LauraSa Pele Lafoia Ava – Take Heart Now

Founder and President of AVA One Global Family & Alliances, LauraSa Pele Lafoia Ava is an Indigenous, interfaith, and LDS (Mormon) leader whose work bridges cultures and faiths to foster healing, unity, and understanding. In this Take Heart Now conversation, LauraSa shares her deeply personal journey of faith, leadership, and community—illuminating the wisdom of her Samoan heritage and the power of storytelling to connect hearts across divides.

Join us as she invites us to see beyond boundaries and remember our shared responsibility to one another as members of one global family.

 

Rev. Leon Sampson: Take Heart Now

Rev. Leon Sampson: Take Heart Now

In this heartfelt conversation, Rev. Leon Sampson shares his journey as a Navajo and an Episcopal priest — and how he weaves together the spiritual wisdom of both traditions. Speaking from the heart, Rev. Sampson reflects on ceremony, creation, and community, showing how faith and culture can walk together to bring healing and wholeness to our lives and the world around us.

 

Salam Al-Marayati

Salam Al-Marayati

Salam Al-Marayati – President, Muslim Public Affairs Council

Nationally recognized for his commitment to improving the public understanding of Islam and policies impacting American Muslims, Salam is president and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. He oversees MPAC’s groundbreaking civic engagement, public policy, and advocacy work.

He is an expert on Islam in the West, Muslim reform movements, human rights, democracy, national security, and Middle East politics. He has spoken at the White House and Capitol Hill, and represented the U.S. at international conferences on human rights and religious freedom.

His writings have appeared in every major national news publication (including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times). Read his most recent op-ed in the Chicago Sun Times on why Muslims will keep facing hate crimes if Congress stays silent.

Over the years, his interviews have been featured on national and international news outlets (including ABC, CNN, CBS MSNBC, Fox News, and C-SPAN). Listen to Salam on CNN Newsroom discuss why American Muslim voters are hesitant to trust the Biden-Harris Administration.

 

Because he believes that community development is essential to fully integrating Muslims within America’s pluralism, Salam has facilitated hundreds of civic engagement workshops 1around the country—from rooms of five people to conference halls of hundreds.

Salam is an adjunct faculty member at Bayan Claremont, a board member of the Muslim Reform Institute, and an advisor to several political, civic, and academic institutions seeking to understand the role of Islam and Muslims in America and throughout the world. Deeply involved in interfaith activities, Salam was co-chair of the Interfaith Coalition to Heal Los Angeles, which formed in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings and has been a valued colleague and friend of The Guibord Center for many years.

Speaker: Take Heart Now Series

Charles Lane

Charles Lane

Tenor Charles Lane is a native of Los Angeles. He began his studies in vocal performance at the University of California at San Diego and California Institute of the Arts, where he earned a BFA and an MFA in Vocal Performance. He continued his studies in New York City with tenors Paul Sperry and Fred Carama. He was an early member of the vocal ensemble, Zephyr, and since 2007 has performed regularly with Los Angeles Guild Opera, which takes opera to inner-city schools.

Charles has also been a longtime member of the LA Opera chorus and the Los Angeles Master Chorale where he has sung with all four of its directors and he has been a soloist with both organizations.

Charles has the distinction of being the first Cathedral Cantor at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, in downtown Los Angeles, a position he has held since its dedication in 2002.

Dr. Melissa Bird

Dr. Melissa Bird

Dr. Melissa Bird is a descendant of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. She is an internationally recognized lay preacher, author, healer, and podcaster. Dr. Bird has spent nearly 3 decades teaching workshops on spiritual and social justice and revolution. Her combination of education, real life experience and practical advice makes her a powerful force of change in the lives of the people she connects with. Past audience members have described her speaking as “fierce,” “revelatory,” “life-changing,” “enthusiastic,” and “inspirational.”

Dr. Bird creates the genesis for a new brand of leadership and graceful revolution. She inspires personal understanding through contemplation, helps people use their intuition to change their lives and communities, and encourages the healing of grief and loss through spiritual connection. Her words awaken revolutionaries, trailblazers, and powerful innovators who are seeking deeper connection and expansive growth. She is the host of The Thinnest Veil podcast and the author of SAGE Guide to Social Work Careers: Your Journey to Advocacy, and the co-author of the best-selling book Women Connected in Wisdom: Stories and Resources Rooted in the 8 Dimensions of Wellness. You can purchase her eBook “Love Notes and Prayers: Guidance for the Soul” anywhere eBooks are sold.

When she’s not working, Melissa can be found reading while drinking Earl Grey tea with heavy cream or making needle-felted dolls, because who doesn’t need to stab things over and over these days? She lives in Corvallis, Oregon, with her husband, three children, two dogs, and one three-legged cat.

More information: www.drmelissabird.com
https://www.themermaidsgardenoregon.com/

Speaker: Take Heart Now Stories