Common Bond Institute

Official Partner & Event of Parliament of World Religions and Charter For Compassion

Steve Olweean, MA
is founding Director of Common Bond Institute, co-founder and President of International Humanistic Psychology Association (IHPA), past President of Association for Humanistic Psychology, and therapist with an MA in Clinical Psychology. Treatment focus is abuse recovery of victims and perpetrators, trauma recovery, and healing negative belief systems. He has written and presented internationally on concepts of The OTHER and dynamics of belief systems. Current writing projects are"Engaging The OTHER," and "Transgenerational Trauma: Communal Wounds and Victim Identities." Founder of Annual International Conference on "Engaging The Other;" Annual International Conference on Religion, Conflict, and Peace; Annual International Conference on Transforming Conflict; & Annual International Conference on Practical Models for Peace. Co-founder of International Conference on Conflict Resolution. He is 2011 Recipient of the Charlotte and Karl Bühler Award from the American Psychological Association for outstanding contribution to Humanistic Psychology internationally, and has been recognized for his life long work in a chapter devoted to his role with CBI in the "The New Humanitarians."
Email: SOlweean@aol.com Web: www.cbiworld.org

Bill Secrest, MA (Joining us from the field in Israel)
B.A. Michigan State Univ, 1971. M.A. History of Religions, University of Detroit, 1977. Director of Religious Studies Program, Henry Ford Community College. Faculty Advisor to HFCC Student Environment Association (current). Vice President of Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy (current)
Email: WSecrest@hfcc.edu Web: www.hfcc.edu/

Virtual Keynote via Skype:

Huston Smith, Ph.D
is holder of 12 honorary degrees, is internationally renowned as the world's leading philosopher, scholar, and author on world religions, and has devoted his life to the study of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism, all of which he believes in. His book The World's Religions has been the most widely-used textbook on its subject for 1/3 of a century - selling over 2,500,000 copies worldwide. Bill Moyers devoted a 1996 5-part PBS special to his life and work, "The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith." He has produced 3 series for public television: "The Religions of Man," "The Search for America," and "Science and Human Responsibility," and his films on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, & Sufism have won international film festival awards. His recent books include Why Religion Matters, Islam: A Concise Introduction, The Way Things Are, Buddhism: A Concise Introduction, The Soul of Christianity, A Seat at the Table: Huston Smith in Conversation with Native Americans on Religious Freedom, and Tales of Wonder. His other books include Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals, One Nation Under God: The Triumph of the Native American Church, and Primordial Truth and Postmodern Theology. He has authored over 80 articles and his 16th book-in-progress is The Way of Wisdom: Philosophy as a Healing Art. Dr. Smith has been a gracious supporter of Common Bond's conferences, regularly contributing his vision, wisdom, and presence to advancing these important public dialogues over the years.
Web: www.hustonsmith.net/

* As a key conference outcome, participants will be invited to individually endorse these proclamations, with final documents being disseminated widely.

A-1:
Myron Eshowsky, M.S.
Myron Eshowsky, M.S., is a counselor, mediator, and a teacher of shamanism. Drawing upon 40 years of learning about indigenous traditions of healing and peacemaking, he has taught and written extensively on the utilization of these methods for modern concerns. He has extensive experience working with youth at risk, prison inmates, cross cultural conflicts, mediating hate crimes , and working with populations traumatized by violence. He has worked throughout the U.S.,Canada, Europe, Russia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. He is the author of Peace with Cancer: Shamanism as a Spiritual Approach to Healing .
Email: myron@myroneshowsky.com Web: myroneshowsky.com/

