Getting to Know You Series: Meet Hanadi Doleh of the Interfaith Center of New York
Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to be back with another installment in our occasional Getting to Know You series, where we introduce you to our grantee partners, network members, and philanthropy colleagues who have interesting stories to tell. Today we’re chatting with Hanadi Doleh, Program Associate for Community Partnerships at our grantee partner the Interfaith Center of New York. Enjoy!
Elisabeth Rapport (ER): Tell me a bit about your professional background, and what led you to the Interfaith Center of New York.
Hanadi Doleh (HD): I think of myself as a quintessential New Yorker. I am a hijab-wearing, attitude-toting Brooklynite, born of Muslim parents who immigrated to America for a better life. I am a product of New York’s melting pot – I wear my heritage as proudly as I trumpet my Brooklyn accent. I have spent my entire life working in and for New York’s religious and interfaith communities and believe myself to be the change I want to see. Understanding the plight of immigrant workers from my community grounded me. They have continuously shown me what it meant to succeed in America, as an immigrant, as a woman, as a Muslim. My educational background set the foundation for my activism and allowed me to hone my skills and build my own toolkit on how to be cognizant. These skills informed my understanding of the sociopolitical issues that shaped the Muslim community in NYC and set me in good stead for the career I chose: social justice activism for Muslim American communities.
After working for 7 seven years at an organization that educated New Yorkers about Muslim Americans and promoting fruitful interfaith relations, I wanted to do more. I wanted to be a part of organization that’s mission was dedicated to overcoming prejudice and injustice by empowering religious leaders and their communities. The Interfaith Center of New York was that place for me.
ER: Talk to me about your relationship with the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. What does their support mean to the Interfaith Center of New York and achieving your organizational goals? What do you think of the foundation's trust-based philanthropy approach?
HD: For over two decades, the Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) has worked to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city’s grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities. ICNY has built the most religiously diverse and civically engaged network of grassroots and immigrant religious leaders across NYC. ICNY’s relationship with RSCF has been very exciting and fruitful because it has allowed us to continue with our mission. Through RSCF’s support, we have been able to offer another round of our Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy. The ICLA program has become a very successful network of religious and lay leaders stemming from underserved communities across New York City that have been trained to address the needs of their communities. Also, throughout this pandemic, RSCF has offered support for both program and executive staff for ICNY. We have been given several opportunities to join workshops on racial justice and equity, as well as learning to conduct online facilitation. This has been super helpful for our ICLA program and organization as a whole.
RSCF’s trust-based philanthropy approach has allowed ICNY to structure more time on the work itself as opposed to creating a new program to fit grant requirements. One of the most important aspects of their method is the idea of fundamental trust, they have treated ICNY as a respected colleague and shown that our judgment is trusted, which therefore has created a respectful relationship of equals. We are able to do focus on generating new and improved content for our program.
ER: You mentioned the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy, which the Foundation supports. It’s one of your signature initiatives. Tell me more about the academy and what it seeks to achieve.
HD: ICNY’s Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy is giving diverse religious leaders the tools they need to make a difference. Working with expert trainers from city government and leading nonprofit organizations, we have created an intensive leadership development program for a group of diverse clergy members, lay leaders, and faith-based activists. In a four-month series of evening workshops, mini-retreats, and site visits to each other’s congregations, our ICLA fellows will explore diverse models of civic engagement and religious leadership, legislative and policy advocacy strategies, to make their voices heard in Albany and City Hall, grass-roots community organizing strategies, to create long-lasting change in their neighborhoods, guided reflection on leadership skills, to develop their own unique gifts as faith leaders, and interfaith dialogue and diversity education, to build personal relationships across faith lines.
ER: Why is it so important to bring diverse religious leaders from across the city together, and what successes are you seeing with the academy?
HD: Throughout New York, religious leaders from every faith tradition are working to create positive change for their own communities and the city as a whole. All too often, however, they are working alone — without a network of interfaith ties, or knowledge of the city’s civic institutions. This is where ICNY’s mission and ICLA program come into play. We believe in empowering faith leaders with the right skill set to make NYC a better place for everyone.
ER: What developments and happenings with the academy are you excited about? Where do you hope to see the initiative a year from now?
HD: Like other organizations in the Learning Community, ICNY needed to reformat our Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy due to the pandemic, and reflect an all online program.
At first, we were hesitant to host the academy 100% online, but as we are now in the last phase of the program, the community projects, we are comfortable with our format and facilitation styles. Although the cohort has not met in person, we believe we have cultivated an environment for them given to work in small groups to and build relationships. We are excited that we are fostering an environment online for their growth and interaction, as well as a safe space for religious dialogue. We hope that in a year from now we are able to build upon the network of religious, civic and lay leaders from our program and give fellows the opportunity to connect and build a stronger NYC together.