Consultants
Our Amazing Team
Restorative Practices Experts
Jonayah Jackson
Jonayah Marie Jackson (Jo) is a data analysis consultant with 4 years of experience working in higher education. In her last role, she was the project manager for the Center on Culture, Race & Equity at Bank Street College of Education. There, she managed research projects, conducted interviews, administered focus groups, and co-facilitated professional development sessions for educators and caregivers. In addition, Jo supported her team with graphic design, website maintenance, and administrative/technical support. A graduate of Williams College with a major in Anthropology and a concentration in Africana Studies as well as a certificate of Software Engineering from Columbia University School of Engineering, Jo brings her experience conducting fieldwork, creating materials, and working in nonprofits and higher education to her teams. Currently, she is bridging her passion for data and technology by working on educational- and medical-themed applications.
Tahira Bhatti
Lisette Roman
During her career, she held various educational roles in Honolulu, including instructional mentor and operations specialist at Teach For America, program specialist at Read Aloud America, and Founding School Board Member of DreamHouse Ewa Beach. Lissette Roman has also held teaching positions at Achievement First in Bridgeport, CT, and in Las Vegas Public Schools, where she began her teaching career as a Teach For America Corps member.
Lissette is fluent in both English and Spanish. She earned her bachelor’s degree in professional studies and human services from Metropolitan College of New York and her master of arts in education from Touro University.
Lauren Gonzalez holds a Master’s degree in International Education Development with a concentration in International Humanitarian Issues from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Health Science from Boston University. She began her career as an ESOL instructor with the International Rescue Committee and has since worked to develop more inclusive educational spaces. Lauren currently serves as a consultant for numerous school districts nationwide, offering strategic guidance and formulating data-informed recommendations. In her previous roles, she worked on federal and state grants at Teachers College- Columbia University and Rutgers University’s New Jersey Safe Schools Program. Lauren successfully managed research projects and played a key role in developing and facilitating educational programs on Career and Technical Education, Peace and Human Rights, Violence Prevention, Occupational Safety, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for education professionals and secondary students.
Lauren is driven by a passion for addressing educational inequities. With her multifaceted background, commitment to research-driven strategies, and a track record of providing impactful support to schools. She brings a unique skill set to education and workforce development and is dedicated to redefining educational paradigms and empowering learners.
Lauren Gonzalez
Michelle Lewis
Michelle Lewis is the owner of L.E.A.R.N Coaching & Consulting, where she provides services to educational, not-for-profit, public and private organizations to create/ build upon existing systems to improve operational functions. She also provides coaching services to educators at various stages of their career.
For over 15 years, she has served multiple schools with large populations of Title I, Black and Latino children, English language learners, and immigrant families. She has experience as a network leader, school leadership coach, teacher coach, workshop designer and facilitator, edTPA evaluator, curriculum writer and history educator. Michelle has supported, supervised and coached novice and veteran leaders, teachers and non-instructional staff to build their capacity. She has expertise in creating systems and learning experiences to enable those she supports to be successful.
She was previously the Associate Director for Performance Management & Development at New Visions where she has held multiple roles during her 11 year tenure. She has a M.S.Ed in educational leadership from Brooklyn College, a M.A from NYU and a B.A from Hunter College. Her career has been a complete commitment to working with adults who want to continue to LEARN.
Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is an award-winning educator, writer, activist, and scholar who believes deeply that love, equity, and justice are closely intertwined. He writes and speaks regularly on issues of diversity, inclusion, civil rights, religion, and hate violence, and his thought leadership extends to a number of audiences, from the White House and the Pentagon to university campuses and social justice groups.
Simran is a professor of religion at Trinity University and Senior Religion Fellow for the Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization based in New York City. This year, Simran serves as the Henry R. Luce Fellow for Religion and International Affairs at NYU’s Center for Religion and Media. He frequently contributes opinion pieces to various news outlets, and he has become a consistent expert for reporters around the world in television, radio, and print media. Simran is also on the board for Religion Newswriters Association, a fellow for the Truman National Security Project, and a term-member with the Council on Foreign Relations.
Simran Jeet Singh
Dr. Shango Blake
Nationally known as the Hip Hop Principal, Dr. Shango A. Blake-CEO of TRU SK Consultants, LLC is a much sought after speaker about issues in urban education; from pioneering unique collaborations between students, teachers, parents, and the community towards creating and sustaining a vibrant academic atmosphere, to his successful tenure as a New York City Principal, he has proven to be a true renaissance educator. As a Principal, Dr. Blake saw a profound need to institute drastic and creative changes to improve his school’s failing health. Dr. Blake initiated a bold and daring self-created project to integrate a conceptualized Hip Hop based educational program. This program led to the creation of:
- A new curriculum model that included teacher development, parent involvement, and school/community collaboration.