  Brenda Rosenberg
was the first woman senior vice president of fashion merchandizing and marketing for Hudson's Department stores in Detroit Michigan, and later for Federated Allied Department Stores. Since 9/11 Brenda has become a champion for inter faith, inter cultural and inter racial understanding. As executive producer of "Reuniting the Children of Abraham toolkit 4 peace" she has spoken at numerous churches, mosques, synagogues and schools throughout Michigan, across the country and overseas. She was the first woman, and first Jewish person, to deliver a Ramadan sermon in metro Detroit's Islamic community.
Email: pathways2peace@comcast.net
Web: www.tectonicleadership.org   Web: www.thechildrenofabrahamproject.org

________________________________________
A-2:
Anya Cordell
is a speaker, writer, activist. She is recipient of the 2010 Spirit of Anne Frank Award, and author of RACE: An OPEN & SHUT Case, which unravels presumptions of what we call “race”; named a “book to change your life” by N’Digo Magazine. Anya, who is Jewish, has passionately countered post-9/11 hate-backlash against Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and others. She battles Islamophobia, “appearance-ism”, and all stereotyping.
Email: info@anyacordell.com Web: http://www.Appearance-ism.com Author: "Then What? The Consequences of Lighting the Anti-Muslim Fuse" http://www.tikkun.org/article.php?story=20100825053912401
Email: info@appearance-ism.com Web: www.appearance-ism.com

Geshe Gendun Gyatso
was born in Tibet in 1961, escaped to India in 1963, at age 8 became a Buddhist Monk at Sera Je Monastic University in India, studying logic and epistemology, the study of nature of knowledge, and in 1981 was fully ordained by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. He studied in the Geshe Program for 25 years including Tantric Study at Gyumed Tantric College in India, and in 1993 was awarded his doctorate degree in Buddhist Studies as a Doctor of Buddha's Philosophy (Geshe). He studied comparative religion as a visiting scholar under the Boston University Fellowship Program for Theological Study, and during his studies became an affiliated Chaplain at Boston University and Chaplain at Harvard's Dana Faber Cancer Institute.
Email: gggk1959@gmail.com Web: www.geshegendun.org

Mouhanad Hammami, M.D.
is a graduate of Aleppo University, Syria, faculty member at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, and research associate at the Detroit Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics. In 2006 he was granted the American Medical Association (AMA) foundation for Excellence in Medicine and Leadership award for his public health advocacy and community work. Dr. Hammami served as Executive Director of the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) between from 2006 to 2009, was recently elected as president for 2011, and is Chief of Health Operations of Wayne County Department of Health and Human Services.
Email: mhammami@naama.com Web: www.naama.com/

Mumtaz Haque
is Producer/host of Manoranjan Radio Show & www.mumtazworld.com, President of the Council of Asian & Pacific Americans in Michigan (CAPA), Council Member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian and Pacific Affairs ACAPAA, Past President & Board Member, International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, and Past President & Board Member of the India League of America. An educator by profession, she has represented her colleagues for two consecutive years in the Detroit Federation of Teachers, and serves on the Michigan Department of Education Bias And Sensitivity Committee for MEAP & MME (Michigan Merit Exam).
Email: mumtaz1460@yahoo.com Web: www.mumtazworld.com

Stephen Goldman
is Executive Director of the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus. He has experience as a non-profit executive at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa and Museum Director at the Florida Holocaust Museum among others. Having designed the permanent exhibits at the Florida and Tulsa museums, he brings sensitivity to the interpretation, didactic materials and teaching approach to the subject. He graduated from Brandeis University, attended Yale School of Drama, and earned an MFA at Carnegie Mellon University as well as graduate work at the University of South Florida's School of Business. He has taught at State University of New York at Brockport and Florida State University and he has been adjunct at the University of Pittsburgh and Florida College.
Email: Stephen.Goldman@holocaustcenter.org Web: www.holocaustcenter.org/

