Program Presenters

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Program Presenters and Panelists

Program Presenters

Pravin K. Shah

Pravin K. Shah conducts seminars on world religions at universities and interfaith programs across the US, Canada and the UK. He has also lectured on this topic at global forums, including the Parliament of World Religions held in Chicago, Cape Town and Barcelona; and the World Religions Congress held in Montreal. He chairs the Education Committee of the Federation of Jain Associated in North America, and is the author of "Essence of World Religions: Unity in Diversity," which has been very well received by many interfaith organizations. Mr. Shah makes his home in North Carolina.

Professor Pankaj Jain

Professor Jain teaches World Religions at the New Jersey City University. Other teaching assignments include a course on Asian Traditions at Rutgers and Kean Universities.

Panel Members

Mohammad Ali Chaudry Ph.D. - Ex Mayor of Bernards Township, Dr. Chaudry is an educator, community and business leader. Since the September 11 tragedy, Dr. Chaudry has been active in promoting interfaith dialogs. He currently teaches "Understanding Islam" as a part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers University. Dr. Chaudry is co-founder and President of the "Center for Understanding Islam" whose purpose is to counter extremism and to engage in interfaith and intra-faith dialogs with all communities. Dr. Chaudry holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Tufts University and is President of Chaudry Associates, a management and IT consulting practice.

Habab Hosseiny, Ed.D. - Member of the Baha'i Faith community, Dr. Hosseiny was born in Iran where he received his B.A. in English Literature. He has a sincere interest in other cultures and is widely traveled. After moving to the United States, he subsequently earned an M.A. in English as a Second Language from the School for International Training in Vermont, and a Doctorate in Education from Rutgers University. Dr. Hosseiny has been teaching English as a Second Language for 45 years at the Middle, High School and college level both in the U.S. and abroad. He is currently teaching in Elizabeth High School in New Jersey. He was a member of the Interfaith Brotherhood-Sisterhood Committee of Bergen County for over 10 years.

Dr. Marehalli G. Prasad - Dr. Prasad has written four books on Hinduism and has given several lectures on the subject at leading universities such as Columbia, Cornell, MIT and Stevens Institute. He is a featured speaker on "Bharat Darshan" a program of RBC Radio, New York. He is an outreach associate for the "Religion and Science" weekly of PBS television. He and his wife Greetha Prasad, through their cultural organization, Taranga, have written, directed and produced more than 25 plays and dance-dramas for all ages. Dr. Prasad is a professor of mechanical engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Panel Members - Continued

Pravin Shah - Vice President (Southeast) of JAINA (Jain Associations in North America) and Director of the Jain Study Center of North Carolina. Mr. Shah is fully engaged in education in order to provide Jain religious education to all ages through classes, workshops and lecture at various Jain centers in North America. Mr. Shah conducts seminars on world religions at universities and interfaith programs across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. He has also lectured at the Parliament of World Religions held in Chicago, Cape Town and Barcelona; and the World Religions Congress held in Montreal.

Gurparkash Singh, Ph.D. was born in New Delhi, India. He did his graduate studies in Canada and the USA. He is a molecular biologist with a subspecialization in Neurosciences. He works for a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey. Dr. Singh has been involved with Interfaith groups for the last few years. He has represented the Sikhs in different forums organized by various social an religious organizations. He has been active in raising awareness about the Sikhs in New Jersey Schools.

Regina St. Clare, Ph.D. Former Professor of Education at Monmouth University and creator of the NASDTEC Rated Excellent and CORE PALS Learning Process Uni-Ed Curriculum also known as Golden Rule Education. Past President of the Theosophical Society of Redbank NJ. Dr. St. Clare is a widely traveled student, writer and presenter dedicated to "building common Truth via common language in which diversity informs unity". Dr. St. Clare is also a certified Yoga teacher, trained in meditation and spiritual traditions from India and China and in the merging of Tao, Confucian and Buddhist thought with Western traditions.

Reverend James F. Thomas is Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Iselin and has been an ordained Presbyterian minister for over 15 years. Reverend Thomas has served three different communities in New Jersey and has also served as a church worker among HIV/AIDS infected populations in northern Thailand. He has done extensive work in interfaith relations in both Thailand and the U.S. where since September 11, 2001 he has sought to build and cement bridges of relationship between members of Christian congregations and their Muslim, Sikh and Hindu neighbors. Reverend Thomas holds a masters degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Lama Pema Wangdak was born in Tibetan and has been a monk since age 7. He is a student of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and other great masters from the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. He is a graduate of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Benares, India where he received his Acharya (masters) degree in 1980. Lama Pema arrived in America in 1982 and in 1989 he founded the Vikramasila Foundation. This foundation encompasses the Palden Sakya Centers in New York City, Woodstock, NY, Philmont, NY; Cresskill, NJ; Jamaica, VT and Dayton, OH. Lama Pema has been guiding Western students for over 20 years. He continues to travel and teach extensively to Dharma centers around the world.

Claragee Stamaty Ziment - Member of Temple Beth Miriam, artist, cartoonist and teacher. Her paintings, many of which display her passionate interest in promoting understanding and respect for diversity, have been exhibited widely in the U.S. She is listed in several Who's Who publications. She has been active on many committees such as the Monmouth Campaign for Social Action, Religious Practices, and Adult Education. She is an active board member of the Monmouth Center of World Religions and Ethical Thought and is currently working on a Golden Rule Project involving children from diverse faiths exhibiting works of art relating to their versions of the Golden Rule that exists in almost every faith.