- His school went from one of the lowest-performing schools in the district to number one in reading and math.
- As a result, Dr. Blake has been featured on Oprah Winfrey, People Magazine, 98.7 Kiss FM, The Joey Reynolds Show, WABC channel 7 news, and WCBS Channel 2 interviewed Dr. Blake.
As Chair of the Education and Youth Committee of the Million Man March Coordinating Council of Queens, Dr. Shango Blake has been responsible for:
- The exposure and placement of hundreds of high school students to Historically Black College and Universities
- Resolving violent conflict between rival gang members
- Organizing Youth Empowerment Days
Amy Sit
Amy Sit is a dialogue facilitator, designer, researcher and organizational strategist who seeks to create experiences that help people become more curious, connected and compassionate. She holds a B.A. in Development Studies, an MBA, and certifications in Dialogue Facilitation and User Experience/User Interface Design. She believes that in our globalized and increasingly polarized world, dialogue is an essential tool that can help us find our common humanity and constructive ways to engage during times of conflict. Amy has worked as a virtual and in-person Dialogue Facilitator for organizations such as Soliya and Seeds of Peace, leading dialogue sessions to promote peace and understanding between youth from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, South Asia, and the US. She also is the co-founder of AMENA Vlogs, a virtual exchange program connecting individuals from the US, Yemen and Iraq through cross-cultural dialogues and vlog projects. Across her varied experiences in organizational change management, market research, academic advising, and design, there has been a common throughline that defines Amy’s work: a desire to help individuals and organizations understand themselves and their contexts so they can navigate complexity with empathy, foster inclusive environments, and cultivate meaningful connections for collective growth and resilience.
María Luisa García Underwood has over 30 years of experience in the education field. María Luisa has served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach/staff developer, and program/ district administrator. María held the position of Director at the Multicultural Education Center, where she designed and oversaw diversity learning. She also served as the Director of the Bilingual Education Technical Assistance Center, where she was responsible on behalf of New York State for the development of bilingual programs throughout New York City. Additionally, María worked at the Central Offices of the New York City Department of Education. She collaborates with educators in the fields of literacy, second language acquisition, student engagement, rigorous instruction and assessment, technology-integrated instruction, and alignment with educational standards.
María enjoys coaching as it allows her to assist in the enhancement of teachers’ literacy competencies. María Luisa has developed UbD and culturally responsive curricula including Elevating Voices, a tool to assist teachers in K-12 in grounding and transforming literacy instruction based on social justice standards and anti-racist pedagogy. María contributed as a reviewer for Head Start programs around the country and in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. She has functioned as a member of a Quality Review Team for New York State. She has delivered numerous presentations at the national level for ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), and NABE (National Association for Bilingual Education). Maria has several recent publications including in the Chief Learning Officer magazine and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Journal on Urban Perspectives. María is currently working on a book chapter for Practicing Civic Futures Through Teacher/Adult Learning to be published by NCTE/Routledge Publishing in late 2024.
María obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also earned a Master of Arts degree in Special Education with a specialization in Learning Disabilities, an Education Master’s degree in Reading and Bilingual Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Master of Science in Education in Learning Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania. She is presently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in learning design and anti-racist pedagogy. María takes pleasure in dancing, traveling, and engaging in pastimes like hot air ballooning.
María Luisa García Underwood
Dr. Ryan C. Warner
Tasneem Carim is an award-winning educator who taught in the Torrance Unified School District in California for over 2 decades. Having earned her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential & Supplemental Credential for Secondary English & Social Studies from California State University, Long Beach, she instructed students in grades 3-5 at Edison Elementary and students in grades 6-8 at Casimir Middle School. The honors thesis she wrote,“From Theory to Practice: Visions of Literacy and Writing” is what drove her to teach her students to love reading and writing and become life-long learners. A big proponent of Culturally Responsive Education (CRE), Tasneem strove to include stories and articles from many cultures and points of view into her lessons. Whether she was teaching English, Social Studies, English Language Development or Life Management, she wanted her students to see themselves in the stories they read and wrote about. An avid writer, whose articles and poems have been published in local magazines and newspapers, she always modeled writing assignments for her students and wrote alongside with them. The interactive English Notebook that she had her students create was a safe space for them to write in and and grow as learners. As a master teacher, she was able to train new teachers in becoming proficient in the arts and sciences of curriculum development and classroom management.
