Anila Ali

Anila Ali is a Pakistani American philanthropist, author, and politician.  As a leading figure in the Pakistani American community, she founded an NGO to help build peace and interfaith relations in the United States and has been regularly featured in the media.  Ali is known for her advocacy for human rights and gender equality and opposing radicalization of Muslim youth.  Bio

Tenzin Dorjee

Tenzin Dorjee is an associate professor at the Department of Human Communication Studies at California State University, and the former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  Dorjee is an expert on Tibetan culture, identity, nonviolence and conflict resolution; Sino-Tibetan conflict; and the PRC’s influence and religious freedom issues.  He has testified before the U.S. Congress about the religious freedom conditions in China, including Tibet, and the long arm of China in U.S. academic institutions.  He is fluent in Tibetan.   Bio

Noreen Simplicio

Noreen Simplicio, owner of Creative Hands Studio, is a Zuni Pueblo master ceramicist whose innovative pottery pieces are exhibited in the Smithsonian and other art galleries. Simplicio combines over 35 years of experience merging traditional Zuni symbols with contemporary design elements to showcase and preserve Zuni tribal culture and values while running a successful pottery business. Simplicio can speak about preserving cultural traditions via art, creative entrepreneurship, community building, leadership, and youth empowerment.  Bio

Gabriela Spears-Rico

Gabriela Spears-Rico, a Pirinda Charense and P’urhépecha Mexican Indigenous scholar, is a cultural anthropologist and professor of Chicano Latino Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her work examines cultural appropriation of indigenous practices; the unraveling of historic traumas; gendered violence; and the role of indigenous knowledge as pedagogy. She has also written about rehumanizing indigenous communities in digital environments and is an accomplished poet with a focus on social justice. She is fluent in Spanish. Bio

Robin Bronen 

Robin Bronen is a human rights attorney, who works with communities forced to relocate because of climate change, and the co-founder of the Alaska Institute for Justice, an NGO that focuses on climate and social justice issues.  Her research has been published by media outlets including CNN, The HuffPost, and The Guardian.  Bronen is also a senior research scientist at the University of Alaska’s Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology.  Bio