Julio Méndez is a Doctor of Philosophy, and serves as a Priest of the Archdiocese of Salta (Argentina). He is the Director of the Department of Foundations of Law at the Catholic University of Salta, and a Plenary Lecturer and Professor of Philosophy of Law and Social Christian Doctrine at the University. He is an Ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas (Vatican). He was Vice President of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference in Argentina. He is a visiting professor at the universities of Bamberg, Vienna, Bonn, and Urban Lateran (Rome) and the author of several books and numerous scientific articles.
Alfonso Santiago received his PhD in Law from the University of Buenos Aires. He is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Austral Law School. He was Vice Dean (1991-1999) and Vice President of Austral University (2011-2014). He is a member of the National Academy of Law and Social Science of Buenos Aires and Director of its Institute of Constitutional Law, a member of the Royal Academy of Legislation and Jurisprudence of Madrid (Spain) and of the Academy of Law of Sao Paulo (Brazil), and advisor to the Argentine National Congress, the San Luis State and the Government of Buenos Aires City. He has authored several books and published numerous articles of Constitutional Law in national and international Journals.
Fr Brian Lucas is General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. He was Financial Administrator and Secretary of the Archdiocese of Sydney and acted as media spokesman. He has post-graduate academic qualifications in law, theology, and general studies. Awarded a Churchill Fellowship, he undertook a program of studies in Pastoral Communication at Gregorian University, Rome. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, an adjunct professor of Australian Catholic University, member of the Australian Taxation Office Not-for-Profit Advisory Group, member of the Australian Treasury Working Party on Tax Concessions for Not-for-Profit Organisations, a director of Catholic Church Insurances Limited, and co-author of the Church Administration Handbook.
Professor Michael Quinlan is Dean of the Sydney School of Law at The University of Notre Dame Australia. He had a distinguished career at the commercial law firm Allens, where he was a partner for more than 14 years. He is a Member of The St Thomas More Society, the Wilberforce Foundation, and Lawyers for the Preservation of Traditional Marriage. He has made written submissions to Parliamentary inquiries defending traditional marriage and religious freedom and commenting on "end of life" and issues such as regulation of brothels in New South Wales. He has written articles for the Catholic Weekly and case notes for The University of Notre Dame. In 2013, he presented a paper at the Catholics and Law Congress, Turon, Poland and recently was invited to speak at the City of Sydney Circle of The Catenians on "Providing a University Education in a Context of Catholic Faith and Values."
Tim Wilson is Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, and is focused on liberal individual human rights including religious freedom, free speech & association, equality before the law, and property rights. Mr Wilson is also the de facto Commissioner for sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex issues. He previously worked at a free market public policy think tank, in consulting, international aid and development, as well as politics. He has served on the Board of Directors of Monash University and Alfred Health. In 2009, he was recognized by Australia’s national newspaper as one of the ten emerging leaders of Australian society.
Fr Patrick H. Daly is the General Secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). He completed his secondary education at Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare and earned his MA in History and Philosophy from the University College Dublin and his PhD in Medieval History from the Catholic University of Louvain. He received an STL in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He attended Seminary at Pontifical Beda College, Rome, and was ordained a priest in 1991. He served as Parish Priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, UK from 1991 to 2013.
Mag. Elizabeta Kitanović is Executive Secretary for Human Rights and Communication of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in Brussels. She is working as a senior human rights advocate vis-a-vis International Organizations. She is editor of the Human Rights Training Manuel for European Churches and is editor and founder of the first European Churches Human Rights Library and the CSC Annual Report. In 2009-2010 she was a member of the Advisory Panel of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and was again nominated for 2012-2014. Ms. Kitanovic completed her studies in Theology and post-graduate studies in International Affairs of the Political Science Faculty in Belgrade. She graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Serbian Government. Prior to her current post she worked for the Serbian Orthodox Church, and then for the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Serbian Government as Adviser for Interreligious Affairs and its PR. Ms. Kitanovic regularly gives lectures and presentations in the area of human rights and communications. She speaks English, French, Greek and Serbian.
Jonas Moreno de Andrade Almeida is a lawyer, Auditor of the State Audit Court, and Specialist in Public Law. He is the First Secretary of the Alliance of Evangelical Churches Congregational in Brazil and a Member of the Law and Religious Liberty Commission of the Bar Association of Brazil. He currently serves as Director of ANAJURE for Refugees and Humanitarian Aid.
Dr. Ricardo Leite is a lawyer and founding partner of Cerqueira Leite Advogados Associados. Before that role, he was Legal Chief for the South and Southeast Region of Shell Brazil. He studied at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and received his LLM from UC Davis in Business and Corporate Law.
Hugo de Oliveira is a lawyer and has attended a post degree program in business management and worked as a professor of private and international law in Brasília, Brazil. He is currently legal advisor to the National Bishops Conference of Brazil, to the Conference of Major Superiors of Brazil, to the National Catholic Education Association of Brazil, and to many religious institutes. He is a member of the Implementation Commission for the International Treaty signed between Brazil and the Holy See and has written a chapter regarding the right of exercising the apostolic mission on the edition of "Brazil Holy See Treaty Reviewed."
Dr Odacyr Prigol is the new J. Reuben Clark Law Society Chapter Chair for the Curitiba Chapter. He is a member of the Religious Freedom Commission of the Brazil Bar Association in his state. He is also a founding member/director of the Brazilian affiliate of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, which actively promotes religious freedom in Brazil.
Moroni Bing Torgan is a member of the Brazilian Congress representing the State of Ceará. In his first term as congressman, he authored the Investigation Parliamentary Commission proposal to fight drug trafficking resulting in the arrest of many drug trafficking gangs. Prior to entering politics, he was a federal police chief in Ceará State. He was appointed secretary of public security for this state and later served as Vice-Governor. In 2009, he left public life to serve in various capacities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including President of the Portugal Lisbon Mission and Area Authority Seventy. In 2014, he returned to Congress, where he currently serves as President of the Parliamentary Front for Religious Freedom, the President of the Sub Commission against Organized Crime in Brazil, and Minority Leader of the House.
Mr. Say Amnann is Advisor to the President of the National Assembly of Cambodia and Deputy Director General of Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Cults and Religion. He is a Philosophy and English lecturer at the Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University. He received his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts Degrees from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka where he also studied Pali and Buddhist Studies. He previously served as Vice Director in the Educational Science and Information Department at Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University.
