Maia Ferdman

Maia Ferdman

Maia Ferdman is a skilled facilitator, educator, and consultant with a passion for community development, peace-building, and education. She is the founding Principal of Bridges Intergroup Relations Consulting, a firm that supports organizations and communities to build vibrant spaces of belonging – celebrating our complex identities, proactively exploring our differences, and fostering resilient relationships between groups.

She has worked with and consulted for agencies and organizations including the California State Water Boards, the City of Los Angeles, Pepperdine University, the Western Justice Center, Abrahamic House, and NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. She has trained government and nonprofit groups in cultural competency, and facilitated conversations across differences about policing, homelessness, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more.

She develops training for the UCLA Dialogue Across Differences Initiative, is the Program Manager of the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate, and is the former Assistant Director of the University of California Los Angeles Luskin Center for History and Policy. Maia loves studying and is a product of globalization; she is a Jewish Argentinian Southern Californian who has lived in Bulgaria and Argentina and has spent extensive time in India and Israel. She received her B.A. in Global Studies and M.A. in Latin American Studies from UCLA.

Speaker: Take Heart Now Series

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulis: Take Heart Now

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulis: Take Heart Now

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulis: Take Heart Now

This conversation in our Take Heart Now series features Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the Associate General Secretary at the National Council of Churches USA, who brings people of different religious backgrounds together to explore how they can enrich one another’s work and understanding through dialogue.

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulis: Take Heart Now

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos

Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos is Associate General Secretary at the National Council of Churches USA, where, as director of both Faith & Order and Interreligious Relations & Collaboration, he is responsible for theological dialogue among both ecumenical and interfaith partners.  This includes intra-Christian dialogue, as well as Jewish-Christian, Muslim-Christian, Buddhist-Christian, Hindu-Christian, and Sikh-Christian dialogue.  An Orthodox Christian theologian, he previously directed, and continues to contribute to, the Council’s work in international affairs and its advocacy on US foreign policy issues.   

Formerly, Dr. Kireopoulos was the Executive Director of Religions for Peace – USA, where he promoted interfaith collaboration to address common domestic social concerns.  Before that he was Special Assistant to the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, in the area of external affairs, and Assistant to the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, in communications.  

Among his affiliations, Dr. Kireopoulos is on the executive committee of Shoulder-to-Shoulder, an organization dedicated to fighting Islamophobia in the US, and Churches for Middle East Peace. He has served as chair of United to End Genocide and as a founding board member of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.   He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and its Religious Advisory Committee, as well as a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Orthodox Theological Society in America.  He serves as a member of The Advisory Council of The Guibord Center founded by The Late Rev. Dr. Gwynne M. Guibord for whom one of the  NCCC’s highest honors – The Gwynne Guibord Award for Excellence in Interreligious Leadership – is given annually. 

Dr. Kireopoulos has particular expertise in the areas of religious freedom and genocide. 

The Guibord Center under the late Rev. Dr. Gwynne Guibord and now under the current president, Dr. Lo Sprague, is a co-convener with Dr. Kireopoulos of NCCC for both The Buddhist – Christian Dialogue and The Hindu-Christian Dialogue.  

Speaker: Take Heart Now Series

Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan: Take Heart Now

Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan: Take Heart Now

Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan: Take Heart Now

This conversation in our Take Heart Now series features Rev. Dr. Tanya Sadagopan, an ordained United Church of Christ minister currently serving in Concord, New Hampshire. Her commitments include inclusive ministries that focus on Open & Affirming covenants, Immigrant Welcoming initiatives, and Racial Justice seeking programs.

Celina Alvarez: Take Heart Now

Celina Alvarez: Take Heart Now

Celina Alvarez: Take Heart Now

This dialogue in our Take Heart Now series showcases Celina Alvarez, the Executive Director of Housing Works, a true leader among Los Angeles’ most pioneering and effective providers of homeless services.

At the Guibord Center, we take immense pride in our partnership with Housing Works, highlighting the recognition of the spiritual dignity that exists within everyone involved in this essential work. In a powerful demonstration of our shared commitment to compassion, Housing Works has wholeheartedly embraced our Take Heart Project, distributing hundreds of exquisitely carved hearts to individuals within their programs, reinforcing our united mission of support and empathy.