Michael Alper, St. Louis, MO Rabbi Michael Alper is proud to share the rabbinic leadership of Congregation Temple Israel. Born in Los Angeles, California, Rabbi Alper lived in many parts of the country before settling in St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in History from Boston University, and was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York City. An enthusiastic teacher, Rabbi Alper taught public school in the South Bronx and served as the Director of the Miller High School Honors Program at Hebrew Union College in New York. Rabbi Alper served as the Director of Education of Central Reform Congregation for two years before joining the Temple Israel clergy. At Temple Israel, one of his most important roles is working individually with the B'nai Mitzvah students and their families to create meaningful Jewish experiences that will shape their lives. A gifted artist and musician, Rabbi Alper is particularly interested in working with youth and music, encouraging young people to access their Judaism in unique and fulfilling ways. Rich Bardusch, Needham, MA The Reverend Dr. Rich Bardusch is rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Taunton, Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and has a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development from Drew University. He is a bit of a Thomist and enjoys traveling. His spiritual discipline includes Centering Prayer and simple living. He is a gardener, sci-fi fan, and patio reader extraordinaire. His interests include interfaith dialogue, Christian liturgy, and plants. He loves dogs and being at the center of a vibrant religious community, which is seeking to be faithful followers of Jesus. James Bouzard, Austin, TX I am James Bouzard, an ordained Lutheran pastor, licensed Episcopal priest, professor, chef, radio host, father of one and husband for 36 years to Gayle, a professor of sociology at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Most of my work involves running a campus ministry site at Texas State, but I also teach at the school and at a nearby university's department of philosophy and theology. In addition to my work, I enjoy cooking, reading, boxing, and opera. Rodrick Burton, St. Louis, MO Rev. Rodrick Burton is the pastor of the New Northside Missionary Baptist Church of St. Louis, Missouri. Burton is the vice president of the Ecumenical Leadership Counsel of St. Louis (ELC), and an executive board member of the St. Louis Initiative to Reduce Violence (SIRV). During the 2014 unrest in Ferguson, Missouri He worked extensively with the ELC, SIRV, Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU), and the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition to bring peace, justice, and healing in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death. New Northside was the target during a series of arson attacks on African American churches in the fall of 2015. Burton worked to see that restoration and healing came to the affected churches and community following the attacks. Burton is the author of The Moral State of Black America and received a Masters of Educational Ministry from Covenant Theological Seminary. He is married and a father of twins. Steve Camp, Hartford, CT Pastor Camp serves as pastor of Faith Congregational Church in Hartford CT. Faith Church is the oldest black congregation in the city of Hartford and the second oldest UCC church in the United Church of Christ nationally. Faith Church has been a very active and social minded congregation. It is open to all people and a diverse worship community. Faith Church happens to be the church where Rev. Camp was nurture as a youth in the faith. He was ordained at Faith Church in 1983. Rev. Camp has served in the structures of the United Church of Christ as Associate Executive Minister for Local Church Ministries nationally and regionally as Southern Conference Ministry with responsibility for 300 churches in North Carolina and Virginia. Pastor Camp serves in the local community on the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Hartford Seminary, and just past member of Emma Care (homeless Shelter). He is also very active with several community groups and activities. Pastor Camp is married to Former Magistrate Patricia L.T. Camp and who now serves on the CT board of Pardons and Paroles. They have six adult children and six grandchildren, also a dog named Rosie. Debra Cantor, Hartford, CT David CohenMilwaukee, WI Rabbi David B. Cohen serves as rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Sinai in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ordained at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York (’88), he received awards for academic distinction, sermon quality, and service to small congregations. An honors graduate of Brandeis University (‘82), he also holds a degree in Education from Stanford University (AM ED’95). Locally, Rabbi Cohen has served as President of the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis and as a member of: the board of directors of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and its Israel and Overseas Committee; the Froedtert Hospital Spiritual Care Advisory Board and the Jewish Family Service Advisory Committee on Family Violence. Rabbi Cohen engages in several interfaith dialogue groups and has been actively working with Voces de la Frontera, a group working on immigration issues. Nationally, Rabbi Cohen co-chaired the URJ/CCAR Commission on Life Long Jewish Learning and was a member of the CCAR Ad Hoc Committee on Governance, the CCAR Ad Hoc Committee on Human Sexuality, the Committee on Nominations, and the Advisory Committee for HUC-JIR’s New York School of Education. Rabbi Cohen was a fellow of CLAL’s National Young Rabbinic Leadership conference, a graduate of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and is now a senior rabbinic fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Before becoming a rabbi, Rabbi Cohen lived and worked in Jerusalem for three years. Rabbi Cohen is married and the father of four children (two sets of twins), all of whom are currently in college. Paula Drill, New City, NY Rabbi Paula Mack Drill is one of two rabbis of the Orangetown Jewish Center, Orangeburg, New York. Prior to becoming a rabbi, she worked for eleven years as a social worker at Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center and at the Golda Och Academy, both in New Jersey. She also served as Assistant Director at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, NY for seven years. For the past ten years, Rabbi Drill has been a Melton teacher in Rockland County. Additionally, she is a Board Member of Rockland Jewish Federation and an Executive Council Member of Rockland Clergy for Social Justice, seeking fair education for public school students of East Ramapo Central School District. Rabbi Drill just completed a three year term as an Executive Council Member of the Rabbinical Assembly, where she worked intensively on an envisioning project to create a new model for "Our RA." Rabbi Drill is dedicated to mentoring student rabbis and Jewish educators, teaching her love of Torah to all ages, and using her social work skills to create an inclusive, welcoming community. Her passions are advocacy on behalf of people with mental illness and developmental disabilities, community support of the homeless, and education about domestic violence. Rabbi Drill and her husband Jonathan are the proud parents of four children, Noah, a teacher, Sarah, a fund raiser for K'nafayim "Wings" in Israel, Benjamin, a college student, and Joshua, a soldier in the Golani Brigade of the IDF. Ethan Felson, New York, NY Ethan Felson is Executive Director of the Israel Action Network, a strategic initiative of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The IAN works to support a two-state for two people solution and to counter assaults on Israel’s legitimacy. Prior to joining IAN in 2016, Ethan served as Senior Vice President of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which he joined in 2001. At JCPA, he led national initiatives related to restoring civility in Jewish life, deepening interfaith relations with Mainline Protestants and Evangelical Christians, challenging anti-Israel BDS, and other issues. He led JCPA’s participation on more than 20 Supreme Court briefs. He has co-led numerous Israel missions for Christian leaders. He holds a law degree from University of Connecticut School of Law and a bachelors from Lehigh University. He is the author of chapters in several books including Uneasy Allies: Evangelical Jewish Relations and the American Jewish Yearbook (2006-2015), as well as articles in Sh’ma, JTA, and other journals and periodicals. He and his husband Daniel reside in New York City with their children Hannah and Seth. Leonard Gordon, Newton, MA Rabbi Leonard Gordon serves, along with the Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit, as co-chair of Interfaith Partners for Peace. He has a BA degree in Jewish Studies from Columbia University, an MA in Religious Studies from Brown University, an MA and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and an M Phil from Columbia University in Religion. He also did two years of graduate study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has taught comparative religion and Humanities at Columbia University, Kenyon College, and the Ohio State University. He has taught courses in rabbinic literature, history, philosophy and liturgy at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. He is currently completing a D Min degree in Interfaith Peace Studies at the Andover Newton Theological School. Rabbi Gordon’s work as a congregational rabbi includes service at the Germantown Jewish Centre in Philadelphia where he is now Rabbi Emeritus and, more recently, at Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, MA.