Meet the Team

Board Members

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  • Christianity — Roman Catholicism


    Jackie was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised Roman Catholic. She moved to Atlanta right after graduating from the University of Dayton. She is married and has two adult children.

    Early in her career, Jackie worked as a house parent and later, after obtaining a Master of Social Work, as a therapist at a residential treatment facility for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties.

    When her children were young, she worked as a youth minister at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, now the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

    For the past 20 plus years, Jackie has been a middle school religion teacher and the Middle School Department Chair at Christ the King School.

    She is an active volunteer at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King, where she has been a parishioner since 1987.

    Jackie is dedicated to inter-religious dialogue and increased understanding and cooperation between various faith traditions.

    She’s participated in the Bremen Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum’s week-long “Teaching the Holocaust” class and the “Bearing Witness” program, as well as in the 13-week, “Children of Abraham” class offered at Ignatius House.

    Jackie is currently the President of Interfaith Atlanta. She has also been trained by the Interfaith Speaker’s Network to be a speaker with that program, and has volunteered as a committee chair for IA’s Interfaith Festival.

President

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  • Shi’a Ismaili Islam

    A teacher educator, a teacher for secondary-level students for over 20 years, Early Childhood facilitator, in her faith community, Ambreen Sohani is passionate about civic service, youth projects, and community building. 

    Ambreen is an active volunteer of the Shia Ismaili Muslim community of Local Atlanta, where she serves as a member of the Ismaili Council. She has joined Interfaith Atlanta in 2020 with the aim to encourage dialogue and awareness of diversity and collaboration among communities. Blessed to be living with her spouse, 2 boys and parents in law.

Vice President

  • Judaism

    Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser recently completed her third year as president of Interfaith Atlanta. She works for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and is the part-time rabbi for Congregation B’nai Israel in Fayetteville, Georgia. Ellen was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1993.

Immediate Past President

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  • Judaism

    David is a near-native Atlantan who practices business, international and trusts, and estates law from his home in Buckhead. He has served on the Board of Interfaith Atlanta for almost two years and is the Chair of the Interfaith Speakers Network (ISN). David is active in his synagogue Temple Sinai, previously served as president of Second Helpings Atlanta, and recently became a member of the Board of Actors Express.

Treasurer

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  • Judaism

    Robin is new to Interfaith Atlanta. She has been in the Atlanta area since 1998. She is a retired educator and has volunteered her time doing interfaith activities with her synagogue and Interfaith Atlanta. In 2023, she became the chairperson of the Interfaith Festival.

Board Member

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  • Judaism

    Sharon Shatil, Ph.D., DBSM works as a Clinical Psychologist at the Atlanta Veterans Healthcare System and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. She has been deeply involved in the training of interns and postdoctoral residents. She is a member of Or Hadash Synagogue. Her interfaith interests began in high school in Connecticut, where there were fewer than 10 students from minority religions, and continued in college in Rochester, NY, where she was a Psychology and Religious Studies double major. In Atlanta since 2011, she joined the board of Interfaith Atlanta in 2021 and is grateful to be able to work with so many wonderful people of different faiths to make Atlanta and our world more compassionate and kind.

Secretary

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  • Christianity

    Rev. Dr. Chris RayAlexander is Chaplain & Chair of Religious Studies at Woodward Academy. A West Texas native and adopted son of Louisiana, he received BA and MA degrees from Louisiana State University and a PhD in Spanish from Johns Hopkins University. After a decade in higher education as a professor of Spanish-language literature, history, and culture, he completed an MDiv at Emory’s Candler School of Theology and found his vocational home in the wilds of the interfaith landscape.

    Chris advocates for an understanding of spirituality that is nourished by the deep springs of cultural difference and the multiple, inexhaustible expressions of Divine reality that he continues to encounter both within and beyond the boundaries of his natal faith tradition. Focused on the necessity of wedding theory and practice, his research engages with the perils, promise, and potential that inhabit the intersection of emancipatory pluralism, practical theology of religions, and youth spiritual formation. He is passionate about creating a more humane and unified world through interfaith advocacy, interreligious dialogue, and novel modes of spiritual education that renew and reimagine the divine call to abundant life and loving solidarity with our siblings both within our religious communities and outside their walls.

