Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR.Begun in 2004, IKAR has become a model for Jewish revitalization in the US and beyond. With the goal of reinvigorating Jewish practice and inspiring people of faith to reclaim a moral and prophetic voice, it quickly became one of the country’s fastest growing and most influential Jewish congregations. IKAR is credited with sparking a rethinking of religious life in a time of unprecedented disaffection and declining affiliation.

Rabbi Brous’s 2016 TED talk, “Reclaiming Religion,” has been viewed by more than 1.3 million people and translated into 22 languages. In 2013, she blessed President Obama and Vice President Biden at the Inaugural National Prayer Service, and in 2017, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti at his inauguration. Newsweek/The Daily Beast named Rabbi Brous #1 among the most influential American rabbis, and The Forward and the Jerusalem Post have recognized her as one of the 50 most influential Jews. She was featured on the cover of TIME magazine in 2018 based on Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms. A graduate of Columbia University, Rabbi Brous was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children. To reach Rabbi Brous, please email christina@ikar-la.org.

Speaker, Light in the Darkness: The Spiritual Struggle for Compassion and Justice in America Today

Stephen Rohde is a constitutional lawyer, lecturer, writer and political activist. He co-founded and currently serves as Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP). Steve also is the immediate past Chair of the ACLU of Southern California, Chair of Death Penalty Focus, and Chair Emeritus of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice.

Author of American Words of Freedom and Freedom of Assembly, Steve co-authored Foundations of Freedom, published by the Constitutional Rights Foundation. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal and Los Angeles Review of Books. For over 45 years, he practiced law, first in New York and then in Los Angeles. His areas of focus included communications and intellectual property law, civil and appellate litigation and constitutional and civil rights law. A graduate of Northwestern University and Columbia Law School, Steve has been honored for his work by the American Bar Association, the ACLU, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and Bend the Arc.

Speaker, Light in the Darkness: The Spiritual Struggle for Compassion and Justice in America Today

The Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. is internationally recognized as the leading strategist and trainer to U.S. nonviolence leaders and a confidant to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Time Magazine listed Rev. Lawson as one of seven icons of the nonviolence movement who paved the way for President Barack Obama’s historic election. He has held professorships at institutions including Vanderbilt University, Harvard University, Cal State University Northridge, and UCLA.

A Methodist minister for more than 50 years, Rev. Lawson served as pastor of Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles, from 1974 until his retirement in 1999. He remains active with preaching and teaching engagements throughout the country along with conducting nonviolence workshops locally and overseas. He leads his nonviolence workshop every fourth Saturday at Holman United Methodist Church.

Some of Rev. Lawson’s significant work can be explored on the following pages:
Holman United Methodist Church https://www.holmanumc.com/people/rev-james-lawson
James Lawson Institute https://jameslawsoninstitute.org/history
James Lawson: Reflections on Life, Nonviolence, MLK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc7wg41lUM4

Speaker, Post-election 2020: Where Do We Go From Here
Speaker, Light in the Darkness: The Spiritual Struggle for Compassion and Justice in America Today