Mrs. Min Chan Dy Neth is Advisor to the Ministry of Cults and Religion, Director General, and Cabinet Director of the Ministry of Cults and Religion. She previously served in the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals and the Ministry of Social Affair, Labor Training, and Youth Rehabilitation. She is educated and trained in Business Administration, Medicine, Conflict Management and Resolution, English, Communication, Hospital Management, and Accounting.
Mrs. Keo Sotheary is the Director General of Administration and Finance in the Ministry of Cults and Religion. She previously worked in the Department of Staff Administration, the Department of Administration and Finance, and the National Inspectorate of Buddhist Education. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the National Institute of Management and her Master of Auditing Degree from Vanda Institute.
Barry W. Bussey is Director of Legal Affairs for the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. He has been involved in charity law seminars, written articles on charity law and religious freedom, and has participated in litigation in charity law at Federal Court, and intervention at lower courts and at the Supreme Court of Canada. He holds post-graduate degrees in Constitutional Law, Political Science, and Theology and a Master in Peace and Conflict Studies and has commenced PhD studies in Law at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. He was Associate Director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Washington, D.C. and represented the Adventist Church and the International Religious Liberty Association in Washington, and at the UN, where he serves as secretary for the NGO Committee on the Freedom of Religion or Belief. He has served as Pastor of two church districts in Newfoundland.
Ms. Palbinder Kaur Shergill QC, a lawyer and certified mediator, was appointed Queens Counsel in 2012. Her practice focuses on complex commercial and general litigation cases, class actions, and personal injury law. She has served as the General Counsel for the World Sikh Organization for over 20 years. A leading human rights advocate, she has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in landmark cases dealing with religious freedoms. She is serving her third term as a Governor for the Trial Lawyers Association of BC and sits on the board of the Sikh Feminist and Research Institute. She is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and community organizations.
Anna Su is an assistant professor of law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Prior to her current position, Su held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy in SUNY Buffalo Law School. She also served as a law clerk for the Philippine Supreme Court and consulted for the Philippine government negotiating panel with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. She holds an SJD (2013) from Harvard Law School, and received her JD and AB degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
Tomás Henríquez Carrera is the founder and former executive director of Comunidad y Justicia, a non-profit NGO dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights in Chile through litigation and legislative advocacy. He received his licentiate in law from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and an LLM in International Legal Studies and Human Rights from Georgetown University. He worked as an associate attorney at the firms of Philippi, Yrarrázaval, Pulido & Brunner and with Balmaceda, Cox & Piña prior to that. As an assistant attorney at Regional Center for Children’s Rights in Santiago, Chile, he acted as a private prosecutor representing underage victims of sexual assault and rape. He was a Fulbright Scholarship recipient.
Hongmeng Cheng is a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Religion and International Relations of Fudan University, Shanghai City. His academic interests are China’s religious policy, religious freedom, and church-state relations, and "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sino-US Relationship." As the first doctoral student of Ye Xiaowen (former director general of State Administration for Religious Affairs of PRC), he received his PhD in Religious Studies from the School of Philosophy of Renmin University of China in 2014. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Management and a Master of Philosophy in Religious Studies from Huangshan College. As a visiting scholar, he did research in the Divinity School of Chung Chi College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and he was a teacher in Wenzhou University.
Kyungu Nkulu Guillaume obtained a degree in private law from the University of Kinshasa in 2001. Prior to that, he obtained a Baccalaureate in Latin-philosophy. Since 2002, he has been a lawyer at the bar of Kinshasa-Gombe Court as well as a lawyer at the International criminal bar. He currently works as Counsellor to the Ministry of Justice of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Fabricio Alvarado is a Congressman in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica representing the National Restoration Christian party founded in 2005. He is the main promoter of the bill number 19,099 "Law on Religious Freedom and Worship" in Costa Rica. He is a journalist by profession and an active minister in preaching and music in the evangelical church of his country. He is also a singer. In his first year as a congressman, he has been working to defend religious freedom and expression and to avoid closures of churches and block policies that attempt to attack religious freedom in Costa Rica.
Mónica Catalán Marín currently works as Advisor in the National Restoration Party, Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. She has worked as an attorney in the legal offices of Catalán & Marín and Andersen & Asociados. She has wide professional experience as a legal advisor and has worked with several congressmen in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. She has a master's in Human Resources.
Daisy María Guerrero Delgado is an Advisor to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica.
Luis Fernando Mendoza Jiménez is a Political Scientist. He graduated in Political Science from the University of Costa Rica and received his undergraduate degree in Economy at the University of Costa Rica. He served on the Parliamentary Counsel in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from1994-2010, and then from 2014-2015. He was President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2013-2014. He was President Pro Tempore at the Forum of Legislative Presidents of Central America, Mexico and Dominican Republic (FOPREL). He is the Projection Folkloric Group founder, Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica.
Silvia Sánchez Venegas is a Congresswoman in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. She earned a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Latina of Costa Rica. Currently, she presides over the Commission for the bill of Freedom Religious Law. She is also involved in social affairs, women’s issues, youth issues, and economic issues. She was president of the Youth in the Liberationist Party in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
César Alexander Zuñiga Ramírez is an Advisor of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. He holds a degree in Political Science and graduated with a Master of Business Administration and a PhD in Administration. Currently, he works as Managing Director in the National Party Restoration of the Legislative Assembly and is an Advisor for a bill about Freedom Religious Law. He has worked in programs about public opinion and political analysis and as a professor of Political Theory, National Policy, Methodology and Epistemology at the University of Costa Rica.
The Reverend Father Doctor Ramón Alfredo de la Cruz Baldera has a doctorate in Theology in the area of Religious Pedagogy from the University of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Germany. He graduated in Philosophy from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra and has a Masters in University Management from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain. He was ordained a priest in 1991 in the Holy Trinity Parish of Nagua and is currently Rector/Chancellor of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, President of the Dominican Association of Rectors of Universities and Rector of the Institute of Priests Diocesan of Schoenstatt for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Chief Justice Mariano Germán Mejía Jiménez was appointed President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Dominican Republic by The National Council of Magistrates in 2011. Prior to this, he served as Attorney General and as the Director of the Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones. He has served on various committees responsible for updating national zoning codes and civil procedure. He is an esteemed professor and author of the book, Vías de Ejecución, which is an analysis on the various paths leading to capital punishment.