Tasneem strives to always engage her audience. Whether it is teachers at her Classroom Management workshops, students in their daily English lessons, or parents and families at Humanities Night, Common Core Parent Night or the Multicultural Fair, she created presentations and handouts that were educational and entertaining that would hold the audience’s attention. Being fluent in Urdu allowed her to communicate and support newly immigrated families and students from South Asia. In addition to being a classroom teacher, Tasneem worked with students in varying capacities such as advisor for the yearbook and GATE lead teacher, where she helped to tap into the different learning styles of students. Teaching figurative language to musical learners through songs or providing engaging book discussion slideshows for visual learners, she uses and advocates for strategies that are best for English language learners and which benefit all students.
Now living in New Jersey with her husband and son, Tasneem continues working with educators and principals in advocating education, literacy, and equality.
Tasneem Carim
Fazeela Y. Siddiqui
Fazeela Y. Siddiqui (She/Her/Hers) is a multi-hyphenate educator, cultural producer, activist, and lawyer, with a rich background in social change and public advocacy. She currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Manhattan University, where she teaches courses on race and gender. Additionally, she is the Principal Consultant and Founder of Praxis To The People, Inc., where she provides strategic guidance on Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) practices for mission-driven organizations. Fazeela has an extensive career in law, with notable roles including Deputy General Counsel at Settlement Housing Fund, Inc. and Disaster Relief and Housing Attorney at The Legal Aid Society. Her expertise also spans globally, as she served as the Programs Director of WISE Muslim Women and the Chief Rapporteur to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, where she focused on public accountability of gender-based violence.
Fazeela holds a B.A. in Organizational Behavior and Spanish from the University of Michigan. An M.S.W. in Social Policy & Evaluation from the University of Michigan School of Social Work and a Juris Doctorate from the Northeastern University School of Law, where she focused on Critical Race Theory and Civil Rights Law. She is deeply committed to addressing social injustices and change through community-based participatory action. And she is excited to dream the next world into reality.
Nicole Ziccardi, Ed.M. is a trusted partner in helping schools design and implement transformational programs. With over 18 years of diverse experience in the education field, Nicole brings a deep commitment to building students’ empathy, confidence, independence, and a genuine love of learning.
After working as a classroom teacher in NYC public schools, Nicole went on to found a NYC public school as principal. She later served in key roles at private schools, first as a Learning Specialist, and then as a Dean of Faculty and Director of Curriculum. This extensive background has given Nicole unparalleled insight into the complex work of supporting a wide range of students in various educational settings.
As a certified literacy specialist and a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, Nicole draws on the latest research in child development, pedagogy, cognitive science, and educational technology to collaborate with schools. Together, they create and implement customized plans, instructional coaching, and culturally responsive curriculum resources that engage all learners, particularly students with neurodivergence, executive functioning challenges, and reading disorders.
Nicole’s work is rooted in a deep understanding that every child is unique, with their own identities, strengths, interests, and learning needs. She partners with schools to design and implement strengths-based, skills-focused strategies that are not only standards-aligned, but also deeply engaging for diverse learners.
Nicole has a natural ability to understand and leverage the local school community, building trusting relationships and offering customized support to meet the unique needs of each child. Whether it’s conducting school audits, creating teacher coaching plans, or facilitating workshops, Nicole approaches each project with empathy, expertise, and a steadfast commitment to educational equity.
As a mother of two school-aged boys, Nicole also deeply empathizes with the challenges families face in supporting their child through schooling. Nicole fosters strong parent-school partnerships, focused on integrating social-emotional supports and unlocking the learning resources students need to thrive. Nicole brings a common-sense, whole-hearted approach to decision-making, always keeping the best interests of children at the forefront.
Nicole is excited to join Bridging Culture Group where she can offer a wide range of services to pinpoint and respond to each school’s unique needs. Through her work, Nicole empowers educators, students, and families to affirm every learner. She is passionate about transforming teaching and learning, and she is dedicated to creating the engaging, equitable learning environments that all children deserve
Nicole Ziccardi, Ed.M.
Hannah Luna
Hannah Luna believes that science is a story best told in the classroom. Hannah is a mission-driven STEM educator based in Manhattan, NY, with over a decade of experience in teaching, curriculum development and instructional coaching. She specializes in designing innovative STEAM programs that foster employability skills and cater to diverse learning needs. With a proven track record in climate change education and sustainable agriculture, Hannah supports educators by providing practical guidance and effective strategies for curriculum implementation. Currently, she works as a STEM Curriculum Consultant, where she develops K-12 curricula and facilitates professional development sessions. Hannah is currently pursuing her Master of Education in Education of Teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is committed to creating transformative learning experiences that empower both students and teachers. Hannah is passionate about fostering a collaborative and culturally aware educational environment that prepares students for a rapidly changing world.
