On this episode of Faith in Elections, Adam Phillips talks with Jennifer Roberts, former mayor of Charlotte and advocate for trusted elections. Roberts discusses her work with the North Carolina Network for Free, Fair, and Safe Elections. She emphasizes the importance of building trust, promoting community engagement, and combating misinformation. Roberts also shares insights from a recent trip to Northern Ireland, where she learned about the role of faith communities in peacebuilding during "The Troubles." Drawing parallels to U.S. political polarization, she advocates for faith leaders to encourage peaceful civic engagement and underscores the critical role of accurate information and community involvement in upholding democracy.

Guest Bio: Jennifer Roberts, former Mayor of Charlotte, co-leads the North Carolina Network for Free, Fair, and Safe Elections alongside former NC Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr. This cross-partisan initiative, supported by The Carter Center, is dedicated to fostering peaceful political engagement and bolstering confidence in the electoral process. Before her mayoral term, Roberts served four terms as a Mecklenburg County Commissioner and later led the Communities Program on Climate Solutions for ecoAmerica, a national nonprofit. She remains a dedicated advocate for education, equality, inclusion, and environmental protection. 

Roberts’ diverse background includes experience as a high school math teacher and a diplomat for the U.S. State Department, with postings in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. She holds advanced degrees from the University of Toronto and the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs. Her leadership has earned her numerous accolades, including the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Award and Equality North Carolina’s Ally of the Year.

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In this episode of Faith in Elections, host Adam Phillips speaks with two Muslim leaders about their civic engagement efforts. First, Dr. Dilara Sayeed of the Muslim Civic Coalition shares her work on combating voter apathy, including passing the Wadee Resolution to address rising hate crimes. She emphasizes the need for resilient, engaged communities.

Next, Shariq Ghani from the Minaret Foundation discusses his work in Harris County, Texas, fostering multi-faith collaborations to improve voter access. He highlights the power of interfaith connections in bridging divides and strengthening democracy. Both guests show how solidarity can uphold shared values and counteract divisiveness.  

Guest Bio: Dr. Dilara Sayeed serves as the President of the Muslim Civic Coalition. Dilara’s story goes from Headstart to Harvard, and through public school systems. She is an award-winning teacher, social impact entrepreneur, and civic justice advocate. In 2021, Dilara was appointed by Governor Pritzker to the IL Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes (CDHC). Dilara has served on the Transition team for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as Advisory Councils for Mayor Lightfoot and Illinois Comptroller Mendoza. She is a board trustee for the Field Museum and Indo-American Democratic Organization.

Guest Bio: Shariq Ghani is the Director of Minaret Foundation, an organization focused on developing multi-faith relations to change the world through advocacy in the areas of food insecurity, child welfare, and religious freedom. For the past 11 years, Shariq has regularly spoken at faith centers, conferences, and educational institutions on topics ranging from American Muslim identity to faith-based advocacy and spirituality. In addition to teaching Islam through sermons and lectures, he works with clergy, policymakers, and law enforcement to provide insight into the American-Muslim community. Shariq has a bachelor's in history from the University of Houston and completed his graduate studies in homeland security from the Bush School at Texas A&M. He is currently pursuing his master’s in negotiation and conflict resolution with a focus on peacebuilding from Columbia University. Shariq's passion is finding intersections between communities for collaboration and mutual growth and loves to connect with like-minded people over chai or burgers.

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In this episode, Jenan Mohajir interviews Dr. Da'Tarvia Parrish, an award-winning and energetic professor at Livingstone College, proud AME Zionite, and author of Jailbirds Don't Fly. Born in prison to an incarcerated parent, Dr. Parrish shares how her faith and community shaped her dedication to civic engagement. She also discusses the role of Historically Black colleges and universities in safeguarding voting rights and engaging young voters. Highlighting the historical challenges of voter suppression, Dr. Parrish emphasizes the need for unity and inclusivity in the democratic process.

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Pick up a copy of Dr. Parrish's powerful book, Jailbirds Don’t Fly to really understand the impact her life has had on others.  