Dr. Carlos Alvarado Cerezo is the Rector of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, the largest and oldest university in Guatemala and the fourth founded in the Americas. He served as General Secretary of the University from 2006 to 2014 before he was elected president. He has also served as Unit Director Academic Planning and Development, Faculty of Dentistry (2004-2006), Dean of the Faculty or Dentistry (2000-2004), and Academic Secretary of the School of Dentistry (1996-2000). Carlos Alvarado directs the university to be more involved in the search for solutions to social problems.
Dr. Carlos Enrique Camey Rodas is the Secretary General of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. His educational background is primarily in Veterinary Medicine, but he also holds an MBA degree. He has obtained scholarships in Berlin, Germany, and Israel, and a research fellowship in Taiwan. He has been Secretary of the Pan American Veterinary Medical Association, Director of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, President of the Assembly of Presidents of Professional Associations of Guatemala, and Advisor to the Ministry of Economy of Guatemala. He has worked in various international organizations and enjoys speaking at seminars and workshops worldwide.
Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok graduated in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1982. He has held diplomatic assignments in Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka and Austria, where he was India's Alternate Governor in the IAEA, Vienna. He was Ambassador of India to Zimbabwe and the Czech Republic, and is currently Consul General in San Francisco. Ambassador Ashok speaks Chinese, English and several Indian languages. He has authored a book, Dasavatara, apart from several technical articles.
Prof. Dr. Faizan Mustafa is the Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He was the founder Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Orissa. He has served as Dean, Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University and Registrar of AMU. He is a gold medalist LLM from Aligarh Muslim University. He completed his PhD in Copyright Law. He also has a diploma in International and Comparative Human Rights from International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. He has authored several books and some 100 national and international papers. He has worked in unexplored areas such as Religious Conversion Laws, Strict Liability Law, and Freedom of Information Law.
Faith Delos Reyes is a Filipino lawyer and Research and Project Coordinator at the Human Rights Resource Centre. Faith was Lead Monitor at the Asian International Justice Initiative, assisting in trial monitoring and outreach programs at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Faith also worked for the Philippine Commission on Human Rights. Faith led HRRC’s baseline study on women and children in ASEAN and authored the Philippine report for HRRC’s baseline study on rule of law in ASEAN. She was co-editor of HRRC’s "Keeping the Faith: A Study of Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion in the ASEAN."
Agus Sholeh is the Head of the Department of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Religious Affairs. He worked for the Ministry of Religious Affairs as the Head for Curriculum and Teacher Development of both Madrasha and Islamic Education. He obtained a degree in Islamic Theology from the Department of Islamic Theology and Philosophy (IAIN), Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, and a post-graduate degree in Education from Curtin University of Technology, Perth. He is pursuing a degree from the Graduate School of the State Islamic University (UIN), Syarif Hidayatullah. He was the Coordinator for Islamic Activities at Bakrie Brothers Group, Jakarta. He has been a lecturer in Islamic Studies at various universities and served as secretary of the Executive Team of MAN Insan Cendekia Serpong and Gorontalo. He is Chairman of Al-Inayah Foundation, and the founder of Melati Islamic Kindergarten both in Legoso, Ciputat Timur, Tangerang Selatan, Banten.
Pasquale Annicchino is Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and a member of the EUI Ethics Committee. He has been Adjunct Professor of Law at BYU Law School and Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). He received his PhD in Law from the University of Siena where he graduated in law summa cum laude. He studied as an Erasmus student at the School of Law of Charles IV University in Prague, at the European Academy of Legal Theory in Brussels, and at University College London. He was Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Law and Religion of the Emory University Law School in Atlanta. He serves as book review editor for Religion and Human Rights: an International Journal and is a member of the editorial board of Quaderni di Diritto e Politica Ecclesiastica. He is the author of a book on international religious freedom published by Il Mulino, Bologna in 2015. His articles have appeared in the First Amendment Law Review, European Public Law, Ecclesiastical Law Journal, and George Washington International Law Review.
Silvio Ferrari, founder and honorary lifetime president of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies, was visiting professor at the University of California (Berkeley), the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (London), the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne, Paris), and the University of Leuven. His publications in English include Law, Religion, Constitution (ed. with Cole Durham, Cristiana Cianitto, and Donlu Thayer); Religion in Public Spaces (ed. with Sabrina Pastorelli); Law and Religion in the 21st Century (ed. with Rinaldo Cristofori); Law and Religion in Post-Communist Europe (ed. with Cole Durham and Elizabeth Sewell), Islam and European Legal System (ed. with Anthony Bradney). He is a member of the Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion and Belief of the OSCE/ODIHR, member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, a founding editor of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, and member of the editorial board of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal. He delivered a Messenger Lecture at Cornell University and received the Distinguished Service Award of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies.
Marco Ventura is a full professor of law and religion at the Law Department of the University of Siena (Italy). After a PhD at the University of Strasbourg, he visited the universities of London (UCL), Oxford, Strasbourg, Brussels (ULB), the Indian Law Institute in Delhi, the University of Cape Town, and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. From 2012 to 2015 he was a professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. His last book is From Your Gods to Our Gods. A History of Religion in British, Indian and South African Courts. From 2013 to 2015 he visited Vietnam as an expert in the dialogue between the European Union and the Vietnamese Committee on Religious Affairs.
Dr. Yahya Basheer h. Al-Athameen Al-Btoush, Major General and Grand Mufti of the Jordanian Armed Forces, is the second most important religious leader in Jordan, after the Grand Mufti of Jordan, Dr. Abdul Karim Khasawneh. He received his doctorate from Hadith Sahreef and Sciences. He has served as Religious Advisor, International Peace Keeping Participant, Guidance and Preaching, and Chief of Teaching and Management Branch at the Directorate of Al Ifta’ as well as Assistant and Chief Instructor and Dean Assistant at Prince Hassan College for Islamic Sciences. The recipient of numerous awards and decorations, he lectures regularly at the Royal Jordanian National Defense College. He conducted workshops on The Amman Message, which began as a statement by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and led to a ruling by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries seeking to clarify to the world the true nature of Islam, and provide a basis for unity and contribute to peaceful co-existence, good governance, and human rights, according to the principles of Islamic religion, which calls for tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism and terrorism in all its forms.
