In Good Faith

Najah Bazzy, the founder of Zaman International, explains the catalytic moment of helping a refugee family that inspired her humanitarian work. She also discusses her dedication to addressing recurring needs in breaking cycles of poverty. like transportation, childcare, and hope. Najah Bazzy is an American humanitarian, interfaith leader, nurse, and founder and CEO of Zaman International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting poverty and its causes.

Joseph Vukov, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, discusses how to remain human in the AI era and shares the Catholic perspective on AI, relationships, and the divine. Joseph Vukov is the author of Navigating Faith and Science (2022), The Perils of Perfection (2023), and numerous academic articles on topics ranging from the ethics of neuroscience to the philosophy of mind. He has published most recently Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence (2024).

Steve discusses Dr. King's A Letter from Birmingham Jail with Pastor Vinetta Golphin-Wilkerson and Dr. LaShawn Williams. Reverend Vinnetta Golphin-Wilkerson has been serving the West Valley City community since 2011, when she moved from Atlanta to Salt Lake City to lead the congregation of Granger Community Christian Church. During her time as reverend, she began hosting Project Cornucopia, an event aimed to create a one-stop-shop for community members to learn about and access needed resources from food, education, health, and more. Dr. LaShawn Williams is a licensed clinical social worker with a doctorate in Education. She has her own private practice and has previously taught Salt Lake Community College and Utah Valley University. Dr. LaShawn Williams integrates her faith into her practice by drawing on her experiences as a lifelong member of the LDS Church. She emphasizes the importance of connection and core values, which are central to her faith. Dr. Williams uses these principles to guide her work in addressing racial trauma, identity development, and relational dynamics.

Can you change a city with a sandwich? Laura Baldwin describes how solving food insecurity in Atlanta helps people leave the streets and find stability. Her Jewish faith pushes her to help others. Laura Baldwin is vice-president of The Sandwich Project. On the average week, she collects between 200-400 sandwiches at her home that are distributed to local organizations who serve those experiencing food insecurity.

Angela Rice of Interfaith Community Initiatives in Atlanta shares how she became involved with interfaith work and how she sees herself as an activist. Angela Harrington Rice is the Executive Director of Interfaith Community Initiatives, a community organization with a travel program called World Pilgrims. She worked for 35 years with Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters. Ms. Rice holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Mass Communication/Media Studies from Clark College.

Lapidus & Myles, and interfaith musical duo, share three original compositions with Steve. The two met through the interfaith work of their congregations, Ebeneezer Baptist and The Temple in Atlanta. The duo writes and performs music aimed at addressing contemporary social issues and inspiring listeners Rabbi Micah Lapidus and Melvin Myles compose and perform music together in Atlanta, GA and across the country. Rabbi Micah is the Director of Jewish and Hebrew Studies at the Alfred and Adele Davis Academy. Melvin is the executive director of the Selym Inc Foundation.

Steve travels to Atlanta and sits down with Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, who shares how interfaith work is civil rights work, and how Shabat might be the most important Jewish holiday. Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser has worked in congregations, at Jewish summer camps, and at Emory University’s Center for Israel Education. She is currently the part-time rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville, GA. She also serves as the president of Interfaith Atlanta.

Sherry Frank joins Steve from Atlanta to discuss Jewish involvement in civil rights and women's push for equality. They cover her connection to Daddy King (Martin Luther King, Sr.) and Congressman John Lewis, how committee and organizational work helped her achieve public good, and her decision to have an adult bat mitzvah. Sherry Frank has served on committees of United Way, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta. In addition, she was on the National Boards of the National Council of Jewish Women and MAZON, A Jewish Response to Hunger.

Steve travels to Atlanta and meets with Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley, a "foot soldier" in the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s--and involved now in climate crisis activism as an extension of his faith and civil rights work. The Rev. Dr. Gerald L. Durley was a student leader in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He served in the U.S. Peace Corp in Nigeria before moving to Switzerland, where he earned a postgraduate degree and played basketball for a National Swiss team. He then went on to earn a Master of Divinity from Howard University and served for 25 years as pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church. He published his memoir, I am amazed!: reflections on an awe-inspired life, in 2014.

Joshua Meyer discusses Eight Approaches, an art work of 8 panels that evokes Hanukkah, and his technique of painting with palette knives. Joshua Meyer is an artist based in Cambridge MA. Originally from Lubbock TX, he attended the Bezalel Academy of art and Design in Jerusalem and Yale University. His exhibit Eight Approaches has been featured at the BYU Museum of Art, Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, Hebrew College and the Museum of Fine Arts, both in Boston. Meyer has been recognized with a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, a CJP Arts and Culture Impact Award, The Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and twice with the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Painting Fellowship.