We convened a National Advisory Committee consisting of established and emerging leaders in academic, religious, cultural, and civic organizations, the creative arts, and social media to assist us in conceptualizing, planning, and implementing this Festival program. We appreciate the committee’s wisdom, provocative insights, and generous support.
National Advisory Committee
Joanne Braxton, Cummings Professor of the Humanities Emerita, College of William and Mary
Diana Burnett, Postdoctoral Fellow in African American Religion and Culture, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Alan Cooperman, Director of Religion Research, Pew Research Center
Diana Eck, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies, Harvard Divinity School
Celene Ibrahim, Faculty Member, Religious Studies and Philosophy Department, Groton School
Hilary Kahn, Associate Vice Chancellor for International Affairs at Indiana University–Purdue University of Indianapolis
Mehr Kaur, Playwright, Filmmaker, and Member of the Sikh Community in Massachusetts
Rosalyn LaPier, Professor of History, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Rachel Lindsey, Assistant Professor of American Religions, St. Louis University
Meg Nicholas, Business Development Manager, Tribal Tech, LLC
Melissa Nozell, Program Officer, Religion and Inclusive Societies, U.S. Institute of Peace
Robert Orsi, Professor of Religious Studies and History and Grace Craddock Nagle Chair in Catholic Studies, Northwestern University
Eboo Patel, Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core
Elinor Pierce, Research Director, Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Yolanda Pierce, Dean and Professor of African American Religion and Literature, Howard University School of Divinity
Anthony Pinn, Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religion, Rice University
Sally Promey, Professor of Religion and Visual Culture, Yale Divinity School
Teddy Reeves, Assistant Curator of Religion, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Jerusha Rhodes, Associate Professor of Islam and Interreligious Engagement, Union Theological Seminary
Omid Safi, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University
Lexi Salomone, Assistant Director, Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Leigh Schmidt, Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities, Washington University in St. Louis
Todne Thomas, Assistant Professor of African American Religions, Harvard Divinity School
Duncan Williams, Professor of Religion and East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Southern California
Eric Williams, Curator of Religion, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Jamye Wooten, Founder, Kinetic Strategy and the Black Theology Project
Harvard Youth Collaborative
Diana Eck, Director, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Elinor Pierce, Research Director, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University
Smithsonian Curatorial Staff
Michelle Banks, Lead Curator
Rebecca Fenton, Co-Curator
Brad Braxton, James Deutsch, Diana Baird N’Diaye, Curatorial Advisors
Natalie Solís, Latinx Curatorial Assistant
Ashley Martinez, Program Coordinator
Emma Efkeman, Program Coordinator (2021)
Mia Sturdivant, Program Intern
Sabrina Lynn Motley, Festival Director
Sponsors
Living Religion: Creative Encounters in the U.S. has received generous support from Lilly Endowment’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The national initiative aims to help museums and other cultural institutions foster greater public understanding about religion and present the contributions of people of all faiths and diverse religious communities.
The program received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino, and the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.