Fr. Nabil Haddad, Dean of Saints Peter and Paul Old Cathedral in Jabal El-Weibdeh, Amman, a Greek Melkite Catholic Church, is the Founder and CEO of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC). He has brought JICRC to the forefront for discussing the issues of tolerance, coexistence, religious freedom, interfaith dialogue, human dignity, human rights, women’s empowerment, and the rights of children and minorities in the Middle East and in the Arab world. He uses his vast experience as an Arab Christian in tandem with The Amman Message, The Common Word, and World Interfaith Harmony Week Initiative calling for tolerance and cooperation between Muslims and Christians to promote peace. He served as the Director of Rights and Humanity International at the Jordan Project and as Chairperson of the Justice, Peace and Human Rights Committee for the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as Director General for Caritas Jordan, and as a Member of the Caritas MENA Executive Committee. He is a past member of The Royal Commission for Human Rights appointed by His Majesty Abdullah II, who awarded him the Independence Order of the First Class. He received the Joint Service Achievement Medal from the U.S. Secretary of Defense. He was elevated to the Title of Ekonomos and is a Member, Royal Commission of the Baptism Site at the River Jordan; Chairman, Greek Catholic Welfare Society; Secretary General, Arab Group Against Emigration of Arab Christians; Member & Jordan representative, Assembly of Eastern Christians (Beirut headquarters).
Dr. Chae-Young Kim is a highly respected academic, author, and researcher. He is Director of the Jesuit Scholar Program at Sogang University and is also a leading Presbyterian academic. He currently is president of the Korean Association for Religious Studies, and has also co-chaired their joint conference with the Korean Society for the Sociology of Religions. Dr. Kim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Anjou University, a Masters of Religious Studies from Seoul National University, a Masters of Religion and Philosophy from University of Madras (India), and a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Ottawa.
César Jáuregui has a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Masters in corporate law. He was a Federal Deputy and Secretary of the Committee on Rules and Parliamentary Practices. He also was Chairman of the Judicial Commission. He was deputy director of the Legislative Branch to the Federal Election Committee. He was a professor of law at the University level. He served five years as a Magistrate or member of the “Consejo de la Judicatura Federal”, a government department that administered the federal court system and had oversight of judges and other court personnel.
Jeff Jones has served in the Mexican government as Federal Congressman (1997- 2000), Federal Senator (2000-2006) and as Undersecretary of Agribusiness Development (2006-2009) at Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture. While Undersecretary, he focused on prospective planning, market development, and rural finance. He also presided over the Border Affairs committee. Currently, Mr. Jones works in the private sector with a new energy management company, Enerlogix Solutions. Prior to that, he helped two US venture capital and private equity funds get established in Mexico. Mr. Jones graduated from Brigham Young University in International Relations.
José de la Luz López Pescador is a Doctor of Law with specialization in Constitutional and Administrative Law at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He received his law degree from the Universidad Juarez del Estado de Durango, achieving medal merit “Benito Juarez”, awarded to the best average per generation. Annually, he attends international seminars, Constitutional Law and Tax Constitutional Litigation, organized by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Currently, he is a lawyer candidate in the Department of Advice and Legal Representation at Lopez, Pescador and Associates.
Luis Fernando Morales Núñez is Director General de Administración del Patrimonio Inmobiliario Federal, INDAABIN. He graduated in law from the Universidad de Las Americas Puebla (UDLA). He has held important positions in the Government of Mexico State, including as Counsel, Coordinator and Private Secretary to the Director General of the Electoral Institute of Mexico State. He has served in the Government of the Republic of Mexico as Subdirector General in the National Housing Commission and as Subdirector General of Analysis of Housing, Forecasting and Sustainability. In the recently created Secretariat for Rural, Territorial and Urban Development, he served as Adjunct Director General of Urban Development.
Shelten G. Neth is a State Senator, Chairman/CEO, Church Pastor, and law maker within the Legislative Branch of Pohnpei State Government. He is involved in the day to day operations of a Christian Academy (high school and college), and is a Shepherd of a flock at his church. He has held lead government positions for almost 40 years, and works to enact legislations for the good of the government and its people. He attended and graduated from the Moody Bible Institute as valedictorian. He has earned an associate degree, two bachelor’s degrees in Business Management, a Masters of Business Administration, and a PhD in International Business Management. He authored an Accounting Manual.
Lundeejantsan Sarantsetseg holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Academy of Management, Government Agency of Mongolia. Prior to that, she received her law degree from Tushee Institute of Law and Economics, Mongolia. She currently works for the Ministry of Labor and previously was an expert for the Standing Committee of Environment, Food and Agriculture in Parliament.
Sister Catherine Jones is a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic congregation of religious sisters in the Marist tradition. Born in New Zealand, Sister Catherine has been engaged in missionary work in the Central Pacific, North and West Africa, as well as France and currently in New Zealand. After university studies in Fiji and Washington DC, she has been involved in education and interfaith relations for over 40 years. Sister Catherine has held leadership responsibilities in her congregation, and is currently Chair of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations.
Imam Abdur-Rahman Olanrewaju Ahmad is the National Missioner of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria. The Society was established in 1923 to enhance the educational, moral, and social development of the Muslim community. As chief imam, Sheik Ahmad generally oversees this large Islamic organization, which has branches in every part of Nigeria as well as in other West African countries, such as Benin and Ivory Coast. Sheik Ahmad holds membership in the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, National Interfaith Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (NACA), Interfaith Advisory Committee against Corruption to the EFCC, the chairmanship of the Movement Against Corruption (MAC), and many others. A renowned Islamic scholar, he began his career as a journalist and has held imam positions at several levels starting from his secondary school days. He has a large followership and frequently gives influential public lectures and sermons.
Murtala Aderemi Bidmos received his BA with honors in Arabic Language and Literature from the University of Kuwait in 1977, his MA in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Ibadan (Nigeria) in 1980, and his PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Ibadan in 1988. He received his Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Ibadan in 2004. He is the current Chief Imam for the UNILAG Mosque, and he has served as a professor and lecturer for UNILAG and the University of Ibadan. He was also a Fulbright Fellow for the University of Findlay (Ohio, USA). He has published several books and articles on Islamic Studies and inter-religious dialogue.
Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju graduated from the University of Lagos. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1978 and has since served on the Ministry of Justice – Yola, on the Legal Aid Counsel for Ibadan and Sokoto, and as the Assistant Director of Legal Aid in the Lagos Zone. She was Chief Magistrate, Oyo State and Chief Registrar, High Court, Oyo State, as well as Judge on the High Court for Ondo State. She currently serves as a Justice for the Court of Appeal. She is a member of the World Jurist Association and of the Commonwealth Judges and Magistrates Association and is President of the National Association of Women Judges, Nigeria.
Tore Lindholm is Emeritus Professor (philosophy) at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo and board member of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief and of the Human Rights Committee of Church of Norway. His research interests focus on the grounds for embracing universal human rights, in particular the right to freedom of religion or non-religious basic conviction, and on the ongoing two-way traffic between human rights and religions/basic convictions, in particular with respect to Islam and Muslims. He co-edited Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief, now published in Indonesian and Russian. He edited Islamic Law Reform and Human Rights: Challenges and Rejoinders and made a study of Muslim immigrants to Oslo, Religious Commitment and Social Integration: Are There Significant Links? Other writings include “The Cross-Cultural Legitimacy of Universal Human Rights: Plural Justification Across Normative Divides,” in Francioni & Scheinin, eds., Cultural Human Rights and “Magna Carta and Religious Freedom,” in Magraw & Martinez eds., Magna Carta and the Rule of Law.
Dr. Gunnar Stålsett is Bishop emeritus of Oslo, The Lutheran Church of Norway, and Honorary President of Religions for Peace and Advisor to the Norwegian Government on Peace and Reconciliation. Before turning to full time church work, he held political offices in city and government. He served as Professor of Systematic Theology of the Mission School of Stavanger and was rector at the Seminary of Practical Theology of the University of Oslo. He has served as General Secretary of the Church of Norway Council on Foreign Relations, The Norwegian Bible Society, and the Lutheran World Federation and been chairman of Norwegian Church Aid. He has served on the executive committees of the World Council of Churches, the World Conference of Religions for Peace, and the Board and Group of experts of the International Religious Liberty Association. He has served as chairman of the European Council of Religious Leaders and was a founding member of the Oslo Coalition of Freedom of Religion or Belief. He has participated in a number of UN programs on disarmament and human rights. He has served as Norwegian peace envoy to East Timor and is a board member of the Library of Alexandria. A member of the Nobel Peace Prize committee for 17 years, he now serves as an alternate member. He holds a series of honorary doctor degrees and has received the highest official orders of Norway and of Guatemala for his work for peace, justice and reconciliation. He is the author of several books and is a worldwide lecturer on issues of tolerance, freedom of religion, and interfaith cooperation.
Honourable Delilah Gore is the Minister for Religion, Youth and Community Development and Member for Sohe in Northern (Oro) Province. She was formally employed by Department of Finance as District Treasurer when she resigned to contest Papua New Guinea's National General Elections in 2012. She is currently one of the three women MP's that were elected into Papua New Guinea's 9th National Parliament in the 2012 national general election and is also the only women cabinet Minister.
Darío Filártiga was Secretary of State of the Paraguayan Ministry of Interior. He was appointed a member of the Special Commission of the Paraguayan State for the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II in May 1988. He was a guest of the Government of Japan in the program of Young Leaders from Latin America and was invited on an official visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan) as well as to Hong Kong. He represented Paraguay at the International Conference on drug trafficking, Houston, Texas. He has frequently represented Paraguay at ceremonies and on state visits abroad. He served as Advisor to the Vice Presidency and as Chairman of the Board of the Social Security Institute (IPS). He is the Current Minister and Political Advisor to the President of the Republic of Paraguay, accompanying the President on his official visits and business trips to different countries.
Guillermo M. Mendoza graduated from the National School of the Capital First Institution of Education of Paraguay. He has served as a Lawyer at the Polytechnic University and Artistic Paraguay and Legal Director of the Reserve of the Paraguayan Armed Forces. He focuses on Psychological Operations courses, Human Relations, Criminal Mediation and is a Professor of Criminal Procedural Law. He graduated with honors from the Strategic Leadership Course Institute of Strategic Studies of Council of National Defense of Paraguay. Mr. Mendoza currently serves as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Defense.
Alfonso Garcés is a lawyer with extensive experience in the public and private sector. Mr. Garces is currently Deputy Minister of Justice of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of Peru, as well as a board member of the Bank of the Nation and the Special Committee on Public Investment Proinversion (a government agency responsible for promoting investment and privatization). He is a member of the Peruvian Institute of Tax Law and the International Fiscal Association.
Carol Villanueva Anticona is an attorney at De la Flor, Garcia Montufar, Arata & Asociados, Abogados. She earned her law degree from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. She graduated with a Master of Business Law from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. She is a member of The Lima Bar Association and Assistant Professor of Real Estate Law at the Graduate Program of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Her practice is focused on Civil Law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Real Estate, and Urban Development. She has been actively involved in advising religious entities in lawsuits related equal treatment, as well as various administrative matters concerning to the development and diversification of religious organizations activities in Peru.
Fr. Richard Babao grew up surrounded by the Islamic culture in Central Mindanao, which instilled within him an interest in interfaith relations. This interest grew when he entered the seminary, during which terroristic activities by extremist Muslims shook the already fragile peace in Mindanao. In his seminary formation, he longed for a better understanding of differing religions, hoping that understanding could again bring peace to Mindanao. In 2009, he was sent to study Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue at the Angelicum University in Rome. This has become part of his ministry and life.
