Harvard in Tech and COVID Foundation Interfaith Webinar

Where do we get the moral strength to deal with an ambiguous and isolating crisis? How can the world's religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions help us at this time ― not only in terms of mental health, but how can we also bring out the best, bravest, most loving and helpful parts of ourselves in the midst of fear, exhaustion, anger, and grief?

Join the Covid Foundation and Harvard in Tech for a webinar featuring prominent religious and nonreligious leaders in the Harvard community, including a diverse group of Harvard Chaplains, an inspiring mindfulness teacher, and the current President of Harvard College's Interfaith student fellowship.

Greg M. Epstein serves as the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and MIT, and he is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, “Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.” In addition to his most recent writing as the Ethicist in Residence at leading Silicon Valley publication TechCrunch, Greg’s writing has appeared in CNN.com, The Washington Post and Newsweek, among others. In 2005, he received ordination as a Humanist Rabbi from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. He holds a B.A. (Religion and Chinese) and an M.A. (Judaic Studies) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Masters of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School. harvardhumanist.org / @gregmepstein

Lama Rod Owens is an author, activist and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Owens is the co-founder of Bhumisparsha, a Buddhist tantric practice and study community. Has been published in Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar, Tricycle and The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, and offers talks, retreats and workshops in more than seven countries. His next book, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger comes out in June 2020. He can be reached at lamarod.com.

Rabbi Jonah C. Steinberg, Ph.D. Born in Canada and raised in downtown Toronto and in Vienna, Austria, Jonah received his BA at Brown University, and his MA, MPhil. and PhD. degrees at Columbia University. He served as Visiting Instructor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, taught at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the American Jewish University, and headed the program in Rabbinic Literature and Civilization at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College before becoming Associate Dean of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. Jonah has received the New Scholar Award from Harvard’s Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and has published articles exploring rabbinic sources and traditions and ways in which this legacy can inspire us today.

Pat and Tammy McLeod serve as Harvard Chaplains for Cru, an interdenominational Christian ministry. Tammy is also the Director of College Ministry at Park Street Church in Boston. She received her MA in Spiritual Formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Pat holds an MA in Theological Studies from the International School of Theology and an MA in Science & Religion and a PhD in Practical Theology from Boston University. They are founding members of the Mamelodi Initiative in the township of Mamelodi, South Africa—a project that connects Harvard students with at-risk youth in a mentoring and educational program to prepare them for college. Pat and Tammy, certified instructors for Interpersonal Communication Programs, Inc., have been married for more than three decades and are parents to four grown children. They coauthored the book Hit Hard: One Family’s Journey of Letting God of What Was and Learning to Live Well with What Is in which they share their journey into the world of ambiguous loss that began after their son suffered a traumatic brain injury playing football. Zach’s story received media coverage by ABC, NBC, CBS, and NPR.Recently they started COVID-19 Conversations on their website hoping to help others be resilient in ambiguous loss. patandtammymcleod.com Facebook:@patandtammymcleod Instagram:@patandtammymcleod

Sana Shareef is a sophomore at Harvard College studying Religion and Human, Developmental, and Regenerative Biology. She serves as President of the Facilitators for Religious, Ethical, and Spiritual Inquiry (FRESI) and is very involved in the Harvard College Interfaith Forum. She is also involved in public service initiatives at the Institute of Politics and conducts hematopoietic stem cell research at MGH. Sana is not only passionate about interfaith efforts and peace building, but also the interplay between faith and medicine