Schedule
Faith at the Crossroads: Intelligence, Democracy & the Sacred
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
New York University, New York City
o
| Time | Session | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | Check-in | Outside Rosenthal Pavilion (10th floor); please plan to be in your seat by 9:45 a.m. |
| Opening Plenary — Common Ground: The Case for Faith as a Unifying Force | ||
| 10:00 AM |
Welcome & Invocation
Rosenthal Pavilion
|
Welcome: Elder David Marriott
Invocation: Venerable Chang-Kuan (Western Buddhist Association)
|
| 10:05 AM | Opening Remarks | Rabbi Joseph Potasnik (The New York Board of Rabbis) |
| 10:10 AM |
Observation: New York as a Model of Faith in Action
|
Forthcoming |
| 10:20 AM | Musical Number | Christian Cultural Center Choir, God Is |
| 10:28 AM |
Keynote: A Leap of Faith - How Universities Can Heal Divides
|
Linda G. Mills (President, New York University) |
| 10:38 AM |
Panel: How Faith Can Change the Course for Individuals and Communities
|
Moderator: Jane Clayson Johnson
Panelists:
• Dr. Marc Siegel (physician; author of Miracles Among Us)
• Elder Robert Daines (USNE Area President, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
• Rev. Adrienne Thorne (Senior Pastor, The Riverside Church)
• Dr. Azza Karam (President, Lead Integrity)
|
| 11:23 AM | Musical Number | Christian Cultural Center Choir, Total Praise |
| 11:28 AM | Closing Remarks & Breakout Instructions | Jennifer Wilcox (Executive Director, Forum on Faith) |
| 11:29 AM | Benediction & Blessing on the Food | Guruji His Holiness Dileepkumar Thankappan (World Yoga Community) |
| 11:30 AM | Break — pick up box lunch and move to breakout session | |
| Lunch Breakout Sessions — Faith in Action: Service, Justice & Community Outreach | ||
| 11:50 AM |
Eleven simultaneous sessions • 70 minutes each with box lunches • KC Rooms
BG1 — Welcoming the Newest New Yorkers: Building Community and Unifying People of Faith
Convener & Moderator: Rev. Jared R. Stahler (Senior Pastor, Saint Peter's Church)
Panelists:
• Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer (Interfaith Center of New York)
• Rev. Fabian Arias (Saint Peter's Church)
• Husein Yatabarry (Muslim Community Network)
• Noah Habeeb (Ark Immigration Clinic, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah)
• Matthew Buccheri (El Barrio Angels, Church of St. Edward the Martyr)
Award: Achievement in Faith-Based Immigration Services
BG2 — Faith & Reason in University Life: Why Gen-Z is Choosing Religion
Convener & Moderator: Father Cassian Derbes (Director and Chaplain, Catholic Center at NYU)
Panelists:
• John Sexton (President Emeritus, New York University)
• Fr. Vincent Bernard (Catholic Center at NYU)
• Two NYU students
Award: Achievement in Faith-Based Campus and Community Service
BG3 — Faith Without Borders: Religious Communities as Partners in Global Cooperation and Humanitarian Relief
Convener & Moderator: Ryan Koch (Director, NY Office of Public and International Affairs, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Panelists:
• Huda Alawa (Senior Manager, Civil Society & Foundation Partnerships, USA for UNHCR)
• Nicolas Demey (Senior Partnerships Manager, World Food Programme)
• Basmah Ghauri (Manager, Corporate & Civil Society Partnerships, UNICEF USA)
Award: Achievement in Faith and Global Service
BG4 — Faith Forward: Sustaining Faith Communities Through Leadership, Partnership and Innovation
Convener: Pastor Caura Richardson (Director, New York State Office of Faith & Nonprofit Development Services)
Moderator: Rev. Dr. Qaivy Grainzvolt, M.
.Div., M.S., LMHC-D
Panelists:
• Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Sr. (Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Mount Vernon, NY)
• Rev. Dr. Fred Davie (Senior Executive Vice President, Union Theological Seminary)
• Anthe Maria Bova (Assistant Attorney General, Charities Bureau, Office of NYS Attorney General Charities Bureau)
• Suzan Johnson Cook (Former Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom)
• Husein Yatabarry (Muslim Community Network)
Award: Achievement in Spiritual Leadership and Partnership
BG5 — Peacemaking in a Polarized America: Why Faith is the Answer
Convener & Moderator: Andrew Hanauer (President & CEO, One America Movement)
Panelists:
• Paul Lambert (Wheatley Institute)
• Afia Yunus (Immigration Attorney)
Award: Achievement in Faith, Peacemaking & Nonviolence
BG6 — Open Doors: Houses of Worship as America's Third Places
Convener: Mukesh Swaroop (BAPS)
Moderator: Chaitali Inamadar (BAPS)
Panelists:
• Ashwinr Patel (BAPS)
• Rev. Dr. Kahlil Carmichael (Live Well Church)
• Rabbi Adena Blum (Beth Chaim)
• Imam Lavon Brown (Muslim Center of Greater Princeton)
Award: Achievement in Advancing Civil Society through Faith Leadership
BG7 — Speaking Across Lines of Difference with Courage, Curiosity, and Compassion
Convener & Moderator: Dr. Debbie Almontaser (Founder & CEO, Bridging Cultures Group, Inc.)
