Instructors
This course includes 29 speakers representing 10 distinct faith traditions; as well as secular philosophers, scholars, theologians, development professionals, and NGO and business leaders. Many were participants in a series of discussions hosted by the Ethics In Action initiative that took place at the Vatican from 2016 to 2018. Others joined a follow-up meeting in New York's Hudson Valley in 2019.
Lead Faculty
Dr. William F. Vendley is the Secretary General Emeritus (1994-2019) of Religions for Peace International, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace by working to advance multi-religious consensus on positive aspects of peace as well as concrete actions to stop war, help eliminate extreme poverty and protect the earth.
William is a pioneer in advancing multi-religious cooperation to help resolve conflict and advance development and has facilitated the establishment of multi-religious councils around the world. He has advanced multi-religious efforts to prevent conflicts, mediate among warring parties and heal societies in the aftermath of violence in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iraq and many other countries. He is convinced that multi-religious efforts for peacemaking provide unique strengths that complement those marshaled by governments and bodies like the United Nations.
William is a theologian. He has served as Dean of the Doctor of Ministry of Arts in Theology program and Master of Arts in Theology Program at Catholic Major Seminary, Huntington, Long Island, where he also taught Systematic Theology. He has also served as an Assistant and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theology at Maryknoll School of Theology, Maryknoll, New York, where he developed training modules for cross-cultural theological education and lectured in philosophy and religion.
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by The New York Times, “probably the most important economist in the world,” and by Time magazine “the world’s best known economist.” A recent survey by The Economist magazine ranked Professor Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade.
Professor Sachs is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on economic development, global macroeconomics, and the fight against poverty. His work on ending poverty, overcoming macroeconomic instability, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices, has taken him to more than 125 countries with more than 90 percent of the world’s population. For more than thirty years he has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy, in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He was among the outside advisors to Pope John Paul II on the encyclical Centesimus Annus, and in recent years has worked closely with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on the issues of sustainable development.
Professor Sachs is the Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which launched in 2012, bringing together scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society and the private sector to support and promote sustainable development problem-solving at local, national and global levels. The design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an important part of its work.
Additional Faculty
- Dr. Anthony Annett, Sustainable Development Solutions Network Leadership Council
- Dr. Owen Flanagan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy, Duke University
- Rev. Daniel G. Groody, Associate Professor of Theology and Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
- Dr. Anantanand Rambachan, Professor of Religion, St. Olaf College
- Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Deputy Secretary General, Religions for Peace International
- Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs, American Jewish Committee
- John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria
- Dr. Andrew T. Walker, Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
- Imam Abdullah Antepli, Chief Representative of Muslim Affairs & Adjunct Faculty of Islamic Studies, Duke University
- Grand-father T8aminik (Dominique) Rankin and Grand-mother Marie-Josée Tardif, Anishnaabe elders
- Vittorio G. Hösle, Professor, University of Notre Dame
- Bob Boisture, President and CEO, The Fetzer Institute
- Laurie Zoloth, Professor, University of Chicago
- Dr. Anna Sun, Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Divinity School and Associate Professor of Sociology & Asian Studies at Kenyon College
- Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer, D. Thomason Professor of New Testament Studies, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
- Sharif Azami, Program Officer, The Fetzer Institute
- Dr. R. Scott Appleby, Marilyn Keough Dean of Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
- Dr. Veena Howard, Associate Professor of Philosophy, California State University at Fresno
- Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor, Pontifical Academies of Sciences & Social Sciences
- Dr. Virgilio Viana, Director General, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation
- Klaus Leisinger, Professor of Business Ethics, University of Basel
- Jonathan F. P. Rose, Co-chair, Garrison Institute
- Jennifer Gross, Founder, Blue Chip Foundation
- Dr. Ted Smith, Deputy Director, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville
- Jacqueline Corbelli, CEO, BrightLine Partners LLC
- Djaffar Shalchi, Founder, Human Act Foundation