Felipe Zurita has been bringing awareness to the Golden Rule and empathy with his energetic Millennial, Latinx, Immigrant, Queer voice and experiences to the compassionate movement since 2017. He currently is the Marketing Director for the Charter for Compassion and the chair of the North American Leadership Council. He finds power in the intersectionality of interfaith work, social justice, and compassionate leadership as well as delving deeper into oneself to become a more aware and conscious person as we keep learning and evolving, which are all reflected by the simple phrase: Treat others as you want to be treated.
Lauren Zinn
Lauren Zinn is an Interfaith educator, minister, and consultant. Through her custom-designed youth and adult programs, she guides all people in growing spiritually – with, through, or past – religion. She also designs and officiates interfaith ceremonies for special occasions. Her background in business training bolsters her consulting to interfaith and faith-based organizations. She is currently focused on mentoring rookie religious school teachers and functionaries of any tradition in moving from a Sunday School to a Spiritual School experience with their students through her Ten Principles of Responsible Religion. Lauren earned a Ph.D. in Educational Planning, a Masters in Philosophy, and a Certificate in Gaming-Simulation from The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), studied at The Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (Montclair State University, NJ) and is a seminary-ordained Interfaith Minister (All Faiths Seminary, NYC). She is uniquely positioned to shift the paradigm underlying religious education to a spiritual one benefitting all humanity. She is available to speak on her work including her forthcoming book, Responsible Religion: From Sunday School to Spiritual School.
Michael Zimmerman
Michael Zimmerman is the founder and director of The Clergy Letter Project, an international organization of more than 15,500 religious leaders and scientists created to demonstrate that religion and science need not be in conflict. Through The Clergy Letter Project, Zimmerman created Evolution Weekend and has nurtured its expansion around the world. Evolution Weekend is an opportunity for congregations around the globe to elevate the level of discourse about the compatibility of religion and science, thousands of congregations in 20 countries have participated.
Dr. Zimmerman, a biologist, is vice president for Academic Affairs / provost at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the author of Science, Nonscience, and Nonsense: Approaching Environmental Literacy, published in 1995 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Additionally, he has published scores of scientific papers and hundreds of opinion pieces and book reviews in the popular press. He currently writes for The Huffington Post.
Andre Van Zijl
As an award-winning artist of international merit, Zimbabwean born artist Andre van Zijl’s work has historically been an artistic commentary on socio-political and global culture from a holistic spiritual standpoint. In his ancestral and adopted homeland, South Africa, he was a victim himself of the political secret police, which has deeply motivated him to give voice to those without a voice. Art to him “is a creative sword for peace.” His work from this era challenged the institutionalized inequities between the privileged wealthy few and the exploited dis-empowered masses, structured as a system of government called apartheid – “apart-hate”. This included other forms of oppressive political power that deny challenging art, cross cultural communication, and democratic spiritual growth. Andre’s art was instrumental as a historical voice of progress and change in this tumultuous period and is represented in many important international museums, public and private collections and numerous publications worldwide. Most recently he was published in the 4 volume series – “100 Years of South African Art “ – by Wits University for the South African National Gallery, 2012.
Andre's most recent one-person exhibition was at the 2015 World Parliament of Religions in USA entitled "I AM: An Archaeology of the Future". This exhibition is ongoing as he continues to add to the tableaux of images illustrating artifacts gathered from a future spiritually based civilization. Currently, the artwork is 10 ft. high and 40 ft. wide. These themes exploring the impact of mystical identity are shared through his ecstatic poetry "Emptied of Myself".
Andre is currently writing a memoir on his spiritual journey. He is a board member of the Southern California Parliament of World Religions (SCCWPR), as well as co-founder, co-director of All Paths Divinity School
Sister Zeph
Likened to a “Malala with a laptop,” Sister Zeph is an award-winning crusader for girls education and digital skills in rural Punjab, Pakistan. At the age of 13, Sister Zeph began going door-to-door to recruit students for her free open-air school in her region, where 52 percent of women were illiterate. Today she braves threats to her life, and her school, called Zephaniah Free Education, provides education to hundreds of girls annually, teaching formal education, English, computer skills, business education, and sewing. Zeph attributes much of her success to the use of digital tools – from World Pulse to YouTube – which helped her inspire supporters, share success stories, and fundraise. In 2014 she was the recipient of World Pulse’s Lynn Syms Prize. In partnership with sculptor and philanthropist Lynn Syms, the prize recognizes an outstanding grassroots woman and visionary voice using digital tools to effect change. In 2015 she was also recognized by the Malala Fund, and a major documentary called “Flight of the Falcon“ was made about her life.
Kira Zalan
Kira Zalan is a freelance journalist based in Africa, where she has covered counter-radicalization, peace building, technology and sanctions. Before changing continents, Zalan was an associate editor and then a temp managing editor at U.S. News & World Report, where she oversaw the publication of the weekly feature news magazine The Report. She was also the Washington reporter for MoneyLaundering.com, where she covered financial regulation and financial crime. Her freelance work has been published by PRI/GlobalPost, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, The Root, Marie Claire, Redbook, Ms., Rewire, Center for Public Integrity, Global Investigative Journalism Network, Washingtonian and Northern Virginia magazines. Zalan received a master’s degree in journalism from Georgetown University and one in Russian and post-Soviet studies from the London School of Economics.