Panelists:
• Susan H. Smith (Fellowship of Reconciliation - USA)
• Ruben Abrahams Brosbe (author and educator)
Award: Achievement in Faith and Inclusion
BG8 — Stewards of Our Blessings: Does Faithful Stewardship Extend to Our Investments?
Convener & Moderator: Jim Davis (Bountiful Financial)
Panelists:
• Father Seamus Finn (Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation)
• Stephen Hodson (Fund Evaluation Group)
• Reid Steadman (Bountiful Financial)
• Pastor Greg Johnson (National Association of Evangelicals)
• Samim Abedi (Wahed Invest)
• John Welling (S&P Dow Jones Indices)
Award: Achievement in Faith-Based Investment Opportunities
BG9 — The Importance of Supporting the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program in New York
Convener: Bruderhof
Moderator: John Huleatt (General Counsel, Bruderhof)
Panelists:
• James Cultrara (Director of Education, NYS Catholic Conference; Co-chairman, NYS Coalition for Independent & Religious Schools)
• Sydney Altfield (CEO, Teach Coalition)
• Kristin Reed (Business Development Director, Redefining Education)
Award: Achievement in Faith and Inclusive Education
BG10 — What Various Faith Traditions Teach About the Language and Methods of Peacemaking
Moderator: Rev. Jacques DeGraff (Canaan Baptist Church)
Panelists:
• Kate Forbes (former Deputy First Minister of Scotland)
• Rabbi Angela Buchdahl (Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue)
• Judge Thomas B. Griffith (retired Judge, DC Circuit Court)
• Bishop Victor Brown (Senior Pastor, Mt. Sinai United Christian Church)
Award: Achievement in Faith-Based Teaching of Peace
BG11 — The Regional Economic Impact & Opportunities of AI for Our Faith Communities
Moderator: Bishop Matthew Heyd (Episcopal Diocese of New York)
Panelists:
• forthcoming
|
|
| 1:00 PM | Break — transition to Skirball Center | |
| Afternoon Plenary — The Machine and the Soul: What AI Means for Faith, Humanity & the Sacred | ||
| 1:30 PM |
Invocation
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
|
Pastor J. Heinrich Arnold (Senior Pastor, The Bruderhof) |
| 1:32 PM |
Panel: Human Dignity, Faith and AI
|
Introduction: The Very Rev. Winnie Varghese (Dean, Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
Moderator: Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer (Interfaith Center of New York)
Panelists:
• Archbishop Rowan Williams (Former Archbishop of Canterbury)
• Fr. James Martin, S.J. (consultant, Vatican Secretariat for Communications)
• Rabbi Burton Visotzky (Professor Emeritus, Jewish Theological Seminary)
|
| 2:15 PM |
A Conversation: The Consortium for Evaluation of Faith and Ethics in AI (CEFE-AI)
BYU • Yeshiva • Baylor • Notre Dame
|
Introduction: Larry Howell (BYU Assoc. Academic Vice President)
Panelists:
• David Wingate (Brigham Young University)
• Elisabeth Kincaid (Baylor University)
• Rabbi Daniel Feldman (Yeshiva University)
|
| 2:45 PM |
Reflections: Faith, Ethics & the Future of AI
|
Nikos Acuna (Chief Technology Officer, Bountiful; former Head of AI, Davison Partners) |
| 2:55 PM | Closing Reflections | Rabbi Diana S. Gerson (The New York Board of Rabbis) |
| 3:00 PM | Break | |
| Closing Plenary — From Dialogue to Repair: What Faith Can Do for a Fractured World | ||
| 3:15 PM |
Opening Remarks
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
|
Rev. A. R. Bernard (Christian Cultural Center) |
| 3:20 PM | Remarks |
Introduction: Forthcoming
Speaker: Forthcoming
|
| 3:27 PM | Musical Number | Performing group forthcoming |
| 3:32 PM |
Many Perspectives, One Planet: Forging Peace in a Fractured Age
|
Introduction: Elder David Marriott
Speaker: Kate Forbes (former Deputy First Minister of Scotland)
|
| 3:45 PM |
A Conversation: Religion as the Healer
|
Moderator: Dr. David Miller (Founding Director, Faith & Work Initiative, Princeton University)
Panelists:
• Andrew Hanauer (One America Movement)
• Sheri Dew (Deseret Management Corporation)
• Rebecca Russo (Interfaith America)
• Haris Tarin (Muslim Public Affairs Council)
|
| 4:30 PM |
Closing Keynote: A World of Faith
|
Elder Ulisses Soares (Quorum of Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) |
| 4:41 PM | Musical Number | Jennifer Welch Babidge and Darrell Babidge, How Great Thou Art, composed by Stuart K. Hine, arranged by Wiliam Marsden, edited by David Fletcher |
| 4:45 PM | Benediction | Father Nicholas Kazarian (Ecumenical Officer and Director, Inter-Orthodox Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America) |
| Closing Reception | ||
| 5:00 PM |
Reception
Rosenthal Pavilion
|
Open to all Forum participants. Includes a showing of 27 paintings of the religions of the world by artist Kathleen Peterson, from the book “A World of Faith.” |