Marcin Chumiecki
is Director of the Polish Mission, Polish-American Art and Cultural Research Foundation , founder of the professional photography, marketing, and consulting firm Element, Inc., and former executive with Phillip Morris in Poland. He secured The Polish Mission as a formal guest at the 2010 International Conference for Polish Museums and Archives in Warsaw, and represented the Nation of Poland at the National Prayer Breakfast and the 8th World Conference for Polonia's Economy. He has been instrumental in building new bridges across aged religious and cultural divides, which is a staple of the Polish Mission's philosophy, and at the core of building the 21st century image of Poland and Polonia.
Email: mchumiecki@orchardlakeschools.com Web: www.polishmission.com

Sherto Gill
PhD, is the Executive Secretary and a Research Fellow at the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace, an international think-tank and research institute. She has been developing with others the notion of human-centredness which applies to the field of education and peacebuilding. Accordingly the focus of her work addresses issues that are central to individual flourishing and social transformation. Scherto is also a visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex, where she teaches on Masters and Doctoral programmes in education and social research.
Email: scherto.gill@ghfp.org
Web: www.sussex.ac.uk/esw/people/education/person/136057

________________________________________
E-2:
Geshe Gendun Gyatso (See D Panel)
Venerable Bhardo Serpa, Tamang Lama Ram Bahadur, Lopsang Lama

F-1:
  Karima Vargas Bushnell
M.A., teaches Intercultural Communication at Metropolitan State University and trains on cultures and religions as Crossing Cultures, LLC. Writings include Cultural Detective: Islam (co-author) and Voices on the Waves: A Multicultural Comedy-Drama in Two Acts, performed by Jews, Christians and Muslims at “Celebrating Interfaith Peace Work around the World”, Duluth 2007. Karima is a certified Content Expert with the Minnesota Center for Professional Development and guides a Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi circle.
Email: karima@crossingcultures.co   Web: www.crossingcultures.co
________________________________________
F-2:
  Padma Kuppa
is a writer, an IT professional, a wife and mother of two, working to build a more pluralistic society. Most of her schooling was done in NY, but she finished high school and college in India. She serves her community by engaging its ethnic and religious diversity, as Bharatiya Temple's Outreach Chair, co-founder of the Troy Interfaith Group, an organization highlighted by Harvard's Pluralism Project, the Board of WISDOM, and Hindu American Foundation's Executive Council . Her faith has been strengthened through personal experiences, while her study of Hindu philosophy continues to inspire her activism every day.
Email: padma@hafsite.org   Web: http://www.bharatiya-temple.org/
Mahaveer Khetawat (see Morning Yoga)
Anjali Vale (see Morning Yoga)

G-1:
Najah Bazzy, RN
is a Transcultural Nurse Clinical Specialist and a Diversity Specialist with 25 years specializing in the area of transcultural health care. She has an extensive background in critical care nursing with a special expertise in Arab and Muslim health care, beliefs, and practices. She is CEO of Diversity Specialists and Transcultural Health Care Solutions. She is also the Executive Director and Founder of Zaman International, a non-profit humanitarian organization which provides “hope for humanity”.
Email: najahbazzy@gmail.com Web: www.zamaninternational.org/

Manveen Saluja, M.D., F.A.C.P
is a clinical assistant professor at Wayne State University and an attending staff at William Beaumont Hospitals. She is one of the Board members of Parashakthi Temple. Dr. Saluja is a physician, a medical professor, a member for various medical societies, a poet and a spiritual counselor. She counsels number of people spiritually and spends a great deal of time facilitating interfaith discussions and understanding different cultures and their spiritual practices. Dr. Saluja acknowledges Dr. G. K. Kumar as her living spiritual mentor and Divine Mother as the guiding force in her life.
Emal: manveensaluja@hotmail.com Web: www.parashakthitemple.org/

Myron Eshowsky (see A2)

Moderator: Farha Abbasi, MD
is a 4th year resident of Psychiatry at Michigan State University. She emigrated from Pakistan in 2000 seeking a safe haven for her family as terrorism plagued her homeland. She has worked with local and state politicians to increase public education and awareness of Islam and the Muslim community, has worked within her mosque to help Muslims break their silence on mental health issues, and helped teach medical students how to work with Muslim patients. In 2008 she was awarded the American Psychiatric Association SAMSHA Minority Fellowship to address mental health issues of minority populations.
Email: Farha.Abbasi@hc.msu.edu Web: www.psychiatry.msu.edu/ACCEPT.htm
________________________________________
G-2:

