Faith and Democracy: Speakers and Facilitators

Dr. Sarah Sayeed  

Chair and Executive Director, New York City Civic Engagement Commission 

Dr. Sarah Sayeed is a Bronx resident and has been dedicated to building an inclusive public square for almost two decades. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Sayeed was a Senior Advisor to former Mayor Bill de Blasio in the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, where she worked with a diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Muslim constituency to strengthen civic engagement. Her public service builds upon seven years of bridge building projects at the Interfaith Center of New York, where she regularly convened New York’s diverse grassroots religious leaders with secular and city agencies, and implemented an extended collaboration between Catholic and Muslim social service providers. Dr. Sayeed also taught Communications to graduates and undergraduates at Baruch’s School of Public Affairs for five years. Through her years of volunteer work with diverse Muslim organizations, including Women in Islam, Inc., she has been an avid promoter of interfaith relations and Muslim women’s public engagement. Sarah earned a B.A. in Sociology and Near East Studies from Princeton University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Communications from the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a certificate in Reconciliation Leadership through the Institute for Global Leadership and is an alumna of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI) Fellows program.

Rev. Frederick Davie served as Senior Strategic Advisor for two years and Executive Vice President for a decade. In this Senior Executive Vice President executive position, Mr Davie is central to the Seminary’s mission of addressing the most pressing social, cultural, and theological issues of our time. He leads the Seminary’s efforts in public theology, strengthening its role as a vital voice in public discourse, and expanding its influence through meaningful community engagement both locally and globally.

Executive Director, New York Metro Chapter

Heba Khalil prioritizes empowerment for American Muslim voters and seeks to connect them to change makers in political and civic spaces. She also teaches courses about Theater, Film, & Politics at St. John’s University. In her previous roles as case manager, advocate, and policy analyst, Heba used the arts as a platform to develop and enhance programming for people with culturally-specific needs. In 2018, she was selected to participate in the U.S. State Department’s Speakers Program to train and facilitate conversations about gender-based violence to shelter staff, law firms, State Department staff, advocates, and university students during the 16 Days of Gender Based Activism in Jordan.

Director of Land Use and Topography within the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President

Spencer Williams works to engage communities through the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), to advance the comprehensive plan for Brooklyn, and to increase equitable access to opportunity, health, and belonging. Spencer’s previous work has focused on housing affordability, growth management, furthering fair housing, implementing anti-displacement strategies and tenant protections, developing neighborhood plans, and providing technical assistance for non-profits, community groups, public boards, local and federal government, and city agencies. He holds an architecture degree from Savannah College of Art and Design and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Portland State University. Spencer is currently enrolled in a Master of Divinity program in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement at Union Theological Seminary. 

What is Participatory Budgeting and How Can Your Community Benefit?

Non-Citizen Civic Participation – And Voting

Civic Engagement Associate, New York Immigration Coalition

Natalie Alper works on the organization’s REMAP grant program, voter registration and civic education efforts, and acts as support for ballot initiative campaigns. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Natalie has always been involved in human rights and social justice work. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and minors in Spanish, French and Arabic at Saint Louis University in Madrid, Spain. She has also lived and studied in Costa Rica, Uruguay and Jordan.

Is Religious Nationalism Compatible with Democracy?

Assistant Professor of Religion and Anthropology, Northeastern University

Dr. Riccardi-Swartz is also an affiliate faculty member in the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies program. Before joining Northeastern University she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Recovering Truth: Religion, Journalism, and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era project at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict (Arizona State University). She has a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from New York University. After completing an honors B.A. and M.A. in Religious Studies (American religions) at Missouri State University, she attended NYU to study and research religion and politics in the United States from an anthropological perspective. Along the way, she obtained a graduate certificate in Culture and Media (ethnographic filmmaking) and an M.Phil in Anthropology from NYU. Her research focuses on conservative politics, gender/sexuality, race, media worlds, and Orthodox Christianity.