Mr. Hilario G. Davide, Jr. is the former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York. He was elected to such posts as Vice President of the General Assembly, Vice President of ECOSOC, and (General Assembly) Chairman of the Credentials Committee, Vice Chairman of the First Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Commission on Sustainable Development. He was the 20th Chief Justice of the Philippines and head of the Judicial Branch of government (1998-2005). After retirement, he served as Senior Presidential Advisor on Electoral Reforms to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He was appointed as Chairman of the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010. As Delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971, he was elected Chairman of the Committee on Duties and Obligations of Citizens and Ethics of Public Officials. He was Assemblyman in the Interim Batasang Pambansa; Commissioner of the Constitutional Commission of 1986, serving as Chairman of the Commission’s Committee on the Legislative Power and member of the Committees on the Executive Power, the Judiciary, Style and Public Hearings. He was also Chairman of the Commission on Elections, and Chairman of the Fact-Finding Commission that investigated the 1989 military rebellion and other coup attempts and recommended measures to prevent the occurrence of similar attempts. He graduated from the University of Philippines College of Law and is the recipient of many awards, including 14 honorary doctoral degrees in law, public administration, and humanities. In 2011 Pope Benedict XVI conferred upon him the Knight Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester. At present, he is Vice Chairman of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines.
Dr. Kishan Manocha has extensive experience in religious freedom and minority rights issues in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia as a consultant to international and non-governmental organizations. He is Senior Advisor on Freedom of Religion and Belief at the Organization for Security and Co-operation Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw. Before this, he was Director of the Office of Public Affairs of the Bahá’í community of the United Kingdom. He holds degrees in medicine and law from the Universities of London and Cambridge respectively. He first trained in psychiatry, completing a Research Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry, before studying law. He specialized in international criminal and human rights law for his LLM and practiced as a barrister in a number of international criminal law cases before the English courts. He has worked at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard as well as a Fellow of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University. He has lectured at universities in the United Kingdom and Pakistan, and is a Research Fellow at the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, a Professional Associate at the Centre for Law and Religion at Cardiff University, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Centre for Religion and Global Affairs.
Arkady Dubnov graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. He worked as an engineer at Soviet Union nuclear power stations for about 15 years. Since 1991, he has been a political science reviewer and editor-in-chief of a number of Russian newspapers, journals, and radio stations. Mr. Dubnov has witnessed the most chief events that took place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States, Central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan. He is an expert on the problems of Islamic extremism.
Lev Simkin is a Professor at Law, Moscow State University. He practices in the area of Russian constitutional, civil, and intellectual property law. He is also an expert in the Russian court and arbitration systems. Mr. Simkin is an author of books and numerous articles on intellectual property and religion-state relations in Russia. He was awarded the title of Honorable Advocate of Russia. He is the former president of the International Committee for Facilitating Legal Reform in Russia.
Ming C. Leung Wai is the Attorney-General of Samoa, principal legal advisor to the Government of Samoa. He was educated in Samoa before attending the University of Waikato in New Zealand where he completed his law degree. He returned to Samoa in 1996 and worked in several legal roles in government departments, including the Office of the Attorney-General. In 2001 he joined the family law firm in Apia. He was appointed Attorney-General of Samoa in December 2006. He sits on the Board of Trustees of his church and holds two matai titles – "Tuatagaloa" from the village of Poutasi and "Aumua" from the village of Sapunaoa.
Honourable Mogoeng Thomas Reetsang Mogoeng is the current Chief Justice of South Africa. Mogoeng received a B.Juris from the University of Zululand and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Natal. He then obtained a Master of Laws from the University of South Africa. After a short period at the Johannesburg Bar, Mogoeng went to Mahikeng, where he practiced for six years. He was also the chair of Lawyers for Human Rights’ Bophuthatswana chapter and a part-time lecturer at the University of Bophuthatswana. Mogoeng’s appointment to Chief Justice was recommended and confirmed on 8 September 2011. As Chief Justice, he is head of the Judicial Service Commission, which is responsible for the appointment of judges. He is a lay preacher in the Pentecostal Winners’ Chapel.
Nabil Fayyad is a Syrian scholar. He has studied languages, theology, pharmacy, and drug manufacturing. He has written and translated numerous books and studies some of which include Ezra Pound, The Poet of the Apostate; Nietzsche and Religion; Kafka – Metamorphosis; Qurans Differences (books one through four), Mother of all Believers, Camel War, Dhimmis (English translation), and Mohammed the Prophet of Islam (English translation). He has been involved in many documentaries, the most important of which is the series, "Fasting of Peoples," with the Syrian TV station, Sama. Currently, he is the Syrian chief of the Academic Center for Research.
Nuri Bodur is a Senior Associate in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. He advises domestic and multinational clients on employment legal matters (individual/collective employment relations), immigration, and dispute resolution. He also advises international clients on the law on associations and foundations and represents domestic and multinational companies before all levels of courts in Turkey. Nuri had a traineeship with the Istanbul Bar Association in 2006, worked with the European Court of Human Rights for a year and a half, and spent an eight-week study visit at the Secretariat of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe, where he worked on human rights issues.
Recep Şentürk is a professor of Sociology at Fatih University in Istanbul, where he has worked since 2006. Senturk previously taught at the Art Institute of Pittsburg, Rensellar Polytechnic Institute, and Emory University Law School. He has published in English, Turkish, and Arabic, including numerous journal articles and Narrative Social Structure: Anatomy of the Hadith Transmission Network, 610-1505 (2005). Şentürk earned his BA from Marmara University, MA from Istanbul University, and PhD at Columbia University.
Viktor Yelensky is a Member of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine and Head of Parliament’s Sub-Committee for Freedom of Conscience. He earned his MA in History from Kyiv State University, and Candidate of Science and Doctor of Science Diplomas from the Institute of Philosophy of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Sociology and Institute of Philosophy, as an editor for the Ukrainian Journal for Religious Studies, Lyudina i Svit, as the head of the Kyiv Bureau of Radio Liberty, and as a professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University and Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. He has authored many books, articles, and essays on religious freedom, religion and politics, and global religious trends and transformations. He is head of the Ukrainian Association for Religious Liberty. His most recent book is Great Comeback: Religion in Global Politics and International Relation in the End of 20th – Beginning of 21st Century.
Andriy Yurash is the Director of the Department for Religious Affairs and Nationalities of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. He has a PhD in Political Science. He is an Associate Professor at the Ivan Franko National University of L’viv, a member of the International Editorial Board of the journal Religion, State & Society, of the International Study of Religion in Eastern and Central Europe Association (ISORECEA), and of the Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies Scientists. He has participated in more than 60 international and 10 All-Ukrainian conferences and seminars. He is the author of Pope John Paul II, co-editor of several editions, and has written several chapters, brochures,and over 100 scientific articles published in 9 languages. He has done 870 interviews and special comments for Ukrainian and foreign media (press, radio, television), and more than 100 analytical articles in the media of Ukraine, Canada, France, Russia.
