Valarie Kaur, Program Director, is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, advocate, and public speaker. A third-generation Sikh American, she uses strategic storytelling to advance social action campaigns on racial justice, immigration reform, religious pluralism, and gender equality. Her critically acclaimed documentary film Divided We Fall (2008) on hate crimes after September 11th has inspired national grassroots dialogue, including the Common Ground Campaign. Valarie has clerked on the Senate Judiciary Committee, traveled to Guantanamo to report on the military commissions, and helped lead a multi-pronged campaign against racial profiling in East Haven, CT. She has been invited to speak on her work in 150 U.S. cities and media outlets such as CNN, NPR, The New York Times, and the BBC. Valarie holds a Bachelor’s in religion and international relations at Stanford University, a Master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she also teaches visual advocacy as director of the Yale Visual Law Project.

Jodi Elliott, Project Manager, worked closely with grassroots networks for three years as the tour director for Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath. She worked as assistant to two award-winning filmmakers and producers in Los Angeles and has appeared in several national commercials. She coordinated and programmed the Los Angeles United Film Festival and spent a year performing national service with AmeriCorps*NCCC.  Jodi holds a Bachelor’s in anthropology from the University of Virginia.

Jake Goodman, Director, Groundswell of Courage Campaign, is a community organizer and educator.  He is a founding member of Queer Rising, which demands full equality, dignity and protection for all queer people through nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience.  As a Jewish educator, Jake has taught, spoken and served as scholar-in-residence at seminaries, synagogues, churches, JCC's, camps and retreat centers across the United States and in Israel.  He is the LABA Kids Director and pre-school storyteller at the 14th Street Y, and a company member of Storahtelling, for whom he previously served as Associate Director.  Boards: Baltimore Open Theatre, Guiding Proud and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.  Jake holds an MA in Experiential Jewish Eduction from the Davidson School at JTS and a BFA in Acting from Emerson College.

Isaac Luria, Senior Director for Engagement, New Media and Technology, Auburn Theological Seminary, is a leader in online organizing and new media development. As Vice President and Online Director at J Street, he developed and managed traditional communications, new media, and technology strategies at both the national and local levels. He built a database of 170,000 members through viral advocacy campaigns and partnerships and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars online from small donors for political candidates and nonprofits. Previously, Isaac worked with Donordigital in San Francisco, developing and implementing online fundraising and advocacy strategies for major national non-profit organizations such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, Earthjustice, Parents’ Action for Children, and Campaign to Defend the Constitution. Isaac holds a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Trinity College. From 2007 to 2008, Isaac lived in Jerusalem as a Dorot Fellow.

Rev. John H. Vaughn, Executive Vice President, Auburn Theological Seminary, led the Twenty-First Century Foundation’s response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita from relief to rebuilding. He created the Black Men and Boys program that is forming a national policy agenda shaped both by and for local communities. He also served as one of four senior pastors at the historic Riverside Church as Minister for Education and Social Justice.

Auburn Media

Macky Alston, Director of Auburn Media, leads Auburn’s efforts to provide informed, engaging coverage of religion in the media. Alston is an award-winning filmmaker and an organizer in the worlds of media and religion. He has received the Sundance Film Festival Freedom of Expression Award, the Gotham Open Palm Award, three Emmy nominations, and appeared widely in the press, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show and The New York Times. Alston is currently making a documentary film about the Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and the church/state battle over LGBT equality entitled The Truth Will Set You Free.

Susan Reed
Susan K. Reed, former Editor-in-Chief of O, The Oprah Magazine, joins Auburn as Director of Strategy at Auburn Media and Communications. Susan is a nationally recognized editor and media consultant whose positions have included Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast’s Golf for Women Magazine, Senior Literary agent at IMG, as well as senior positions at editorial positions at Conde Nast’s Sports for Women, Forbes and People. Susan also works with authors and major publishers on new media strategy and marketing. She serves on the Board of Directors of Union Theological Seminary, New York Theological Seminary, and Friendfactor, a new social media-based LGBT advocacy organization.

Kellie Anderson-Picallo, Auburn Media Associate for Media and Education, is a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister who brings her years of producing and writing for PBS and Discovery into her ministry. An Emmy-Award winning producer, she knows the power of the media to create transformation and her ministry is to help responsible voices use the media as a pulpit to further the common good. Kellie is a frequent preacher and teacher in the New York City Presbytery and holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary.

Claudia Gunter, Director of Public Relations at Auburn Media, has helped many progressive social organizations and causes to advance their missions through media. At the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), she led the production and marketing of Our Cities Ourselves, ITDP’s 25th anniversary campaign, a landmark exhibition at AIA Center for Architecture in New York City. At Fenton Communications, the country’s largest progressive public relations firm, Claudia worked with clients including Oxfam America, One Nation for All, and The Tavis Smiley Group, securing media placements in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and The Washington Post.