Marliss Platt
Reginald Richardson
Driven by a lifelong passion for social justice and drawing on over 20 years of experience as an award-winning teacher and high school principal, New York City native Reginald Richardson founded Earthseed Consulting LLC. Through Earthseed, he empowers educators to reimagine schools as joyful spaces, free from anti-blackness, and catalysts for transformational change worldwide.
Reggie’s commitment to education extends beyond Earthseed. He is a founding partner of Teach Smart A.I. LLC, which helps educators leverage AI tools as thought partners to increase equity and enhance their impact and efficiency. Additionally, he co-founded the Skybridge Group, a real estate company fostering cultural, political, lifestyle, and economic connections between Black Americans and South Africa.
A graduate of Brooklyn Tech High School, Reggie holds a B.A. in Political Science from Hunter College (CUNY), an Ed.M. in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University, an M.S.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Baruch College (CUNY), and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law. He is also a member of American Mensa.
AjiFanta Marenah was born in The Gambia and migrated to the U.S. as a political asylee at twelve. She completed her studies in Political Science and International Relations at St. John’s University in New York. Additionally, she is a graduate of the NY Leadership Fellows at the Baruch School of Public Affairs & International Relations, where she received training in nonprofit management, institutional development, fundraising, and partnership building.
Over the past decade, AjiFanta has dedicated herself to working with social justice, faith-based, and immigrant communities throughout New York State. Previously, she served as the Advocacy Program Manager at the Muslim Community Network, where she led initiatives to combat Islamophobia and hate crimes, and advocated for policies that significantly impact the Muslim community in New York City. Locally, AjiFanta serves on the board of the Gambian Youth Organization, a youth-led social justice organization that addresses issues related to food, housing, and immigrant injustice in the Bronx. She was part of the team that led the efforts to raise over a million dollars for victims of the tragic January 2022 Bronx Fire.
In addition to her advocacy and community organizing experience, AjiFanta is a skilled facilitator and an expert in cross-cultural and faith-based peacebuilding. She has facilitated over 50 workshops on understanding the Muslim American experience and on understanding power dynamics to resolve conflicts amongst communities with differences. AjiFanta is a facilitator for the Rose Castle Foundation and has curated peacebuilding conversations for institutions such as Auburn Theological Seminary.
As a Black Muslim immigrant woman, AjiFanta is determined to use her experiences and knowledge to dismantle oppressive systems and contribute to the creation of just, inclusive, and peaceful societies that uphold human rights and dignity.
AjiFanta has received both local and national recognition for her advocacy work. She is honored to be the recipient of the Faith In Action Social Justice Award from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY). Additionally, she has been acknowledged by The Black Muslim Initiative at NYU, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, the U.S. Congress, New York State Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson, and numerous others for her contributions to advocacy throughout New York.
AjiFanta Marenah
Andrés Villalon
Andrés Villalon (they / them) is a seasoned leader with 18 years of experience visioning and implementing transformational change initiatives in non-profit and community-based organizations. Andrés brings a blend of expertise in organizational development, restorative justice, anti-oppressive frameworks and trauma-informed care practices. Andrés is a values-based servant leader who prioritizes building culture, processes and systems that provide organizations and people with opportunities for adaptability, learning, and equitable outcomes.
At the ACLU, Andrés was a co-creator a visionary for the reimagined Affiliate Support and Nationwide Initiatives team, resulting in a new organizational structure and method of engagement between the ACLU National Office and its 54 State Affiliates from 2015-2021, navigating a period of immense growth during the Trump Administration. They designed and launched a new knowledge management and communications platform, The Hub, designed and implemented equitable hiring and management processes, and co-founded ACLU’s Nationwide Latinx Resource Group. Andrés also spearheaded ACLU’s first operational efficiencies initiative that drove resources and infrastructure to ACLU’s state offices to build collective organizational power. At the National Audubon Society, Andrés led the design and implementation of its Restorative Justice Framework through a time of significant leadership change, as well as designing state-based interventions so staff and leaders could understand structural and social dynamics that can support or hinder equity and belonging both internally and externally. Prior to that Andrés started their career as an educational program coordinator for meditation and mindfulness programs growing into a project manager and administrator with experience in marketing, event planning and community engagement. Andrés holds certifications in DiSC, trauma-informed care and restorative justice circle keeping and also earned their MS in Organizational Psychology from the New School and BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University.