Judge Jay Scott Bybee is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University, majoring in Economics. He earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School. Following three years of private practice in Washington, D.C., Judge Bybee worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, first in the Office of Legal Policy and then in the Civil Division. He then served as Associate Counsel to US President George H. W. Bush. He was on the faculty of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University and later, the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2001, Judge Bybee was appointed as Assistant Attorney General, leading the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice. Nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2003. He has co-authored two books and written more than 20 law review articles, notes, comments, and book chapters.
Judge David G. Campbell is a United States District Judge for the District of Arizona. Following his graduation from the University of Utah Law School, he served as a law clerk for Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court. He worked as a commercial litigator for 20 years with the Phoenix law firm of Osborn Maledon before joining the bench. He serves as the current chair of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, has worked with the courts of Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia on judicial case management, and has taught civil procedure and constitutional law at the Arizona State and BYU Law Schools.
Elizabeth A. Clark has since the Center’s founding in 2000 helped organize and execute dozens of activities around the world. In addition to co-authoring numerous publications, she has been the lead drafter of several amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court and has provided expert commentary on pending legislation in several countries. She leads the Center’s efforts in Eastern and Central Europe and manages the Center’s annual International Law and Religion Symposium. Before joining the law school, Professor Clark specialized in appellate litigation with the firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt in Washington, DC. She graduated summa cum laude from BYU Law School and was editor-in-chief of the BYU Law Review. Professor Clark speaks Russian, Czech, German and French.
Gary B. Doxey joined the Center in 2005 and serves as regional advisor for Latin America. He also heads the Center’s development effort. He has co-authored several commentaries on draft legislation, and a number of amicus briefs in Latin America. He also teaches in the History Department at BYU. Professor Doxey’s career has been divided between academia and public service. Prior to joining the law school, he was chief of staff and general counsel to Utah governors Mike Leavitt and Olene Walker, serving as deputy commissioner of financial institutions and as associate general counsel to the Utah Legislature. He has a PhD in History from Cambridge University and a JD from BYU. He speaks or reads several languages and has authored several scholarly publications.
Cole Durham has been Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies since the Center was officially organized on January 1, 2000. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was a Note Editor of the Harvard Law Review and Managing Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. He has been heavily involved in comparative law scholarship, with a special emphasis on comparative constitutional law. He is President of the International Consortium of Law and Religion Studies, headquartered in Milan, Italy, a Founding Editor of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, and Editor, with Gerhard Robbers, of the forthcoming Brill Encyclopedia of Law and Religion. He served as the Secretary of the American Society of Comparative Law from 1989 to 1994. He is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law in Paris—the premier academic organization at the global level in comparative law. He served as a General Rapporteur for the topic "Religion and the Secular State" at the 18th International Congress of Comparative Law held in July 2010. He served in earlier years as Chair both of the Comparative Law Section and the Law and Religion Section of the American Association of Law Schools. He was awarded the International First Freedom Award by the First Freedom Center in Richmond, Virginia, and received an honorary doctorate from Ovidius University in Constanţa, Romania.
Rosalind I. J. Hackett is Professor and Head of Religious Studies and adjunct in Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, where she was a Distinguished Professor in the Humanities. Prior to receiving her PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, she taught at Nigerian universities, spent a year as Liberal Arts Fellow in Law and Religion, Harvard Law School, and Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of World Religions. She was a Rockefeller Research Fellow at the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and was appointed a Mellon Fellow at the University of Cape Town in Religious Studies. She has published widely on religion in Africa. She is President of the International Association for the History of Religions and the co-founder of the IAHR Women Scholars Network. She was a founding member of the African Association for the Study of Religions, has served as President of the North American Association for the Study of Religions, is part of the founding steering committee of the African Consortium on Law and Religion Studies, founder/coordinator of the Jazz for Justice Project and the UT Gulu Study and Service Abroad Program in northern Uganda.
Judge Roger Hunt, currently on Senior Status, served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge from 1992-2000 and was the Chair of the Executive Board of the Ninth Circuit Magistrate Judges Conference when appointed to the District bench. He has served as U.S. District Judge since May 2000. He was the Chief Judge of the District of Nevada from 2007- May 2011, when he took Senior Status. Judge Hunt served on the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council while Chief Judge. He obtained his JD degree, with honors, from George Washington University in 1970 and his BA degree from BYU in History.
Scott Isaacson is a Senior Fellow and Regional Advisor for Latin America with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and a member of the International section of the law firm Kirton McConkie. He advises domestic and foreign businesses and not-for-profit organizations regarding all aspects of international trade and business, with specific emphasis in Latin America. He previously served as International Legal Counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, supervising all of the church's legal work in South America. As part of this position, he managed international real estate acquisitions and construction, complex litigation and international arbitration, international tax compliance for not-for-profit organizations, government relations, and legal implementation of new programs. On a regular basis, he makes presentations at international seminars held in countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Mexico about legal matters related to non-profit and religious organizations. Isaacson is recognized as one of Utah's Legal Elite in international law.
David M. Kirkham is academic director of Brigham Young University Ltd (London Centre) and a professor in the BYU department of Political Science. He joined the International Center for Law and Religion Studies in 2007 as Regional Advisor for Europe and also served as Senior Fellow for Comparative Law and International Policy, a position he still holds. Before joining the Center, he was Associate Dean and Professor of International Politics and Democratic Studies at George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, and Associate Professor of History, Director of International History, and Director of International Plans and Programs at the US Air Force Academy. He conducted international negotiations and diplomatic activities for several years for the US Government and United Nations, including as Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva (with duties primarily in Africa). He has represented the US and UN in more some 60 nations on 6 continents. He holds BA and JD degrees from BYU and a PhD from George Washington University.
