In addition to serving as Professor of Religion and East Asian Languages and Cultures at USC, Duncan Ryūken Williams, PhD is director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture. Formerly chair of USC’s School of Religion, he earlier held the Shinjo Ito Distinguished Chair of Japanese Buddhism at UC Berkeley and directed Berkeley’s Center for Japanese Studies. Dr. Williams was ordained as a priest in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition in 1993 and served as Harvard University’s Buddhist chaplain from 1994-96. 

Born to a Japanese mother and British father, he grew up in Japan and England and moved to the U.S. at age 17 to attend Reed College. He received his PhD in religion from Harvard University. Dr. Williams has authored and edited numerous books on Buddhism in Japan and the U.S. He has also translated four books from Japanese into English including Putting Buddhism to Work: A New Theory of Economics and Business Management (Kodansha, 1997). His latest book is American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (Harvard University Press, 2019), which reached #3 on the Los Angeles Times nonfiction bestseller list.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories for Uncertain Times: Healing Our Hearts

Speaker, Resilience and Freedom: How Enduring Lessons from the WWII Japanese American Buddhist Experience Can Heal Us Today 

Hana Doueiri is currently a high school senior in San Bernardino, CA. She has been involved in speech and debate for many years and has competed at multiple regional, state and national levels. Her speech on religious intolerance and the importance of protecting people of all faiths won first place in the Original Oratory category at the International Competition held at Stanford University.

Hana has been an Irish dancer since she was three years old, competing regionally and nationally and integrating her dance skills in her speeches and community service. A past camp counselor for youths who are visually impaired, she is a local officer in the International Best Buddies program. The group creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Hana finds comfort and healing in Islam’s teaching that God created all humans to interact with and respect one another, which guides her as she connects with people of different faiths.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories: Healing Our Hearts

Christine Stark is an award-winning writer, researcher, visual artist, and international speaker with Anishinaabe and Cherokee ancestry. Her cultural and spiritual roots infuse her creative, nonfiction, and academic writing, much of which focuses on Native women, trafficking, and sexual abuse. Christine’s writing has appeared in numerous publications including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review; Dignity Journal; The WIP; Florida Review; and The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prize-Winning Essays. Her first novel, Nickels: A Tale of Dissociation, was a Lambda Literary Finalist and she has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize. 

Christine co-authored the groundbreaking research “Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota.” She also has co-edited studies including Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography. For 18 years, she has taught college writing and humanities classes. In 2012 Christine was named a Women’s Press Changemaker and became a Loft Series Mentor Finalist. The International Leadership Institute honored her with its 2019 International Social Justice Citizen Award. Learn more at www.christinestark.com.

Storyteller, Inspiring Stories: Healing Our Hearts