Co-founder, Hindus for Human Rights 

Sunita Viswanath has worked for over 30 years in women’s rights and human rights organizations. Sunita co-founded Hindus for Human Rights in June 2019. In 2001, Sunita co-founded the international women’s human rights organization, Women for Afghan Women (WAW), and served as Board Chair of WAW until January 2022. She has been an advisory board member to Unfreeze Afghanistan since its inception in September 2021, and cofounded Abaad: Afghan Women Forward in August 2022. Sunita has edited “Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future” (Palgrave McMillan, 2003), a book of essays. For her work with WAW, Sunita was awarded the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Global Women’s Rights Award in 2011.  Sunita co-founded Sadhana in 2011 in order to mobilize Hindu Americans to connect their faith to social justice and human rights, and serves on Sadhana’s Advisory Board. She was honored by President Obama at the White House in 2015 as a “Champion of Change” for her work with Sadhana. In 2021, Sunita was recognized by Center for American Progress as one of 21 “faith leaders to watch.”  Previously, Sunita worked with The Sister Fund and Funders Concerned About AIDS. Sunita is a board member of Amnesty International-USA. She is an advisory board member of Population Media Center, which uses entertainment-education and mass media to promote social and cultural change. Sunita is a board member of Dalit Solidarity Forum. Sunita served on faith advisory committees during the tenures of both NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and Mayor Eric Adams. Sunita lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Restorative Justice, Collective Healing, and the Partisan Divide

Chiquita S. Williams is a consultant, cultural events planner and restorative circle keeper with 30 years of experience in the social justice field.  She was initially exposed to circles in 2000 as part of a national racial equity project.  In 2003, she completed formal restorative justice training with Sister Outsider.  Chiquita has since used circles to support community building practices; advance racial and gender equity; and promote collective healing.  She also co-led restorative initiatives at Lehman College, including the development of the Human Rights and Transformative Justice graduate program. Chiquita earned a B.A. (honors) in Liberal Arts from the College of New Rochelle.  She also studied in the Adult Education Master’s Degree program at SUNY-Empire State College.

Johnson Family Foundation Fellow, New American Leaders

José Galarza, born and raised in the Bronx to working-class Puerto Rican parents, José had many impactful experiences that shaped the way he became more involved politically. He volunteered for his first electoral campaign in 2017 to a progressive candidate running for New York City Council. That campaign would put him not only on the path of electoral politics, but also on the path to growth as a person. In the fall of 2019 he began working on his first electoral campaign as an Iowa Field Organizer for the Bernie Sanders Presidential campaign and later their national team. After that campaign, he transitioned to the AOC team as one of their field organizers and managed the 30-person team called the SuperVol Squad, solidifying the foundation for his organizing philosophy. For the past 2 years, he has been working on different projects ranging from training experts and newbies on the 2020 redistricting process and mapping tools, helping launch a vote tripling effort in the Bronx with New American Leaders Action Fund, and helping facilitate the leadership growth of 120 youth from across the world.

Deborah has been a volunteer with the League since 2020 and Board member since 2021.  As Co President she has worked to diversify the League’s fundraising, supporting foundation and corporate fundraising events and efforts, as well as the updating of the League’s publications.  She has over 25 years of global experience as a Senior Relationship Executive in the financial services industry.  Over the last 10 years she has served on non-profit boards and volunteered as a financial literacy tutor. Deborah joined the non-profit sector full-time in 2017 as the Regional Director of Development for the educational non-profit Playworks, supporting its mission to improve the health and well-being of children by creating opportunities for safe, meaningful play. Deborah began her career at JP Morgan after graduating from Harvard College with an A.B. in East Asian Studies. 

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Diane Burrows taught high school English for 5 years. After moving to New York, Diane shifted her career to elementary education and taught 5th grade in Goshen, NY for 22 years. Diane also served as NYSUT building rep and as a member of the union’s executive committee. After retiring from teaching, Diane moved to New York City and began volunteering for the League of Women Voters of the City of New York. Diane’s expertise as an educator allowed her to develop and present valuable voter information programs to civic groups all over the city. She was elected Co-President in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and a crucial election season. After stepping down from the presidency in 2022, Diane assumed the chairs of the Speakers Bureau and the High School and College Internship programs.

Hanadi Doleh,  Director of Community Partnerships at the Interfaith Center of New York. She has spent her adult life working in and for New York’s Muslim community.  She earned a BA in Political Science and MA in International Relations from Brooklyn College, CUNY.  Her academic work has informed her understanding of the issues that shape Muslim life in the US and abroad, as well as her social justice activism on behalf of Muslim Americans and other underrepresented communities. Following the completion of her MA, Hanadi worked for seven years at the Park51 Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the NYC Faith Sector Community Preparedness Program with New York Disaster Interfaith Services and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  In 2019, Hanadi was a Community Advisory Board Member at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum for their Contemporary Muslim Fashions Exhibit, which was displayed from February 2020 to July 2021.  In June of 2019, she received an honor from New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer for her contributions to the civic life of New York.  Also, in December of 2019, Hanadi was honored and recognized by the Muslim Democratic Club of New York for her commitment to empowering Muslim communities and people of color through her organizing and civic engagement. In the summer of 2020, she was elected as Vice President of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York and now is a member-at-large.