a member of the Board of Prevention Partnership, Inc. as the Faith Based Chair for HIV Awareness and Substance Abuse Prevention.

Bishop Gordon is a recipient of the prestigious Paul Kelly Service Award, the Path Award twice from the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the United Theological Seminary’s President’s Award.

He is currently a Regent at the Midwest Theology Seminary in Kansas. Bishop Gordon has led over 50 overseas expeditions; and serves as an Instructor for African American Clergy and Educators in Ethiopia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Turkey, Rome and South Africa.

Swami Ishatmananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission, associated with the holy order at Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India. Srimat Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj, the 10th President of the Order, blessed him with initiation in 1975 and Srimat Swami Gambhiranandaji Maharaj bestowed with Sanyasa in 1986.

He has worked at the well-known publication department, Advaita Ashrama of the Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is the Founding Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, Port Blair, Andaman Islands.  He was the Principal-cum-Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission School, Narottam Nagar, Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2014 he was appointed as one of the Religious Advisers at the University of Chicago, and in 2020 he was selected as a Trustee of the Parliament of World Religions. He also serves as a trustee of the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago.  He has lectured widely and published several articles.

Since 2013 he has served as the President of the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago.  Under the able leadership of Swami Ishatmananda, the Society inaugurated the "Home of Harmony" in to promote the harmony of religions. It houses a towering statue, the tallest of its kind, of Sri Ramakrishna, serving as the true symbol of the Harmony of Religions.

Roshan Rivetna, along with her husband Rohinton Rivetna, founding President of FEZANA (Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) is deeply committed to perpetuating the Zoroastrian religion and traditions in North America.

Perhaps she is best known for her stewardship (as Editor-Publisher) of FEZANA Journal, the flagship magazine of FEZANA. Her publications -- Legacy of Zarathushtra, Zoroastrian Connections with Judaism and Christianity, My Mother Used to Say and Zoroastrians – Followers of an Ancient Faith in a Modern World, have been widely used to showcase Zoroastrian history, religion and culture.  Her demographic studies -- The Zarathushti World – a Demographic Picture [FEZANA Journal, Fall 2013] have raised consciousness of the concerns and issues facing the world wide community.

Roshan has a Masters degree in Nuclear Physics and pursued a career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay, Argonne National Laboratory and AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Since retirement in 2000, Roshan devotes her attention to promoting Parsi-Zoroastrian culinary traditions [www.ParsiCuisine.com/ParsiMithaiShop].  Her efforts at bringing Zoroastrian singles together, were featured in Matters of Heart and Faith Guide a Zoroastrian Matchmaker in the Valentines Day issue of the New York Times [February 7, 2009].

Dean Isensee is currently the Vice President of the Chicago English Subchapter of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA). He is a lay devotee who has adhered to the bodhisattva way of life since first coming into contact with the concept as a young man.

He is a representative of BLIA for the Naperville World Peace Day Steering Committee. He is retired and spends a great deal of time traveling throughout the world. He has a daily meditation practice which he has followed for the past forty-five years. It has been a great aid for instilling the values of peace in his everyday life. It has been said by many great spiritual teachers, of diverse traditions, that peace begins with each and everyone of us.

William Buchholtz (Allison), Algonquin/Metis, is a long-time resident of the Chicago area who has been playing and recording music of many genres for five decades. He now performs Native American flute and piano in programming aimed at both children and adults. Bill is primarily known for his ongoing work with numerous churches; interfaith, social justice and environmental groups; museums; and cultural events including PowWows. 

He has released his own CD "The Journey Home," on which he plays both Native American flute and piano, and which features his original songs, and has also appeared on a “Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble”