Dr. Arik Greenburg (PhD, President) is the founder of the Institute for Religious Tolerance, Peace & Justice and will speak on the topics of his personal religious journey, and how this led to his founding of the Institute — the crystallization of his life’s work—and will highlight several of their programs, including the Interfaith Solidarity Marches, the Interfaith Ambassador Program, and the newly launched "Our Muslim Neighbors" forum. He will also touch on the possible roles of religion in the 21st century and beyond, in an age of simultaneously increasing secularization and fundamentalism, as well as the need to reach out to our more conservative colleagues in what is the next frontier in interfaith work.  

Dr. Greenberg is an ardent advocate for interfaith dialogue and collaboration as pathways to world peace. Having studied numerous world religions, he received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Claremont Graduate University, specializing in New Testament and Christian Origins, with emphasis on the diversity of belief within early Christianity. He currently serves on the Theology faculty of both Loyola Marymount University and Ezra University.