Sir Michael Leigh is senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States in Washington DC. Since 2011 he has led GMF’s project on Eastern Mediterranean energy, which focuses on the geopolitical implications of gas discoveries in the region. He has written and lectured extensively on the future of the EU and the Eurozone, enlargement and eastern partnership, particularly Ukraine, Turkey’s relations with the EU and their common neighborhood, and Europe’s response to political change in the Mediterranean and Middle East. He was director-general for enlargement at the European Commission and before that was external relations deputy director-general with responsibility for European Neighborhood Policy, relations with Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East, and the Mediterranean countries. He was chief negotiator with the Czech Republic and other candidate countries. In more than thirty years in EU institutions, he was cabinet member for various Commissioners and director in the Task Force for the EU Accession Negotiations, and he contributed to the development of the single market and the common fisheries policy. He began his career as assistant professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy and lecturer in international relations at the University of Sussex. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from M.I.T.
David Little is a research fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. He retired in 2009 as T.J. Dermot Dunphy Professor of the Practice in Religion, Ethnicity, and International Conflict at Harvard Divinity School and as an associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He was Senior Scholar in Religion, Ethics and Human Rights at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC and taught at the University of Virginia and Yale Divinity School. He was member of the State Department Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. He is co-author with Scott W. Hibbard of Islamic Activism and U.S. Foreign Policy, and author of publications on Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and Tibet (with Hibbard) in the USIP series on religion, nationalism, and intolerance. He published two edited volumes: Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution, and Religion and Nationalism in Iraq: A Comparative Perspective (with Swearer) and has authored articles on religion and human rights, the history of rights and constitutionalism, and religion and peace. Cambridge University Press has published a book of his writings, Essays on Religion and Human Rights: Ground to Stand On, and a book of responses to his work by colleagues and former students, Religion and Public Policy: Human Rights, Conflict, and Ethics (ed. Twiss, Simion & Petersen).
Brett G. Scharffs is associate dean at the law school, Francis R. Kirkham Professor of Law, and associate director of the Center. Professor Scharffs’ teaching and scholarly interests include comparative law and religion, philosophy of law, and international business law. He graduated from Georgetown University with a BSBA in international business and an MA in philosophy. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he earned a BPhil in philosophy. He received his JD from Yale Law School, where he was senior editor of the Yale Law Journal. He is a visiting professor each year at Central European University in Budapest and is a regular contributing scholar in law and education programs in China and Vietnam. He has written more than 50 articles and book chapters.
Robert T. Smith has been Managing Director of the Center since 2006. He is also the Center’s regional advisor for Africa and the United States. Before joining the law school, Professor Smith served as executive vice-president and general counsel to a technology company, and as chairman of the Corporate and Tax Department at the law firm of Kirton & McConkie after practicing tax law in Washington D.C and Chicago, IL. Professor Smith is a magna cum laude graduate of the J. Reuben Clark Law School, where he was named to the Order of the Coif and served as editor-in-chief of the BYU Law Review. Previously he earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame (magna cum laude) and a bachelor’s degree from BYU in accounting.
Judge Stuart T. Waldrip was a business litigator in California for 29 years before being appointed to the Orange County Superior Court. His legal career has spanned more than 45 years. He presided over hundreds of case management and settlement conferences, felony criminal and civil trials, and other judicial proceedings. He has received many awards and honors, including having been inducted as a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. His final assignment before retiring from the Court was as a member of the elite Complex Civil Litigation Panel. He presided over complex confastruction, product defect, class action, intellectual property, mass tort, condemnation and other large and difficult civil cases. Since 2005, he has been affiliated with Judicate West and Intermountain Dispute Resolution, serving as a mediator, arbitrator, special master and referee on hundreds of disputed matters. He lived in Bulgaria as a special advisor to the Bulgarian Judiciary and Administrative Branch for 6 months in 2010. He conducted training on judicial management of corruption and high-profile criminal cases, judicial ethics, case management and related topics. He attended over 200 court proceedings, made presentations to over 1000 judges, and was involved in the creation of Bulgaria’s Specialized Court for high-profile criminal cases. His service earned him the commendation of the Red Badge of Honor from The Bulgarian National Institute of Justice. He has been to Bulgaria four times and has had similar, shorter assignments in Romania, Slovakia, Montenegro, and Timor Leste.
Judge J. Clifford Wallace is a Navy veteran and a 1955 graduate of the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law. He has devoted more than fifty years to the law, as partner in a San Diego law firm, as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, and as member, Chief Judge, and Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Since assuming Senior Judge status in 1996, Judge Wallace has spent much of his time traveling every continent of the world to promote the rule of law in developing countries. A prolific writer, lecturer, and teacher, he has taught courses in judicial administration in the United States and throughout the world and has consulted with more than fifty judiciaries worldwide. He developed the concept of the Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific and originated the idea and developed the concept for the American Inns of Court. He has received many honors, recognitions, and awards, including the 2005 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, generally regarded as “the most prestigious honor conferred on a member of the federal judiciary,” and the 2009 Distinguished Service Award for Religious Freedom from the International Center for Law and Religion Studies.
Mr. Pham Xuan Truong was trained at the Academy of Politics and Military from 1980 to 1987. He has worked in the Military as a teacher, a trainer, and a leader, before moving to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2008. Since June 2013, he has worked as the Deputy General Director, Protestant Department, Government Committee for Religion Affairs in the Ministry of Home Affairs where he is responsible for counseling the Protestant Church’s activities and conducting conferences in the Southern provinces following the Vietnam Constitutions and Law. In addition, he analyses individuals’ opinions and recommendations on religion activities in their local community and communicates those to his leaders.
Nguyen Thanh Xuan is Deputy Head of Public Security, Ministry of Public Security, and is a Religion Specialist. He is a graduate of the Academy of the People’s Security (1996-2001) and has worked at the Department of Public Security, Ministry of Public Security, as a specialist in religion since November 2001. He serves as an advisor in the Department of Religion and directs research regarding the development of religion in Vietnam. He holds the rank of Captain.
Ahmed M. Ebrahim studied law in the United Kingdom, where he was admitted as a barrister in 1962. He worked in Zimbabwe’s legal system for 50 years. He started as a clerk at the Criminal Court in September and was at the Attorney-General’s Office for 19 years, rising to the position of Director of Public Prosecution, before he was appointed High Court judge in 1984. He was elevated to the Supreme Court where he spent 12 years before he retired in 2002. At his retirement, he was the second most senior judge on the bench. In 2004 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award by the Indian government for his outstanding role in fostering good relations between Zimbabwe and India. He is currently one of the five international judges of appeal in Swaziland and is current chair of the committee set up to probe the Asiagate match-fixing scandal in football.