Yousof Abdelreheem
Mohamed Sarour
M.A., LMHC-D NCC
As the founder of Calm Waves Psychotherapy, Mohamed Sarour leads with a mission to create spaces where young people feel understood, supported, and empowered. A Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Mohamed partners with schools to help students navigate cultural adjustment, life transitions, and emotional challenges. His work blends clinical expertise with a deep understanding of community needs, equipping youth with the tools to thrive in and beyond the classroom. Guided by a vision of stronger, more connected communities, Mohamed’s approach ensures every student he works with has the opportunity to build resilience, confidence, and a sense of belonging.
David DeVaughn (he/him/his) believes that leaders who are most burdened by inequity are owed the most rigorous, caring, and honest support available. As Founder and Managing Principal of StrivEquity Consulting LLC, a NYC Minority Business Enterprise, he works at the intersection of personal transformation and institutional change, centering the experiences of Black, Brown, and people of color professionals who carry the contradictions and commitments of racial justice inside institutions not built to hold it.
Through the Equity-Responsive Leadership (ERL) model, rooted in W.E.B. DuBois’s concept of spiritual strivings and born from David’s own journey of healing and unlearning, he designs and delivers equity-centered trainings, workshops, and coaching engagements that help individuals and teams move from compliance to genuine cultural responsiveness. His practice spans city government, health equity, philanthropy, and national social impact organizations, with partners including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the NYC Department of Education, the New York State Health Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
Prior to founding StrivEquity, David spent over a decade at the intersection of food justice, public policy, and racial equity, leading advocacy work from hyper-local community campaigns to federal child nutrition policy. He is co-host of the Not 4 Prophets Podcast, a candid space for Black nonprofit professionals navigating the precarities of institutional life.
David is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a National Urban Fellow.
David DeVaughn
Restorative Practices Experts
Ruben Abrahams Brosbe
Ruben Abrahams Brosbe is a Brooklyn-based educator and writer. In addition to his work with Bridging Cultures, he supports middle schools in New York City as restorative justice coach and facilitates workshops to educators on racial equity and high-quality math instruction.
Abrahams Brosbe began working in NYC public schools in 2007. He entered NYC schools as a Cohort 14 Teaching Fellow. He has a masters from Fordham University in childhood education, and in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Abrahams Brosbe attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education as a member of the Urban Scholars cohort.
As an educator, Abrahams Brosbe believes in the power of culturally relevant, project-based learning. One of his favorite memories from teaching was watching his 5th graders present their research on historical and contemporary systemic racism to an audience of educators and community members at the Museum of the City of New York’s Teaching Social Activism Conference.
Palestinian-American Educator with Over 20 Years of Experience Veteran Middle School Social Studies Teacher Dedicated to Promoting Equity and Inclusivity in Education. Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi is a passionate Palestinian-
American career educator with a strong commitment to bridging cultures and fostering inclusivity, who has made a significant impact in the field of education, both as a teacher and an education consultant. Abeer’s journey began as a veteran middle school social studies teacher, where she leveraged her personal experiences as a child of immigrants to connect with her students, schools, and communities. Through her dedication, she created a dynamic learning environment that inspired her students to thrive. Abeer’s expertise extends to
curriculum development, as she previously served as a resource teacher in the Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Social Studies. In this role, she led curriculum development efforts and provided vital support to fellow educators. She also played a pivotal role in fostering equity within the educational landscape. Abeer’s dedication to equity is exemplified through her role as an equity liaison and as the co-facilitator of an affinity group for teachers of color. Additionally, she created and facilitated a student support group that provided a safe haven for Arab and Muslim immigrant female students, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and support. She is an active member of numerous Teacher Advisory groups, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Native Americans in Washington DC, EdLoc Culturally Responsive Social Studies Accelerator, and the National Arab American Women’s Association. Her involvement in these organizations reflects her commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity.Throughout her career, Abeer has collaborated with schools, cultural institutions, and publishers to develop curriculum, content, and activities that authentically represent the perspectives of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students and educators. Her work has been instrumental in creating inclusive learning experiences. In 2019, recognizing the need to provide educators with valuable resources and insights about Muslim and Arab youth, Abeer founded Altair Education Consulting. Through this endeavor, she has been offering educational materials, professional development, and engaging speaking sessions aimed at amplifying the voices and histories of Arab and Muslim American communities. Abeer has authored numerous education guides for ABRAMS Books and has shared her insights and experiences through conferences, podcasts, blogs, journals, and newsletter publications. Her goal is to continue working alongside educators to empower students to share their narratives, fostering global equity and justice.
Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi’s tireless dedication to education, advocacy, and inclusivity has left an indelible mark on the educational landscape. Her work serves as a beacon of inspiration for educators and students alike, as she continues to champion diversity, equity, and justice within the realm of education.
Abeer Ramadan-Shinnawi
Adam Katz
Adam Katz (he/him) has been teaching for almost two decades and writing for even longer. His writing frequently centers on moments that change a person’s mind or moments at which a person’s moral compass and self-interest point in conflicting directions.
You can find Adam’s writing in Door=Jar, Academy Forum, Capital Psychiatry, and JewishFiction.net, as well as in his own literary magazine, 2RulesOfWriting.com, where he also teaches classes and hosts workshops for fellow writers and artists. Adam enjoys cooking, reading, and collecting hobbies.
Rebecca Cannara (pronouns she/her) is a nonprofit manager and intergroup dialogue facilitator with over 25 years of experience in social work and education and is focused on promoting equity and social justice with an intersectional and dialogic approach. Rebecca has served youth and families experiencing homelessness, developed a cooperative preschool, and produced curriculum in mathematics and on homelessness. She received her master’s in Education from UCLA, where she trained in the University of Michigan model of intergroup dialogue and conducted research on providing dialogue as part of the professional training of educators. Rebecca is a member of the Global Dialogue Collective, formerly the US Academy of Professional Dialogue. She has been facilitating intergroup dialogues with a focus on difficult and courageous conversations since 2015.
Rebecca Cannara
Susan H. Smith
Susan H. Smith is director of operations and community engagement at the Fellowship of Reconciliation-USA since 2018. Founded in 1915, FOR-USA is the country’s oldest interfaith peace organization and committed to the transformative powers of love and nonviolent direct action. In this capacity, she also serves as a member of the International Committee of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and as a United Nations Representative. From 2020-21, Susan served as a group facilitator on the Islamic Networks Group (ING) Intercultural Speakers Bureau, a peace-building organization providing face-to-face education and engagement opportunities that foster understanding of Muslims and other misunderstood groups to promote harmony among all people. From 2017-2018, she worked as a community outreach consultant for the Women’s Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) for its WISE UP – Knowledge Ends Extremism Community Guide and Campaign. From 2014-2020, she was a member of the Community of Living Traditions in Stony Point, NY, an intentional residential community of Jews, Christians and Muslims engaged in peace and social justice work “from Ferguson to Palestine”. During this time, she became certified as a Circle Process: Restorative Circles and Community Building in 2020; and in 2019 as an Alternatives to Violence Project group facilitator, which is a Quaker-led conflict resolution model that emphasizes “seeking God in everyone” and finding nonviolent ways to respond to conflict. Prior to that, Susan served as the principal of two Islamic schools: Salah Tawfik School in Sunrise Florida from 2011-2012; and Andalusia School in Yonkers, NY from 2007-2010. While at Andalusia School, she participated in meetings of the Dialogue Project, a group that worked to foster communication, listening and understanding about issues pertaining to Israel and Palestine. She is the author of Biblical Children’s Stories as Told in the Qur’an published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Press (2017). Prior to that, she worked as the Director of the Divorce Mediation Program at the Dispute Resolution Center of Orange and Putnam Counties, NY, and facilitated trainings in divorce mediation, community mediation, and “Parenting Apart”. She is a former UN employee who worked in the Department of Public Information at its headquarters in New York City, and in the Department of Peace-keeping Operations on a mission in the Western Sahara. Throughout her career, Susan has worked and volunteered doing refugee resettlement and sanctuary work in Palestine, Jordan, Turkey, the Western Sahara, Algeria, and the USA. In 2016, Susan co-founded the International Sanctuary Declaration Campaign. In 2023, she co-founded the Weaponized Drone Ban Treaty Campaign.
In summary, Susan has a background in interfaith dialogue, community relations, international relations, multi-faith residency, conflict resolution, humanitarian relief and advocacy, nonprofit administration, and Islamic school leadership. As a convert to Islam since 1986, she has experience crossing religious, cultural and other divides towards the end of listening, establishing mutual understanding and trust, and bridging disparities through relationship and community building. She endeavors to empower individuals to achieve their full potential through love of self and, importantly, love and acceptance of others without judgement. She has spoken nationally and internationally on topics pertaining to reclaiming the name of God from nationalist ideologies and extremism, ending war and militarism, nonviolence as the path to justice and peace, confronting and dispelling Islamophobia, sanctuary and migrant justice rights, and ending drone warfare. She has facilitated many in-person and Zoom panel discussions on these and other topics. In addition, she has lived, studied, worked, and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and has a Masters in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo (1990); and a Masters in Educational Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Long Island University (1999).