Mary Assel, PhD
is Director of the English Language Institute at HFCC. She is an active member in various campus and off-campus committees that embrace all areas in the teaching of English as a second language, culture, and religion. She taught in Africa, the Middle East, and the US for over 30 years. She presented and published numerous articles on language learning, religion, and culture and recently authored 25 Icons of Peace in the Qur’an.
Email: MAssel@hfcc.edu Web: www.hfcc.edu/

Jehan Olweean, MA
has taught special education for over 9 years to a broad spectrum of special needs students has her degree in Special Education from Eastern Michigan University. Her mission has been to bring dignity, respect, and self-empowerment into the classroom, while inspiring students to reach their fullest potential and highest self esteem. A fundamental aspect of her commitment is to advocate for special needs students to receive the recognition, appreciation, and rights they deserve. She has presented at the International Conference on Conflict Resolution in Russia, and the International Conference on Engaging The Other.
Email: JOlweean@PortagePS.org Web: www.cbiworld.org

Moderator: Sheri Terebelo Schiff
is active in human relations and multicultural and interfaith relations, conducting workshops and seminars in race relations, diversity, prejudice reduction, and anti-bias education. Also active with the American Jewish Committee, WISDOM, and Jewish Historical Society, Sheri serves on the boards of many Jewish agencies and organizations. She is a docent and mentor at the Holocaust Memorial Center, and a co-chair of Book Stock, used book and media sale to benefit literacy projects. Sheri's interfaith activities include WISDOM, Reuniting the Children of Abraham, Interfaith Leadership Council, and past co-convener for the Race Relations & Diversity Task Force where under her leadership the group received the Closing the Gap Award from New Detroit.
Email: sheritschiff@gmail.com

Imam Abdullah El-Amin
is one of the founding members of the Muslim Center in Detroit and has served in various capacities since then, including Chairman. He is a strong voice of conviction, conscience, and principle who has an ability to cross cultural and religious lines in order to sow the seeds of peace–with Christians, Jews, and Muslims, with Americans and Africans. Along with a Jewish and Christian colleage he co-created the original concept that became known as "The Children of Abraham Project."
Email: elamin61@hotmail.com Web: www.muslimcentermcc.org/

Ali Hammoud
Ali Hammoud is a practicing attorney and a member of the ADC-Michigan
Advisory Board and an Executive Member of The Arab American Political
Action Committee (AAPAC). The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), the premier civil rights organization which defends
the cause of civil rights and justice for Arab Americans. He has
written extensively about Arab and Muslim issues including articles
regarding Lebanon and its Constitution, and Palestine and Civil
rights. He was a featured lecturer at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School
on various legal issues including "The role of Islam in the legal
profession" and has lectured about “Arab Americans in the Workforce.”
Email: hammoud.law@gmail.com Web: www.adcmichigan.org

Saeed Khan
is currently Lecturer in the Department of Near East & Asian Studies at Wayne State University, where he teaches Islamic and Middle East and History, Islamic Civilizations and History of Islamic Political Thought, and Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy. Saeed is also the Founder and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding (ISPU), a Michigan-based Think Tank promoting the study and analysis of US social and domestic policy.
Email:  sk1967@aol.com    Web: ispu.org/

  Rene Lichtman, Ph.D.
was born in Paris in 1937 of Polish Jewish parents. He and his mother survived the war in hiding in France. Rene's father joined the French Army and was killed in combat against invading Germans. In 1950, at the age of 13, he came to the US with his mother and lived in Brooklyn, New York. For many years, he has been active in Holocaust organizations, was a founder in 1992 of the Hidden Children and Child Survivors of Michigan. In 1996, was founding member of the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust, and has been Vice President ever since. Rene holds degrees in Fine Arts, Mass communication, Instructional Technology, and worked for William Beaumont Hospital for 20 years.
Email:  rlichtman@comcast.net  Web: www.wfjcsh.org/

