It doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing this work for years or if today is the first day you decide to take action. You, yes, YOU, have a role to play in our future. Join us as we discuss the ways in which we can reach across all disciplines to challenge the barriers facing our communities. You will leave this session motivated and equipped with the tools you need to lead and inspire transformational change.
RAMI NASHASHIBI is a community leader building bridges across racial, religious, and socioeconomic divides to confront the challenges of poverty and disinvestment in urban communities. His experience as a Palestinian-American Muslim, his training as a sociologist, and his skills as a community organizer inform his role as executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN). IMAN is headquartered on Chicago’s South Side, in the ethnically and religiously diverse working-class neighborhood of Marquette Park, which has struggled with high rates of foreclosure, unemployment, and gang violence over the past several decades. Supporting IMAN’s initiatives and services for vulnerable South Side residents is a unique coalition of typically disparate constituencies—most notably, African American Muslims and Muslim immigrant communities in both low-income urban areas and wealthier suburbs. [expand title=”Read More“]
He is a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow and a 2018 Opus Prize laureate. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago and has taught courses at multiple universities since, including a teaching appointment at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Rami is listed as among the “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in concert with Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Rami serves on the board of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, and is an advisor to a number of strategic initiatives across the country. His work with IMAN continues to feature in many national and international media outlets.[/expand]
Lina Hourani-Harajli (Moderator) is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at ACCESS. Known for her compassion, dedication to making a difference and commitment to operational excellence, Harajli joined ACCESS in 2000 and has represented the agency in progressively increasing capacities since joining the administrative team. Prior to joining ACCESS, she worked in the private sector for more than 10 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in accounting, from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and is active in various community, cultural and educational organizations.
Session tags: art, activism, philanthropy, capacity building, research, empowering women, civic engagement, immigrant and refugee support, identity, narrative and storytelling
Location: Presidential Ballroom