Goodman Lecture 2026: Interfaith Panel: Religious Nationalism

Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., is the founder and executive director of World Without Genocide, a human rights organization located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and with Special Consultative Status to the United Nations.

Kennedy teaches and speaks locally and globally about critical issues including genocide prevention, the climate crisis, and gender-based violence; advocates for policy and legislation at city, state, and national levels to support peace and justice; and writes articles and plays to promote human rights.

She has received significant recognition for her work, including the Outstanding Citizen Award from The Anne Frank Center, New York; Distinguished Alumni Award from Northern Michigan University; Prominent Minnesotan from the University of Minnesota; the Liberty Bell Award from the Ramsey County Bar Association; the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award; and the Changemaker Award from Minnesota Women’s Press.

She is a representative to the United Nations Department of Global Communications and an adjunct professor of law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul.

She is also active in local organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters and on the Social Justice Committee of Mount Zion Temple, St. Paul.

Kennedy has a BA degree from the University of Michigan, two masters’ degrees from Northern Michigan University, and an MA and two PhD degrees from the University of Minnesota.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is an author, preacher, and community-builder who has worked with faith-rooted movements for social change for more than two decades. He is Assistant Director for Partnerships at Yale Divinity School’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, an Associate Minister at the St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church, and a Senior Democracy Fellow with the Public Religion Research Association.

Wilson-Hartgrove is the author of more than fifteen books, including the daily prayer guide, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, New Monasticism, The Wisdom of Stability, Reconstructing the Gospel, Revolution of Values, and most recently, White Poverty with Bishop William J. Barber, II.

He is a regular preacher and teacher in churches across the US and Canada and publishes the Substack “Our Moral Moment” with Bishop Barber.

Najeeba Syeed
El-Hibri Endowed Professor of Interfaith Studies and Executive Director of the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg University
(she/her)

Najeeba Syeed is the inaugural El-Hibri Endowed chair Professor of Interfaith Studies and executive director of the InterfaithInstitute, and is a tenured and full professor of religion at Augsburg University. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Interfaith Forum.

Dr. Najeeba Syeed is an award-winning peacebuilder, restorative justice practitioner, and scholar of interfaith and conflict resolution, bringing over two decades of experience in interreligious education, mediation, and organizational leadership.

Dr. Syeed has pioneered restorative justice programs in schools, universities, and communities, significantly reducing violence and disciplinary actions through transformative practices. She has served as a mediator and peace interventionist in diverse settings—from Los Angeles schools to global conflict zones—and led conflict resolution centers that received the Jon Anson Ford Award for reducing intergroup and gang violence.

As a former executive director of two major conflict resolution organizations and a professor at institutions such as Claremont School of Theology and Chicago Theological Seminary, Dr. Syeed has designed groundbreaking graduate programs and taught extensively on peace education, religion, and conflict transformation. Her scholarship includes co-editing Critical Approaches to Interreligious Education, she is widely published in the areas of religion, conflict resolution and just peacemaking.

She has advised on policy and social change initiatives, including serving as Chief of Staff to Councilmember Nithya Raman, and remains a trusted voice in national and interfaith dialogue. Her work has been featured by NPR, PBS, NBC, and Oprah Winfrey, and she has spoken at leading universities including Harvard, USC, and Duke.

Dr. Syeed holds a law degree from Indiana University and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Starr King School for the Ministry. Her work continues to inspire communities to move from conflict toward healing, justice, and transformation.