Teachers & Visionaries

Syrian-born writer and senior-ranking professor of international relations in the School of International Service at American University

Social activist and spiritual director to many of New York City’s homeless youth

An Episcopal priest, the Dean of the Episcopal Grace Cathedral in San Francisco from 1985 until January 2009, prominent lecturer in Episcopal, academic and spiritual circles both nationally and internationally

An Eskimo-Kalaallit Elder whose family belongs to the traditional healers of the Far North from Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland

Cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses

Kenyan author, activist and inspirational speaker and social activist who has committed his life to halting the continuing cycle of violence among the youth, Azim became a social activist

Indigenous rights activist and co-Founder and Director of Land is Life, an international network of indigenous communities and organizations with a long history of significant achievements

Evolutionary cosmologist on the graduate faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness Program

Co-Founder and Director of Threshold Society, and has worked in the Mevlevi tradition for over 25 years. She has recently authored a book on the original writings of Shams of Tabriz as well as translated a substantial portion of the Qur’an

Sufi teacher, author, President of Turkish Women’s Cultural Association, Istanbul (TURKKAD)

The president and spiritual head of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, a spiritual institution based in Rishikesh, India

El-Molo leader from Kenya, and head of a women’s cooperative. El-Molo is the smallest tribe in Kenya.

An American poet, and former literature faculty at the University of Georgia. The most popular interpreter of Rumi, rewriting the poems based on other English translations

Modern day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader

A Catholic Benedictine monk, notable for his active participation in interfaith dialogue and his work on the interaction between spirituality and science

Therapist, clinical psychologist, and Executive Director of ICAH, whose work is based on the power of unconditional love and forgiveness

Internationally recognized transformational healer, psychotherapist, writer and educator

Iranian scholar, Philosopher, author and lecturer on literature, art and mysticism

Native American woman working in monumental bronze sculpting, recognized internationally as one of the finest sculptors living today

Commonly referred to as Ustad Mahwash, a singer and voice of Afghanistan, the first woman to have been conferred the honorary title of "Ustad" in 1977

Mayan elder, healer, and founding member of Institute of Natural and Traditional Knowledge, from the big highlands of Central America on the Nicaragua/ Honduras border

A practicing Buddhist and co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project

Shaman and leader of the Zapara people who live in Ecuador and Peru, known for using shamanic methods to fight against private and State-owned companies seeking to exploit oil deposits in Sápara territory

Iranian author, professor emeritus of Islamic studies at George Washington University, and an Islamic philosopher

Bestselling American author and teacher in the vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism

American philosopher, author and religious scholar born into a Jewish family, and educated at Harvard University, Yale University and the University of Freiburg, Germany

Former Wolf Clan sub-chief of the Kahniakehaka (People of the Flint), Mohawk Nation

Founder/Director of the Mevlevi Order of America, who has taught the Mevlevi teachings and turning to sufi communities in California, New York, and Hawaii

Physician, psychiatrist, and authority in psychiatry, health, business & education

Environmental activist, author, scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology

American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine

Rabbi, writer and lecturer, devoting much of his professional life to the dissemination and promotion of Jewish spirituality

American environmental activist and tax redirection advocate

British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion

Psychologist, therapist and workshop leader specializing in grief and loss, trauma, and depression

Mohawk Storyteller, former teacher and former director of the Kanatsiohareke Mohawk Community

Tibetan spiritual teacher of the Nyingma Longchen Nying-Thig order of Tibetan Buddhism

American epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist

Professor in Persian Language, Rumi scholar, and radio talk show commentator on the topic of spirituality in France

Sufi mystic, lecturer and author of several books about Sufism, mysticism, dreamwork and spirituality

Sufi teacher and founder of The Circle of Light; a vehicle for the transmission of the innate Wisdom, Beauty and Goodness of the divine feminine

Iranian master of Persian painting and miniatures from Isfahan whose masterpieces have been hosted by museums and exhibitions such as Bibliotheque Nationale, The British Library, Freer Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum, and Harvard University

A Brazilian Xane’ leader who has devoted his life to working for the rights of indigenous people and for the earth itself, founder of the first indigenous political movement in Brazil, the Union of Indigenous Nations

Senior Lecturer and Research Scholar at Yale University

Afghan diplomat, linguist and urbane poet. Khalili is the son of the famous Dari language and Afghan poet laureate, Ustad Khalilullah Khalili

Global ecologist, anthropologist, historian, author and filmmaker and president of the Dancing Star Foundation

Turkish musician and composer, who plays a wide range of wind, string, percussion and electronic instruments

Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Once a college lacrosse player, Lyons is now a recognized advocate of indigenous rights.

Iranian-American filmmaker, TV host and media professional, host and director for the One Through Love project, a global Rumi initiative

American psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, a pioneer in the study of emotions and their relation to facial expressions

British Scholar, scientist, and keynote speaker and former director of Portuguese Studies at the University of Oxford

Reform rabbi and the scholar-in-residence at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco, California

Author, teacher of alternative medicine in the form of integrative medicine

American spiritual teacher, former academic and clinical psychologist, and the author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now.

An Austrian cultural historian, systems scientist, educator, attorney, speaker, and author whose work on cultural transformation has inspired scholars and social activists

American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism

Australian professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, within UCI's College of Medicine

Turkish painter, teacher and author with over 25 national and international exhibitions on what she calls “the different states of Love”

Performance poet, award-winning translator, scholar and author and a recording artist, whose principal subject is Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet and philosopher

One of the foremost voices in African spirituality to come to the West, destined from birth to teach the ancient wisdom, ritual, and practices of her native land Burkina Faso

Antiguan-Quebecoise Woman Multilingual Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Vocalist Whirling Dervish, Arts Organizer, & Educator

Turkish reed flute maker and instructor who wants to be called after his life passion, hence the name Naymaker. He has a white cat he loves.

A lay Benedictine, the founder of the Chalice of Repose Project and the palliative medical modality known as “music-thanatology.”

A Netherlands New Guinean-born Dutch activist for West Papuan independence and self-determination

Author, radio commentator, comedian, and Buddhist meditation instructor

Retired bishop of the Episcopal Church based in San Francisco, from 1980 to 2006

Senior elder of the Wardaman people in the Northern Territory of Australia, known as an artist, storyteller, and musician

Scholar and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, Inayat Khan

Peruvian anthropologist, professor at UC Davis and filmmaker. Her work lies at the crossroads of anthropology, history, ethnomusicology, dance, performance, and Native American studies