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In this episode of Faith in Elections, Adam Phillips talks with Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, an evangelical leader from Milwaukee, who discusses how her Christian faith inspires her to promote civic engagement within the Latino community. Reflecting on her journey as an immigrant and her conversion from Catholic to Evangelical, she explains challenges Latino voters face, including misinformation. Patricia highlights her initiative, Renaces (You Are Reborn), which focuses on civics education for Latino Evangelicals, and underscores the importance of bringing joy and optimism to election work, even in divisive times.

Guest Bio: Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, as a Community Outreach Manager at the City of Milwaukee, has over eight years of experience in developing and implementing innovative programs and initiatives that foster authentic human connections and civic engagement among diverse communities. She collaborates with various stakeholders, including faith leaders, media outlets, non-profit organizations, and elected officials, to build trust, collaboration, and awareness on various issues and opportunities that impact the city and its residents. 

In addition to her role as a Community Outreach Manager, Patricia also serves as an Election Commissioner and a Certified Coach, Trainer, and Speaker with The John Maxwell Team. These roles allow her to leverage her skills in conflict resolution, workshop facilitation, and leadership development to empower individuals and groups to achieve their goals and create positive change. As a bilingual and bicultural professional in Spanish and English, she has a unique perspective and ability to communicate effectively across cultures and contexts.

Find out more about Civics 101 and Renaces  by following Patricia on X @Pruizcantu. 

The identity of “evangelical” contains a wide range of people from across America and the world. We believe they have an important role to play in America’s Diverse Democracy. In collaboration with Christianity Today, Interfaith America has launched a new essay series that equips Christians to live faithfully and neighborly in a world we don’t control. Featuring leaders in the evangelical tradition—like John Inazu, Karen Swallow Prior, Matthew Kaemingk, and Russell Moore—this series offers thoughtful and diverse perspectives on how Christians can build bridges across differences in their communities. To read the series and learn more about our work with evangelicals, visit Evangelicals in a Diverse Democracy.

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In the kickoff episode of Faith in Elections, host Jenan Mohajir speaks with Yashpreet Singh Matharu from the Sikh Coalition and Dani Levine from Hillel International. Both guests share how their faith traditions motivate young people to engage in the democratic process, highlighting the importance of civic involvement within the Sikh and Jewish communities. Yashpreet emphasizes the Sikh principle of seva (selfless service), while Dani reflects on musar (Jewish ethical practice) as guiding frameworks for their work. They discuss the unique challenges their communities face in the 2024 election, strategies to bridge generational gaps, and why protecting a free and fair democratic process is among their highest priorities. 

Guest Bios: 

Yashpreet Singh Matharu, Community Development Manager at the Sikh Coalition, is dedicated to empowering young Sikh leaders and fostering civic engagement. Drawing from his experience growing up as an interpreter for his Punjabi parents, Yashpreet turned his passion for community advocacy into action by working with Michigan State Representative Ranjeev Puri. Now, he focuses on connecting Sikh student associations and volunteers nationwide, promoting civil rights, interfaith solidarity, and awareness of Sikh culture.

A key part of Yashpreet’s work is leading a fellowship program aimed at mobilizing young Sikhs to engage their communities in the democratic process. By equipping youth with tools to navigate U.S. politics, he hopes to bridge generational gaps and increase civic participation within the Sikh community, ensuring their voices are heard and represented in the political landscape.

Dani Levine is the Senior Director of Social Impact at Hillel International. Dani brings extensive experience in Jewish social justice work to her role at Hillel, including a decade of work at Avodah. Dani holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Comparative American Studies from Oberlin College, and a Masters of Public Health with a focus on Environmental Health and Policy from Tulane University. Outside of work, Dani is actively involved in her local New Orleans and Jewish community, where she lives with her wife and three children. Embracing the local food, music, and culture, Dani finds inspiration away from the desk. Through her career and community engagement, Dani is inspired by Jewish values and practice to work towards co-creating a more just world.

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In an election season marked by chaos and division, Interfaith America’s Faith in Elections podcast cuts through the noise and deepens the conversation, highlighting the remarkable stories of everyday faith leaders who are working to build bridges and uphold democracy.