    In addition to his role at Woodward, Chris is Minister for Interfaith Engagement at First Congregational Church of Atlanta, UCC, a Board Member of Interfaith Atlanta, a 2024 Interfaith America Interfaith Innovation Fellow, and cohort lead for the Religious Leaders sector of Interfaith America’s Interfaith at Work program. He is privileged to serve as an interfaith consultant in his community, and in his free time he translates philosophy as a member of the French Metaphysics Translation Project.

Board Member

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  • Unitarian Universalism

    Rev Dr Gregory McGonigle is Dean of Religious Life and University Chaplain at Emory University. He reports to the President of Emory and as a member of the President's Leadership Team, his duties are to support all religious and philosophical life at the university, to lead the team in the university's Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, to provide pastoral care, and to promote interfaith engagement initiatives on Emory's campus, in Atlanta, and beyond.

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Board Member

  • Hinduism

    Bindu Balakrishnan is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of underserved children in Kenya. Through her leadership, the organization has expanded educational and community initiatives that provide vital resources and opportunities to children who might otherwise be left behind.

    In addition to her international work, Bindu is a committed volunteer in her local community in Atlanta. As a practicing Hindu, she plays an active role in the Hindu community, serving as a Sunday school teacher and contributing her time to a variety of service activities. Her dedication to faith-based engagement extends beyond her own tradition. Since joining Interfaith Atlanta in 2022, she has been a contributing member of the Interfaith Speakers Network, participating in panel discussions that promote shared understanding across religious traditions.

    Bindu is deeply passionate about fostering dialogue between faiths as a means of building bridges and nurturing harmony. She is a strong advocate of the principle that all paths ultimately lead to the one divine reality, and she views interfaith collaboration as an essential avenue for cultivating compassion, equity, and unity in an increasingly interconnected world.

Board Member

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  • Christianity

    Stephanie Merling has a deep commitment to fostering interfaith relationships, which began in 2001 following the challenges faced by Muslim friends in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.  Since then, she has actively learned about and engaged with the Muslim  community. Stephanie’s dedication extends to understanding and participating  in various Jewish traditions,  participating in multiple seders,  contributing to her understanding and appreciation of Jewish faith  traditions. Additionally, she has contributed to the longstanding  relationship between her church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the American Jewish Committee through dialogue and collaboration.  Stephanie has also expanded her understanding of different faith traditions  by touring a local Hindu temple, recognizing the commonalities that unite us  all. Within her own church, Stephanie has held various leadership positions,  including roles in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, such as Cub Master, as well as  active involvement in youth programs, children's programs, early morning  seminary, and Sunday school teaching. As the mother of 5 children, she believes strongly in exposing and educating youth to appreciate, learn about,  and engage with multiple faith groups, and supports religious liberty for  all.

Board Member

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Board Member

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  • Sunni Islam

    Sister Shahidah Sharif has an extensive background in Islamic education and community service. At a young age, she began working with organizations such as Muslim Youth of North America and Clara Mohammed School of South Florida and Oakland, CA. Sharif has also worked with the Islamic Society of the University of Miami and United Youth Leadership Forum of the Bay Area, where she organized and coordinated many events to serve the Muslim and non-Muslim community. She studied for three years at the Abu Nour University in Damascus through the Mosque Cares Study Abroad Program with a focus on the Arabic language and the Islamic Sciences. She currently serves as president on the Board of Sisters United in Human Service, Inc, as the Program Director of the Faith Institute of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, and is co-founder and COO of Professional Hajj and Umrah Guides, LLC, organizing delegations annually with her husband for the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

  • Sunni Islam

    Lesley studied Political Science and French with a minor in Comparative Religion at Universite Laval. Her interest of other religions and cultures has always existed. She was a convert to Islam in 1994 after extensive study and her dedication to remain informed about Islam has persisted. Her interfaith work began in 2017 and she was one of the inaugural fellows of the Interfaith Atlanta Sacred Dialogues Fellowship in 2025.

Board Member

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  • Christianity

    Jennifer Arnold moved to Atlanta over ten years ago. During her career, she’s served in nonprofits, churches, hospitals, and schools—including three years in rural public schools and four years as a private school chaplain. She currently works in the Office of Admissions at Candler School of Theology helping prospective students consider how theological education can prepare them to respond faithfully and creatively to the world's most urgent needs.

