Join us for an evening of community-building, learning, and understanding.
"Leading with Humanity and Compassion:
Virtues from Faith Traditions and Beyond"
As we transition from the end of Ramadan to the start of Passover, please join us for an evening of dialogue with community leaders
exploring the ways in which commonality exists across a diverse spectrum.
April 18, 2024
6:30 - 9:00 pm
Estate Pavilion
5:30 - 6:30 pm - Access to the "Hidden Gems: Fashioning a Legacy" exhibit at the JLM Center
$75 per person
Table discount 10%
100% of proceeds go to support the humanitarian, cross-cultural, and educational work of Pearl S. Buck International
Ticket price includes admission to the "Hidden Gems: Fashioning A Legacy" exhibit in the conference center.
Panelists
Samah Alhajibrahim—KinderUSA
Samah Elhajibrahim grew up in Lebanon as a Palestinian refugee. She came to the U.S. 22 years ago. She recently finished her PhD in political science at UPenn. She currently teaches at UPenn and has been volunteering and fundraising for Kinderusa for more than 10 years.
Asheq Fazlullah—Interfaith Philadelphia
Asheq Fazlullah serves as the Director of the Leadership Institute at Interfaith Philadelphia, making efforts to increase religious literacy and help develop dialogue skills. He also serves with Campus Ministry at Villanova University in the role of Muslim Student Advisor and Affiliate Advisor with the Interfaith Center at Swarthmore College and the IMPACT Center at Bryn Mawr College. He has taken Graduate coursework in Theology and Ministry at Villanova University and is working towards a Master of Arts in Interreligious Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary).
Tahija Vikalo—Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
Tahija Vikalo serves as the Executive Director of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. She has been involved with this organization for more than five years as a member, chapter co-leader and a board member prior to assuming her current position. She was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and came to the United States to attend the University of Pennsylvania where she completed her undergraduate as well as her Masters degree in Anthropology.
Dr. Hasshan Batts
Dr. Hasshan Batts - Dr. Batts is a survivor, healer, son, father, grandfather, brother, husband, and friend. In addition, Dr. Batts is a Tri-sector leader, philanthropist, author, Community Epidemiologist, community based participatory researcher, and leading expert on Trauma Informed Care, Reentry and Community engagement.
Locally, nationally and globally Dr. Batts continues to increase the imprint and impact of grassroots community voices through tri-sector collaborations between business, government and nonprofit leaders.
Dr. Batts is the Executive Director of the Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, a Fulbright Specialist, Rider-Pool Collective Impact fellow, distinguished Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Leader alum, Appointed by two Governors as a Commissioner on the Governors’ Advisory Commission on African American Affairs, is chair of the Governors gun violence commission and was appointed by Governor Wolf as a thought leader and trauma informed care expert to the Adult Behavioral Health Commission.
Dr. Batts holds a joint MSW from North Carolina A&T and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a post graduate certificate in Global Health and Doctorate in Health Sciences from Nova Southeastern University and a Strategic Perspectives in non-profit management certificate from Harvard Business School.
Imam Idris Abdul-Zahir
Idris Abdul-Zahir, a Philadelphia native, currently serves as the Resident Imam of Masjidullah: The Center for Human Excellence located in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, PA. Masjidullah is one of the largest and most civically engaged Muslim congregations in the city.
He was recently appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Commission for African American Affairs (GACAAA). Idris is currently the Chief of Staff for a large municipal department overseeing information technology, communications and diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. He also serves on the Board of CeaseFire PA and is a member of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network.
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Ph.D.
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Ph.D., has been involved with interfaith dialogue for nearly four decades. She attended some of the earliest initiatives to include Muslims. She launched RRC’s department dedicated to multifaith studies in the late 1980s and pioneered unique opportunities for RRC students to study sacred texts with their Christian and Muslim counterparts. Her efforts led to an ongoing salon series for students and faculty called “Praying With Your Feet: Conversations With Social Activists About Faith.”
Kreimer is on the advisory board of the new Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and serves as a founding board member of Clergy Beyond Borders with Imam Yahya Hendi. She has attended many of the world’s landmark interreligious gatherings, including, by invitation of the emir, the first international conference of Muslims and Christians in Doha, Qatar, to include Jewish leaders. She also spent a week at the Washington National Cathedral as one of three national figures chosen to discuss how their respective religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) address social justice for the disenfranchised