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Community Corner

Faith in Diversity: A Spectacular Evening of Fellowship

The American
Conference on Diversity (ACOD) in collaboration with the tri-state area South
Asian Business Alliance Network (SABAN) invite you to “Defining Moments in
Diversity: The Power Among Us to Create Lasting Change,” a spectacular evening
of fellowship to explore the role faith has in empowering women throughout New
Jersey. This is building on the richness of SABAN’s annual Loving Light
Interfaith celebration.



On Thursday, October
10, you will have the opportunity to network with several of the state’s most
powerful women leaders representing many different faiths and hear their
remarkable defining moments, while enjoying cultural entertainment, ethnic
foods, and more!



“The American
Conference on Diversity was founded in building bridging across religious,
racial, gender, and cultural communities. So it only seems fitting, as we
celebrate our 65th anniversary, that we kick off a new annual event and 
join our state’s diverse communities together for an evening of networking and
interfaith learning,” says ACOD’s President and CEO Elizabeth Williams-Riley.

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Confirmed guest
speakers representing several different faiths include:



►Atiya Aftab, the first woman Chairperson of the board of
the Islamic Society of Central Jersey

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►Rabbi Stephanie
Dickstein
, spiritual care
coordinator for the Sheila Ruskay Center of the Jewish Board of Family and
Children’s Services and UJA/Federation of New York, started rabbinical
schooling at the Jewish Theological Seminary where she was part of the second
class ever to include women



►Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi, one of our 2012 Greater Bergen Chapter
Humanitarian Award honorees, a published author and Fairleigh Dickinson
University Associate Professor of Education, whose work intersects racial,
religious, and all other dimensions of diversity and inclusion



►Cassandra Martin,
MHS,
training and
organizational development specialist at Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey, and a Priestess of the Lucumi faith



►Sheryl Olitzky, owner of a pharmaceutical marketing company
and an advocate for Jewish/Muslim interfaith relations among women



►Camelia M. Valdes,
Esq.,
a Christian,
is the first Latina County Prosecutor in New Jersey, the first woman
prosecutor in Passaic County, and the first lead prosecutor of Dominican
ancestry in the United States



►Dr. Nuray Yurt, Central Jersey Director of Peace Islands
Institute, a Newark, NJ-based human equality organization that promotes mutual
respect and acceptance among all people and religions.



“This Loving
Light Interfaith celebration reflects joy, peace, and love around the world,”
says Pam H. Kwatra, a member of the American Conference on Diversity Board of
Trustees, the event chair, and President of Kripari Marketing. Ms. Kwatra
is also one of SABAN’s founders and a past president.



Where: Royal Albert’s Palace in Edison, NJ,
centrally located within the state and only five minutes from NJ Turnpike &
the Garden State Parkway.



When: Thursday, October 10. Grand reception begins
at 6:30 p.m.



Tickets: $65 (non-refundable); advance purchase is
required.



To register: Visit http://FaithInDiversity2013.kintera.org.



Sponsorship
opportunities are also available. For more information, please contact Damica
Williams at damica@americanconferenceondiversity.org or call 732-745-9330.



Planning committee
members include:
Holy Name Medical
Center, Islamic Society of Central Jersey, Jewish Community Relations Council
of the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ, Kripari Marketing, Mount
Calvary Baptist Church, Peace Island Institute, and South Asian Business
Alliance Network.



About SABAN



The South Asian
Business Alliance Network is a pro-business nonprofit organization with 12
chapters nationwide. It was created in 1998 to promote and develop a
pro-business and networking environment by organizing business events and
activities for South Asian-owned and -represented small to large businesses
throughout the United States.



About the American
Conference on Diversity



The programs,
services, and initiatives of the American Conference on Diversity are among the
most important work focused on creating a more inclusive society. It is the
unfinished business of living in a highly diverse nation: educating and
empowering our next generation of leaders; enhancing our workplaces; and
helping to create inclusive communities. The American Conference on Diversity,
which has been serving schools, organizations, workplaces, and communities in
New Jersey since 1948, builds on a historic mission and creates programs and
activities relevant and vital to 21st Century life. It is a journey we can all
take together. The American Conference on Diversity operates eight chapters to
help us to educate and empower leaders and bring our messages of inclusion and
respect to communities throughout New Jersey: Atlantic County Chapter, Bayonne
Chapter, Central Jersey Chapter, Essex County Chapter, Greater Bergen Chapter,
Hudson County Chapter, Jersey Shore Chapter, and Mercer County Chapter. Visit www.AmericanConferenceonDiversity.org to learn
more.



 

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