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A Conversation with Audrey Kitagawa, Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Larry Eastland, Chair of The John A. Widtsoe Foundation, and Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at The University of Southern California. Where does religion fit into solving critical challenges on a global scale? What does moral leadership look like? How can you personally enact change needed to address these challenges? If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. In this live virtual conversation, we’ll discuss how global religious organizations impact policy through the United Nations Multi-faith Advisory Council, what moral leadership looks like, and how you can use your time, talents, resources and energy to enact change locally, which leads to global change. Learn more about our conversation partners: Audrey Kitagawa, JD Audrey E. Kitagawa, JD, is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World's Religions, President and Founder of the International Academy for Transcultural Cooperation, President of the Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family, Chair of the UN Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and co-facilitator of the United Religions Initiative UN Cooperation Circle. Dr. Larry L. Eastland Larry Eastland has served four U.S. Presidents, including Staff Assistant to the President (President Gerald Ford), Director of Operations for the Summit of Industrialized Nations (President Ronald Reagan), and as the U.S. Delegate to the World Tourism Organization (elected Chairman of the General Assembly and Security Council). He also served as a Foreign and Defense Policy Assistant at the U.S. Senate and Deputy to the Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. He is a combat-decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer, having served as an infantry Firebase Commander and Intelligence Officer in Vietnam. Dean Varun Soni Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. He earned his B.A. in Religion from Tufts University, where he also earned an Asian Studies minor and completed the Program in Peace and Justice Studies. He subsequently earned his M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School and his M.A. degree through the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He went on to receive his J.D. degree from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, where he also completed the Critical Race Studies Program and served as an editor for the Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law. He earned his Ph.D. through the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town, where his doctoral research focused on religion and popular culture.

How interfaith communities are coming together to care for the suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. A special virtual event featuring Reverend E. Wayne Gaddis, President of the California Missionary Baptist State Convention, and Dr. Larry Eastland, Widtsoe Foundation Chair.