Join hosts Jenan Mohajir and Adam Phillips as they speak with Interfaith America Faith in Elections grantees about how faith convictions motivate their civic engagement and service. 

The Faith in Elections Podcast is part of the Voices of Interfaith America Podcast network. Episodes will be released each Thursday leading up to the 2024 presidential election. 

Host Bios: 

Jenan Mohajir is the Vice President of External Affairs at Interfaith America. Inspired by faith and family to work for change at the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and religion, Jenan has served in leadership at IA for 15 years where she as has trained hundreds of interfaith leaders from diverse backgrounds to foster a vision and practice of civically engaged interfaith leadership. Jenan completed undergraduate work at DePaul University and is pursuing her MA in religious studies at Chicago Theological Seminary. As a natural storyteller, she performs with 2nd Story, Chicago’s premier storytelling company. Jenan proudly lives on the south side of Chicago with her children and loves to collect vintage children’s books.

Adam Phillips is the Chief Strategy Officer & Chief of Staff at Interfaith America. Adam serves as the senior lead in the Executive Office by managing internal and external inquiries from the President’s office and leads the organization’s narrative strategy, ensuring the advancement of Interfaith America’s mission and vision. Having spent two decades at the intersection of faith and public life, Adam most recently served as a Biden Administration appointee leading Localization and Faith-based efforts at the United States Agency for International Development. Working closely with the White House and Department of State, in his role at USAID Adam oversaw development policy, new and non-traditional partnerships, as well as democracy and diplomacy initiatives in nearly 100 countries. Adam has been a TEDx speaker, his work has also been featured in The Atlantic, CNN, Washington Post, NPR, Huffington Post, Relevant Magazine and the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club.

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Voices of Interfaith America is your home for stories of bridgebuilding and engaging diversity productively across the country. This podcast will include shows that reflect the varied experiences and complex landscape of our religiously diverse democracy. This feed will still include episodes of Interfaith America with Eboo Patel, but as we expand to include more voices from interfaith America, you will find conversations with bridgebuilders working toward a more pluralistic America. 

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Following a spring semester when universities made headlines, columnist, author, and Professor David Brooks joins Eboo to discuss the need for institutions of higher education to teach diverse viewpoints, broaden definitions of success beyond traditional measures of intelligence, and nurture students as whole persons. Reflecting on past and current trends of hyper conformity and the pressures placed on students, they also explore the potential for university life to guide moral character and model the connection between the political and the spiritual.

Guest Bio: Best-selling author David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times, a commentator on “The PBS Newshour,” and a frequent analyst on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He has been a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Atlantic, and op-ed editor at The Wall Street Journal. Brooks is the founder of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute, and his most recent book, “How to Know a Person” was published in 2023.

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In a plenary session for the 2024 Teaching Interfaith Understanding Faculty Seminar, Eboo Patel and outgoing Middlebury College president, Laurie Patton, discuss how Middlebury’s campus culture evolved in the years since 2017, when political scientist Charles Murray’s visit was met with upheaval. Patton elaborates on Middlebury’s conflict transformation efforts, including the successes of the Engaged Listening Project, the challenges of countering a national narrative, and the outcomes of building a resilient culture, evidenced by her community’s constructive engagement of tensions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the spring of 2024.

Guest Bio: Dr. Laurie L. Patton is the 17th president of Middlebury College and the incoming president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Patton is an authority on South Asian history, culture, and religion, and religion in the public square. She is the author and editor of ten scholarly books and three books of poems, and has translated the classical Sanskrit text, The Bhagavad Gita. She was president of the American Academy of Religion in 2019 and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018 in two categories, philosophy/religion and education.

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Read the full essay here: ‘Will Palestine Still Exist When This War is Over?’ My Answers to My Children’s Questions.

Earlier in April, Jenan Mohajir joined her colleague, Rebecca Russo, to narrate their personal stories and reflect on their Jewish-Muslim friendship they insist on maintaining in the face of ongoing devastating news from Israel/Palestine. Listen to the full episode here. 

Interested in reading similar stories? Check out our Interfaith America Magazine for stories from across the country on the intersection of religion and American civic life.