Faith traditions can contribute to the ideas and practices of restorative justice,
as well as to punitive politics. How can communities of faith, and in particular,
faith leaders and lay people, humanize those society chooses to demonize? How can
interfaith spaces create positive action in this work? This session will explore how
practitioners from several different faith traditions draw from both the universally
divine and religion-specific aspects of their traditions, to rewrite the narratives
that seek retribution over restoration.
Guest Bios
Webinar Host:
Karen Leslie Hernandez
With over 17 years of experience, both in the US and internationally, in peacebuilding,
as well as in interfaith understanding and collaboration, Karen brings practical,
academic and experiential expertise to her Interfaith and Restorative Justice work.
With vast experience in multi-religious and multi-cultural bridge building, she's
a boundary-breaking, religiously intelligent, scholar-practitioner with cross-cultural
fluency. Karen graduated with her Doctor of Ministry from Claremont School of Theology
in 2021, where she designed an RJ component to interfaith peacebuilding for the United
Religions Initiative for her Doctoral project. She also has a Master of Sacred Theology
in Theology, Philosophy and Ethics with a focus in Religion and Conflict Transformation
from Boston University School of Theology '12, a Master of Theological Research in
Christian-Muslim Understanding from Andover Newton Theological School '07, and a BA
in Peace and Justice Studies from Wellesley College '05. Karen currently works as
Programme Officer of Partnerships and Interreligious Education for Religions for Peace
International and she's a Certified Domestic Violence Advocate.
Prof. Najeeba Syeed
Najeeba is the inaugural El-Hibri endowed chair, a full professor and executive director
of Interfaith Institute at Augsburg. She has been a professor, expert practitioner and public speaker for the last two
decades in the fields of conflict resolution, interfaith studies, mediation, education,
deliberative democracy, social, gender and racial equity
Rabbi Joshua Stanton
Rabbi Joshua Stanton is Director of Leadership and Formation at CLAL - The National
Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership and Spiritual Leader of East End Temple
in Manhattan. He is coauthor of Awakenings: American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Belief, and Belonging and has had his interviews, articles, and reflections highlighted in media in over
a dozen languages.
Rana Sodhi
Rana Singh Sodhi is a well-known community activist and Sikh leader. Following the
death of his brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi, America's first post 9/11 hate crime victim,
Mr. Sodhi made it his mission to prevent further hate related crimes in the community.
In 2007, Rana Sodhi was featured in a documentary on PBS called “A Dream in Doubt”.
Rana Singh Sodhi takes on many leadership roles in his local and national community.
He is the Arizona director of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE).
SCORE is based in Washington D.C. and has represented Sikhs on many national and international
platforms. He is the Arizona directory for the National Sikh Campaign (NSC) as well
as an active member of the Arizona based Global Sikh Alliance. He is an ambassador
for The Revolutionary Love Project that encourages a nation of peace and diversity.
Presently, Mr. Sodhi is a member of the Sikh Advisory Council for the Phoenix Police
Department as well as a key diversity speaker for the Department of Justice. Mr. Sodhi
has been recognized for his community work with multiple awards and achievements.
