Christine Budzowski, Author at The Guibord Center

Gail Kennard

Gail Kennard is African American, Muslim and a native Angeleno. She converted to Islam more than 40 years ago while in graduate school at UC Berkeley. Today she attends the Islamic Center of Southern California and the Women’s Mosque of America, where she has delivered talks or khutbahs since 2015.

Gail is president of one of the West’s oldest African American–owned architecture firms, founded by her late father, Robert Kennard. A mayoral appointee to the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, she serves as its vice president.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories: Dismantling Systemic Racism

Harmeet Kaur Kamboj

Harmeet Kaur Kamboj (they/them) is a Sikh American interfaith educator, scholar, artist, and zine-maker. Harmeet is currently a Program Manager at Interfaith Youth Core, as well as a teaching aide at Union Theological Seminary and an instructor at the Moksha Arts Dance Company. They hold an MA in Interreligious Engagement and STM (Master of Sacred Theology) in Religion and Society from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Harmeet also holds a BA in English from the College of William & Mary. They have previously held positions at America Indivisible, the Campaign for Youth Justice, and the Public Religion Research Institute. Harmeet’s scholarship centers the experiences of marginalized communities of faith in the United States and the ways that these communities organize politically. Their public writing has been featured in Religion News Service, Sojourners, and Interfaith America.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories: Moving Toward Anti-racism

Reverend Jen Bailey

Reverend Jen Bailey is an ordained minister, a public theologian, and a national leader in the multi-faith movement for justice. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Faith Matters Network and Co-Founder of The People’s Supper.

The Center for American Progress named Rev. Bailey one of 15 Faith Leaders to Watch. Author of To My Beloveds: Letters on Faith, Race, Loss and Radical Hope, she is ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Follow her at @revjenbailey.

Moderator: Inspiring Stories – Dismantling Systemic Racism

Donald Quick

Donald Quick is a science educator at Rosemead High School and a parishioner at All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena. He has participated in and co-facilitated My Work To Do online affinity spaces, fostering anti-racist understandings and stamina building for social justice work. Don is especially interested in anti-racism work in the education system. There, he has worked to bolster participation in the local teachers union and public school district meetings. “I am inspired every day by my wife, my son, and my daughter,” he says. Don earned BA degrees in English and biology at UC Santa Barbara. He also holds a teaching credential from Cal State Los Angeles and a master’s degree from Cal State Fullerton.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories: How Do We Stop Perpetuating Racism?

Samia Bano

Samia Bano is the Interfaith Coordinator for IslamiCity and a member of The Guibord Center Advisory Council. She serves as co-host of the Inspiring Stories online series, a collaboration between the two organizations.

Known as the Happiness Expert, Samia is author of the book Make Change Fun And Easy: How to Create Inner Peace to World Peace In 3 Simple Steps. Her expertise is grounded in her academic training and hard-won life wisdom. A childhood sexual abuse survivor, Samia began her quest for inner peace and positive change at just 8 years old. After more than 20 years of struggle, she successfully eliminated suffering from her life and learned how to take control of her happiness. Now she is on a mission to help others do the same.

As someone who is recognizably Muslim, Samia deals with Islamophobia on an ongoing basis. After 9/11, this issue motivated her to become engaged in interfaith dialogue and community building. She participates in several interfaith organizations, including NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. There, she also served as a Muslim dialogue facilitator for several years.

In 2020, Samia began serving on the Culver City Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC). In this role, she recommends programs and policies that promote positive relations and equitable outcomes and opportunities in community life.