Caroline Rothstein
Alan Singer
Alan Singer is a social studies educator and historian in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Technology at Hofstra University, Long Island, New York. He is a former New York City high school teacher and regularly blogs on Daily Kos and other sites on educational and political issues. Dr. Singer is a graduate of the City College of New York and has a Ph.D. in American history from Rutgers University. He is the author of Education Flashpoints (Routledge, 2014), Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach: A Handbook for Secondary School Teachers, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2013), Social Studies For Secondary Schools, 5th Edition (Routledge, 2024), Teaching Global History, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2020), Teaching Climate History (Routledge 2022), New York and Slavery, Time to Teach the Truth (SUNY, 2008), New York’s Grand Emancipation Jubilee (SUNY, 2018), and Class-Conscious Coal Miners (SUNY, 2024). He is the co-author of Supporting Civics Education with Student Activism (Routledge, 2021). He was a participating historian in “Defining Moments: The Civil Rights Movement in North Hempstead,” co-director of the New York State Great Irish Famine Curriculum Guide, and the editor of the “New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance” curriculum guide. Both curriculum projects were recipients of National Council for the Social Studies Program of Excellence Awards. He is a DEI curriculum consultant with ESBOCES and with the Bridging Cultures Group.
Melissa Shaw
Michelle Koch
Amy Ellenbogen creates programs focused on violence prevention through collective and community-led problem solving and civic engagement. Trained as a social worker and community organizer, Amy served as the director of Neighbors in Action (formerly known as the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center) for 17 years. In that role, she founded the first Cure Violence replication site in New York State, Save Our Streets, (S.O.S).She now operates “Conspiring for Good” a consulting group created to help organizations and individuals imagine, cultivate and co-create the conditions for safety to take root in the communities in which they live and work. She is interested in learning how to strengthen the skills people need to be good neighbors and colleagues, respond to conflict with curiosity, and how to build collective healing and resiliency. Amy is a parent, therapist, mediator, facilitator, trainer and restorative justice practitioner.
Amy Ellenbogen
Franny Silverman
Franny Silverman (she/her) accompanies people along journeys of growth, healing, and transformation toward the vision of a world where all people have what they need to thrive as their whole selves in community. Currently working as an organizational consultant and coach, franny has over 25 years of experience supporting institutional stakeholders at every level through significant changes to move the organizations they care about towards greater equity and mission alignment. As a practitioner of transformative mediation and restorative justice practices, franny supports people to move through conflict and charged differences with bravery, compassion, and accountability. An active antiracist practice and dedication to the health and wellness of Jewish diasporic communities drive her work. She found her movement elders in the world of devised political theater and both secular and spiritual Jewish communities, and she is buoyed by her ancestors – passionate secularists and spiritualists, artists and scholars, healers and survivors.
Sarra is the Chief Institute Officer at Avodah. There and elsewhere, Sarra helps to build activist communities to support and challenge each other in anti-oppressive, transformative social justice movement-building in Jewish communal spaces and beyond. She has been shaped in her thinking, teaching and being by (among other things): her Avodah Service Corps year, alumni experience, and years on each of Avodah’s program staff teams; two terms on the board of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice; her education/facilitation work in many different places, including 15 years on the faculty for the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Cornerstone Seminar, four years as a Lecturer in the NYU Expository Writing Program, and many years in a wide range of Hebrew schools and other Jewish learning spaces; her MFA at NYU and her BAs at UCSD; and, most importantly, by being a part of many wonderful, warm groups and communal organizations, from family and friends to writing retreats and food co-ops. She can often be found cooking with and for friends, singing along to something, reading on the subway or enjoying New York City’s parks, events, and various surprises.
Sarra
Jonah Canner
Jonah Canner is an ambassador from the world we have not yet built. He believes in people, community, and the sacred obligation we have to make positive change in the world around us. Jonah’s primary areas of focus include racial equity, restorative justice, experiential education, and working through conflict. Jonah has been on the founding team of a public high school, a summer camp, a national education organization and an international change initiative. He has worked as a classroom teacher, a summer camp director, and a consultant offering mentoring, training, and support for individuals and organizations. Jonah has a Masters in Education from the New School University in New York. His recent and current work include: How’re You Doing with Your Whiteness – a course for white educators working to embody an Antiracist practice; the Oregon Racial Justice Institute – a fellowship and series of monthly learning sessions supporting educators of color across the state of Oregon. Jonah also works as an advisor supporting Jewish summer camps across the US and Canada. In his free time Jonah is writing a collection of memoir essays that explore questions of grief, identity, ancestry, and place.
