Who Made ChangeTheStory.net?
ChangeTheStory.net was produced by Intersections [1] in partnership with Auburn Media, a division of the Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary, and See3 Communications, a communications firm specializing in video production, web design, development, and marketing for nonprofit organizations.
Writers for the ChangeTheStory site include Lobna (Luby) Ismail, founder and President of Connecting Cultures, Inc. and Munir Shaikh, a freelance writer and doctoral student in Islamic Studies at UCLA. The ChangeTheStory work team also includes Robert Chase, Megan Hoelle, and Sam Simon of Intersections, and Jenna Tiitsman and Joshua Olesker of Auburn Media.
Production of the site was supervised by a multifaith Advisory Board of experts, academicians, theologians, religious practitioners and communicators from across the country.
Below is a list of the Advisory Board members. For full biographies, click here [2].
Rabbi Justus Baird, Director, Center for Multifaith Education, Auburn Theological Seminary; New York, NY
Dr. Zahid Bukhari, Director, American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP) at Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University; Washington, DC
Mr. Joseph Donnelly, Permanent Delegate to the United Nations from Caritas Internationalis; New York, NY
Dr. Muneer Fareed, General Secretary, Islamic Society of North America; Formerly Associate Professor, Wayne State University, Department of Near East and Asian Studies; Detroit, Michigan
Father James Gardiner, Representing U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Garrison, NY
Ms. Lobna "Luby" Ismail, Founder and President, Connecting Cultures; Silver Springs, MD
Dr. Peter Makari, Area Executive for the Middle East and Europe; United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Cleveland, OH
Ms. Anisa Mehdi, Emmy Award-winning journalist and consultant on Islam and Muslims in the U.S. to governmental, academic and media institutions; Maplewood, NJ
Rabbi Amy Schwartzman, Senior Rabbi, Temple Rodef Shalom; Falls Church, VA and recently named by Newsweek as one of the top 25 congregational rabbis in the US
Mr. Munir Shaikh, Freelance writer and doctoral student in Islamic Studies at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); Los Angeles, CA
Rabbi Dr. Burt Visotzky, Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary; New York, NY
Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Zikmond, former President, Hartford Seminary and long-time interfaith activist; Washington, DC
Why ChangeTheStory.net?
In September, 2008, a landmark report entitled, Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World, was released by the U.S. - Muslim Engagement Project. ChangeTheStory.net was conceived to provide multiple "entry points" into the report and to allow ways for the report's recommendations to be brought to action. The site presents the information contained in the report and makes it accessible to a larger audience, and offers techniques to take action on the recommendations, at the local level.
ChangeTheStory.net is responsible for all content on its website.
ChangeTheStory.net has been developed in cooperation and consultation with staff leadership of the U.S. - Muslim Engagement Project of Search for Common Ground and the Consensus Building Institute.