Keynote: 7:00 - 7:30 pm

US Representative John Dingell
is the longest serving member of the United States House of Representatives in history, and is recognized as the Dean of the House. Known as "America's Watchdog" for his relentless pursuit of exposing waste, fraud and abuse in government and the private sector through vigorous oversight, his work includes fighting for the working families that keep America's economy going, including making health care more affordable and accessible to all families and protecting our nation's natural heritage. His Southeast Michigan district is an ethnically and culturally diverse area and he has been a strong supporter of civil rights, justice, and pluralism both in his district and the US at large. Rep. Dingell, a devote Catholic, recently protested the King Hearings on the American Muslim community warning US Rep. Peter King of drifting into McCarthyism and urging that the hearings refocus on extremism and violence in all forms, rather than targeting American Muslims.
Web: dingell.house.gov/

Sudha Chandra Sekhar,
is director of the Hindu Temple Rhythms dance group, Michigan Premier Institution for the Performing Arts of India
Web: www.hindutemplerhythms.com/

Student Roundtable Members:
Neve Shalom/Wahat Al Salaam, Israel: Esam Hijazi, Eden Ben Shabat
Youth Without Borders, Madaba, Jordan: Tahni Mohamed, Iman Ali
Michigan: Mohammed Lanston, Letitia Mercado, Elana Haron

Remote Site Facilitators for roundtable:
Ahmad Hijazi, MA, MBA
(MA in Sociology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, MBA from Polytechnic University, NY.) is Senior management member of the School for Peace and Director of the Communication and Development Department at Neve Shalom / Wahat Al Salaam, Israel, a village, jointly established by Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, that is engaged in educational work for peace, equality and understanding between the two peoples. He has presented the unique programs of Neve Shalom / Wahat Al Salaam at the International Conferences on Conflict Resolution in Russia.
Email: ahmad@nswas.info Web: www.nswas.com

2012 RCP Conference Information:

  Underlying Concepts
Main RCP Conference Page
Fees and Registration
2012 RCP Full Program
2012 Presenter Biographicals
2012 Presenters, Session Topics, Overview, & Schedule
Site and Travel
RCP Press Room
      1 Page Color RCP Conference flyer  - pdf
      1 Page RCP Black & White flyer  - pdf
      1 Page Text Flyer  - pdf
      Conference E-Mail Notice
    On-Site Video Interviews and Proceedings
RCP Conference Staff Contacts
Presenter Proposal Form
Dialogue Facilitator Form

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Open To The Public

FROM OUR RCP ARCHIVES:
'11, '10 and '09 Programs, Proceedings, & Outcomes

Previous 2011 RCP Conf. Information:
       Previous '11 RCP Program Sessions
       Previous '11 Presenter Biographicals and Photos

Previous 2010 RCP Conf. Information:
       Previous '10 RCP Program Sessions
       Previous '10 Presenter Biographicals and Photos
       Previous '10 List of Presenters and Schedule Outline

Previous 2009 RCP Conf. Information:
       Content of '09 Daily Facilitated Dialogue Groups
       Previous '09 RCP Program Sessions
       Previous '09 Presenter Biographicals and Photos
       Previous '09 List of Presenters and Schedule Outline

Other Conferences by CBI:
    Engaging The Other Conference (ETO)
    International Conference on Conflict Resolution (ICR)

Common Bond Institute
Steve Olweean, Director, SOlweean@aol.com
12170 S. Pine Ayr Drive • Climax, Michigan •49034 USA
1-269-665-9393 (Phone and Fax)
Website: http://www.cbiworld.org
CONTACT US!