Amanda is a social justice advocate with a License in Clinical Social Work (LCSW). She has over a decade of experience working in the non-profit and educational sectors with a passion for implementing programs and trainings grounded in anti-oppression, restorative practices, and social-emotional learning.
For rejuvenation, Amanda enjoys motherhood, nature walks, and following college and professional sports. She strongly values community, connection, and healing, and seeks professional and personal opportunities with others who hold these values.
Amanda
Amanda Miller
Amanda Miller is an educator, healer, theater artist, and writer committed to community building and collective transformation. She has facilitated workshops and taught classes to people of all ages at nonprofits, summer camps, synagogues, community centers, and public schools on community organizing, social justice, mindfulness and the arts. Amanda recently served as Manager of Youth Education and Organizing at The Workers Circle, a secular Jewish social justice nonprofit. She currently works with youth and families at Kolot Chayeinu and Lab/Shul, two progressive Jewish communities.
Amanda views the arts as a powerful tool for education, healing and social change.
She is an award-winning solo performer who has toured her original theater pieces internationally. Her works include The Jew in the Ashram, about reconnecting with her Jewish roots while studying yoga on an ashram in India, and Smile All The Time, about a teenage boy who re-enacts the series of events that unjustly land him in adult prison.
Her writing has been published in The Rumpus, PEN America’s Temperature Check: Covid-19 Behind Bars, JewishFiction.net, and Quaranzine: Art in Isolation, among other publications. Amanda regularly produces community-oriented performance events and serves on the nonfiction committee for PEN America’s Prison Writing Awards. She is a licensed massage therapist and certified yoga instructor who brings these heart centered practices to everything she does. Amanda holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and a BFA in Acting from NYU.
Alison Milofsky Mojto
Mohammad Azraq
Mohammad Azraq is an environmental and economic development consultant with over 20 years of experience across North America and the MENA region. He has worked in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Tunisia, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the United States, and Canada. He served as the Capacity Building and Network Development Manager at the Arab Foundations Forum and was the Senior Officer for Philanthropy and Social Investing at the American University in Cairo.
In 2010, he studied at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and co-authored a paper on renewable energy in the Palestinian Territories. He has received the Leaders for Democracy Fellowship at Syracuse University and the Atkin Fellowship for Arab-Israeli Peace at King’s College London.
Mohammad is a frequent guest lecturer on the Middle East conflict at universities across the US such as Penn, University of Washington, Brandeis, George Washington University, Georgetown, and the University of Texas at Austin.
Manya Arond-Thomas
Caroline Miller
Caroline Miller is a community organizer engaged in a variety of initiatives related to intergroup dialogue, reproductive rights, and social justice programming in school settings. Most recently, she collaborated with a Palestinian-American community member to launch a small dialogue series between Jewish and Palestinian and Arab individuals in Miami. She believes in the power of purposeful nudges and microdisruptions in relationships, decision-making, and identity development to create patterns for norm change at the large scale. As a Jewish woman steeped in dialogue and social justice work, Caroline has worked across non-profit, foundation and government sectors to institutional equity into organizational culture, processes, and programs. Caroline worked at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) in the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention. In this role, she led efforts to build Bureau capacity to infuse equity considerations into hiring and recruitment processes, strategic planning, community stakeholder engagement, organizational culture and values, narrative change as it relates to the presentation of key data and communicating about root causes of health inequities, and grantmaking to community based organizations. Prior to DOHMH, Caroline worked at Amnesty International USA and has volunteered and consulted for community-based organizations in Tanzania, Honduras, and India focused on the health and rights of women and girls. She has a Master of Public Health and Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. Caroline spearheads various community engagement projects within her local Jewish community related to volunteering, anti-bias and identity affirming education, and social action. Caroline lives in Miami with her husband, daughter, and son. She is on an endless journey of learning and self-growth as an individual, professional and parent.
With a decade of dedicated leadership in education within Black and Brown communities, Aminah has established a distinguished career marked by a commitment to student empowerment and development. Currently serving as the Community School Director at Heritage High in Harlem, Aminah oversees all programming during school hours and beyond, ensuring that each initiative aligns with the core objectives of enhancing student attendance, academic performance, graduation rates, and mental health.
Under Aminah’s direction, Heritage High’s educational and empowerment programs are thoughtfully designed to foster holistic student growth. By prioritizing each student’s needs and potential, Aminah continues to advocate for equitable educational opportunities and robust support systems within the community.
Aminah AbuSway
