DR. LINDA MILLS, DIRECTOR

Co-Founder, Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership
Co-Chair, Of Many Advisory Board

Artist, author, activist, therapist, and academic Linda G. Mills has been producing and directing movies for the better part of the past decade. Her last two films, Of Many and Better to Live, premiered in consecutive years at the Tribeca Film Festival. Of Many (2014) — a collaboration with executive producer Chelsea Clinton — went on to play at 16 festivals, including AFI Docs. It later traveled to Tunisia as part of the American Film Showcase and earned a Wilbur Award from the Religious Communicators Council. In 2017, an expanded version of the documentary, titled Of Many: Then and Now, debuted on ABC to 8.1 million viewers. Mills' second official selection at Tribeca, Better to Live (2015), chronicles the story of university drama majors who tackle the travails of college life.

Her first documentary film, Auf Wiedersehen: ‘Til We Meet Again (2010), played at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, where it earned the runner-up audience award, and at seven other festivals, including in Philadelphia, Israel, Minneapolis, and Vienna. 

Most recently, The Rest of Us (2018) — Mills’ first narrative feature film, produced by Mary Stuart Masterson — is set on the campus of Blair University in the aftermath of 9/11, where a diverse group of students struggle to make sense of their place in a new world order. In her latest documentary, No Contact (2018), Linda builds on over 20 years of research on domestic violence to raise serious questions about whether two million “stay away” orders each year do more harm than good as they contribute significantly to mass incarceration and poverty in the US. In addition to filmmaking, Mills is Vice Chancellor for Global Programs and University Life at NYU, where she also is the Lisa Ellen Goldberg Professor. Her academic work has been published by Princeton University Press, Basic Books, and Harvard Law Review, and has been featured in USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.


CHELSEA CLINTON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Co-Founder, Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership
Co-Chair, Of Many Advisory Board

Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, works alongside her parents, President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, to drive the vision and work of the Clinton Foundation. Chelsea previously worked at McKinsey & Company and Avenue Capital. Chelsea serves on the boards of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the School of American Ballet, the Africa Center and the Weill Cornell Medical College. Chelsea holds a B.A. from Stanford, a MPhil from Oxford, a MPH from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a Doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University. She, her husband Marc, and their two children live in New York City.


IMAM KHALID LATIF

Muslim Chaplain, New York University
Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership

After attending NYU as an undergraduate student and serving as the president of the Islamic Center student organization on campus, Khalid Latif began to serve as Muslim chaplain to both NYU and the New York City Police Department. At NYU, Imam Latif began to conduct multifaith work with Rabbi Yehuda Sarna. Inspired by the thousands of students in religious services at NYU, Imam Latif was seeking to create an opportunity to work across faiths. Imam Latif, working closely with Rabbi Sarna, Chelsea Clinton, and Linda Mills, founded Of Many in response to NYU students who sought opportunities to cross faith boundaries. As an adjunct faculty member of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Imam Latif and Rabbi Sarna now co-teach a course at NYU titled, “Multifaith Leadership in the 21st Century,” also an offering in the Minor in Multifaith and Spiritual Leadership.


RABBI YEHUDA SARNA

Jewish Chaplain, New York University
Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna has been the Skirball Executive Director of NYU’s Bronfman Center or Jewish Student Life since 2002.  He has been deeply involved in multifaith work for his entire tenure at NYU. Joining the University in the wake of the September 11th attacks, Rabbi Sarna – collaborating with Imam Latif  – has worked to ensure that the tenor of Jewish-Muslim dialogue on campus remains peaceful and supportive. Inspired by the thousands of Jewish students at NYU, Rabbi Sarna helped create a pathway for multifaith activities through Of Many, as one of its co-founders. As an adjunct faculty member at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Rabbi Sarna now co-teaches a course with Imam Latif titled, “Multifaith Leadership in the 21st Century.”


PETER GOODRICH, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Peter Goodrich left England for love. He moved from the nocturnal cerebrations of Birkbeck Law School, London, to the diurnal perambulations of Cardozo School of Law, New York, in 1999. In the expansive domains of international legal education, Peter teaches and researches law, aesthetics and film, and, not afraid of short titles, recently published Legal Emblems and the Art of Law: Obiter Depicta as the Vision of Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Peter co-authored and co-produced the feature documentary Auf Wiedersehen: ‘Til We Meet Again (Diskin Films, 2011) and has worked on several short films before taking on the umbrageous role of Artistic Director of the instant documentary.


ARIEL ENNIS, PRODUCER (NOW)

Ariel Ennis is the Assistant Director at the Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership in the Office of Global Spiritual Life at NYU. He is responsible for NYU's award winning Faith Zone Workshops, the Chaplains' Circle and other diversity education initiatives. He is the author of Teaching Religious Literacy: A Guide to Religious and Spiritual Diversity in Higher Education, is the creator and host of the Multifaithful Podcast, and is an Adjunct Lecturer for the Multifaith Service Learning course at the Silver School of Social Work. Ariel is currently enrolled in the Langone Part-Time MBA Program at NYU and graduated from NYU with a BA in Jewish History and Civilization and a minor in Politics in 2012.


DANIELLE EMERY, PRODUCER (THEN)

Danielle Emery was a research scholar at NYU’s Center on Violence and Recovery, where she oversaw the Center’s programs. Danielle researches issues of public policy, including alternative treatment options for domestic violence offenders. She is particularly interested in music and film culture and their impact on political and religious perception, and worked closely with the Of Many Institute team on numerous multifaith initiatives at NYU. She was an assistant producer on the documentary feature Auf Wiedersehen: ‘Til We Meet Again, and then took up the reigns of producing for Of Many. Danielle has an MPA from NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. 


ELIZABETH SWADOS, composer

Elizabeth Swados has composed, written, and directed for over 30 years. She currently teaches drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Some of her works include Trilogy, Alice at the Palace, Runaways, and Groundhog. Swados has been creating issue-oriented theater with young people for her entire career. This work has culminated in a theatrical extravaganza for New York University, The Reality Show, about college life in New York City. Swados has published novels, non-fiction books, children's books and poetry to great acclaim, and received the Ken Award for her book, My Depression. Awards include: Five Tony nominations, three Obie Awards, Guggenheim Fellowship, Ford Grant, Helen Hayes Award, Lila Acheson Wallace Grant, PEN Citation, and others. Upcoming events include: My Depression: The Up and Down and Up of It, directed and written by David Wachtenheim, Robert Marianetti and Elizabeth Swados, an animated short film based on her book, My Depression, featuring Sigourney Weaver. This film will have its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and is produced by HBO. 


YAEL SHY, ESQ.

Director, Global Spiritual Life Office and Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership

Yael is the Director of the Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership and NYU's Global Spiritual Life Office. She is the former Director of Development and Education at the NYU Center on Violence and Recovery, and an NYU alumna. She is also the Founder and Director of the Mindfulness Project at NYU, the University’s home for contemplative mindfulness, yoga, and meditation programming. Yael received her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

 

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