Board Member

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Board Member

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Board Member

  • Christianity

    Rev. Ken L. Jelks currently serves as the seventh Pastor of the St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in East Point, Ga. A native Atlantan, Jelks accepted Christ at the age of 12 and was reared at the Wheat Street Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., under the Pastorates of the late Rev. Dr. William Holmes Borders, Sr., and Rev. Dr. Michael N. Harris. He later joined, served, and was further reared at the Antioch Baptist Church North under the Pastorate of the late Reverend Dr. Cameron M. Alexander, and was subsequently licensed and ordained by the Antioch Baptist Church North under Dr. Alexander in 2004 & 2013, respectively.

    Jelks served as Senior Pastor of the Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia for nearly 12 years, and during his tenure led the church in the acquisition of two properties dedicated to outreach, the integration of multi-media and social – media ministries, and led the church in a quarter million dollar church renovation project, completed with no remaining debt during the 2019-2020 pandemic.

    He served as Vice Moderator for the Mt. Calvary Baptist Association in Columbus, Georgia, and was awarded the Columbus American Red Cross Hometown Hero Award, for helping to facilitate the rescue and placement of community families left homeless amidst a fire that destroyed their neighborhood housing complex homes.

    Jelks’ academic preparation includes undergraduate study at Bethune-Cookman College, 1989-1990, transferring to Clark Atlanta University 1991-1995 (B.A. Business Administration), The Interdenominational Theological Center (Certificate of Theology) in 2009 and Carver Bible College (B.A. in Biblical Studies) in 2012. Candidate for Master of Divinity 2027 at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, work that began at the Morehouse School of Religion (Interdenominational Theological Center).

    While the majority of Jelks’ professional background is steeped in Media Broadcasting per earlier work with the Collegiate Broadcasting Group, Inc. (parent company of the AUC Digest Newspaper) under his father—pioneer broadcaster, Lo Jelks; he enjoyed a valuable stint of social/human services training while working for the Atlanta Urban League for several years in housing, and then transitioned back into broadcasting at Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters, Inc. (AIB-TV) as Manager of Sales and Marketing. In addition to his work in full-time ministry, Pastor Jelks serves as Chaplain for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, and shortly after his father’s passing in 2023 assumed the role of Editor & Publisher of The AUC Digest-Digital, (originally The AUC Digest), the newspaper serving the Atlanta University Center, which was founded by his father.

    Jelks is the son of Lo Jelks and Jane Jelks Jones; he is married to his self-proclaimed (“Girlfriend In God”) Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at her Alma Mater - Spelman College, and they are the proud parents of 16-year-old Kenyatta Jelks, Jr. (K.J.), a rising 11 th grade National Honor Society scholar, National Beta Club scholar and snare drumline section leader for the Marching Jaguars Band of Maynard Jackson High School.

    A socially conscious preacher, Jelks is a passionate and progressive proclaimer of the gospel, who lives and leans on Philippians 4:8, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”.

Interfaith Atlanta Team

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  • Disciple of Christ

    Chase Wolfsohn is a Master of Theological Studies student at Candler School of Theology studying Early Christian History. He received his BA from Emory University in Creative Writing and Religion and has always been interested in the cross-section between story and faith. He joined Interfaith Atlanta to expand his knowledge of interfaith dialogues and wants to utilize storytelling to bring people of all faiths closer together.

Communications Intern

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IAY Intern

  • Quaker

    Cate Tedford is a Master of Divinity student at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, concentrating in Human Rights and Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation. Originally from Fort Mill, SC, Cate's journey with Interfaith Atlanta began in December of 2024 when she was invited to speak at the Winter Lights Festival on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). She then participated in the inaugural cohort of the Sacred Dialogues Fellowship before joining the team as an intern. Cate is an attendee of the Atlanta Friends Meeting and is passionate about community-building and the common good. 

Interfaith Atlanta Youth
Officers

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Gwyneth F.

President | Catholic

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Ahaan N.

Vice President | Hindu/Sikh

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Bhini Y.

Communications Manager | Hindu

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Saniya V.

Outreach Manager | Ismaili Muslim