Faith & Action Spring Conference

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington has been creating spaces for deeper and more authentic learning with a social justice lens for over 40 years.  He will share his deep understanding of the intersecting dynamics of race and poverty and offer tools and frameworks for doing our individual and collective part to address the issues.

Hiba Alami

Hiba Alami is a nonprofit professional who holds a graduate degree in Nonprofit Management from O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and has more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector. She worked with Muslim nonprofits in different capacities, with the latest being the inaugural executive director of the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network. She is currently the Research and Development Director at the League of Women Voters of Indiana. She is also a P.h.D. student in the American Studies program at IU School of Liberal Arts. Hiba enjoys giving back to the community. She serves on the boards of directors of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana. She is also the Treasurer of the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance and the Arab Indianapolis Foundation.

Virginia A. Caine, MD

Virginia A. Caine, MD is the Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Marion County Public Health Department. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine Infectious Diseases Division. In 2020, the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) named her as one of 40 Influential People of the past 40 years, as they celebrated 40 Years of Progress in Indianapolis. She was awarded Governor Holcomb’s 2021 Circle of Corydon Award for Service. She recently received the Mozel Sanders Foundation Rev. Roosevelt Sanders Humanitarian Award.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she continues to be responsible for the overall safety and protection of the Marion County residents. She is President-Elect of the National Medical Association (NMA) and was recently appointed as a member of the CDC’s Board of Scientific Counselors, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases.

dr. becky martinez

My approach is to make the implicit explicit, and I provide tools, skill development and concepts for people to engage with courage towards liberation. I work with a range of organizations providing services including coaching, keynotes, workshops, training sessions and long-term organizational change processes. The content areas in my wheelhouse are general to in-depth social justice/equity, diversity and inclusion, anti-oppression, race/racism, class/classism, creating inclusive teams, capacity building with a social justice/EDI lens, healing, train the trainer, program development, engaging group and organizational dynamics, and long- term culture change.

My career portfolio includes being a consultant, trainer and coach, and have worked as a student affairs administrator within the California State University and the University of California systems and private liberal arts colleges. I work with a range of organizations and provide services including coaching, keynotes, workshops, training sessions and long-term organizational change processes. I am a faculty member with the Social Justice Training Institute, a Co-Lead Facilitator for LeaderShape, a Foundation Board member with the American College Personnel Association, and Intercultural Development Inventory qualified administrator. As a first-generation white-collar professional, I am incredibly proud of contributing to inclusion work focusing on social class identity and class(ism), particularly in the context of higher education. I hold a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne with my research focused on transformative learning, social justice and racism, a Master of Science in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of La Verne. To learn more about me (dr. becky martinez) and my work, visit Infinity Martinez Consulting at www.infinitymartinez.com

Josh Riddick

Josh Riddick (he/him/his) is the lead program organizer at Faith In Indiana and community organizer for the Black Church Coalition. He has called Indianapolis home for the last seven years after graduating from Spring Arbor University. Since moving to Indianapolis, Josh has been a pastor, racial equity trainer, and civic dialogue facilitator. Josh completed his graduate work in Missional Leadership from Rochester University in the spring of 2022. He is a spouse, parent, avid men’s and women’s basketball fan, reader, and hip-hop connoisseur. Josh is moved by the intersections of identity, spirituality, justice, and the development of emerging Black leaders.

Rabbi Dr. Aaron Spiegel

Executive Director/President, GIMA

The Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance gathers faith leaders representing diverse religious traditions into a sacred friendship, in order to collaborate on civic projects that serve the common good of greater Indianapolis, making our city a more equitable place.

Aaron was a founding director of the Center for Congregations, and architect and director of the Congregational Resource Guide. As a trans-denominational rabbi, his focus is helping congregations, nonprofits, and socially minded businesses implement high availability strategic plans and make positive social change.

After acting as Interim Executive Director for the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), he accepted the role of inaugural director of GIMA. Aaron is also the President of the Synagogue Studies Institute, collecting and interpreting data about synagogues for the American congregational landscape.

Aaron is an experienced leader and strategic planner in IT, nonprofit management, and digital marketing, as well as a consultant, published author, and seasoned public speaker.

Sam Snideman

Sam Snideman serves as Vice President of Government Relations for United Way of Central Indiana, where he leads advocacy and public policy work to reduce poverty and improve economic mobility for Hoosiers in the Central Indiana region. Prior to coming to United Way, Sam worked in a variety of policy and advocacy roles in government and higher education. Sam is also a fellow at the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University. Sam earned his Ed.D. (higher education) from Ball State University, M.A. (political science) from Texas A&M University, and his B.S. (political science) from Indiana State University.

Rev. Dr. Nick Peterson

Dr. Nick Peterson is the Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Worship and the Assistant Director of the Ph.D. in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric Program at Christian Theological Seminary.  He holds a PhD from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College in Africana Studies and Business Management, and a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary.  His dissertation, On Being an Issue of Delores: A Meditation on Black Faith in an Antiblack World, explores how black faith engenders intramural care practices, which he calls black-on-black care.  This transformative care contends with and sometimes exceeds the constraints of antiblackness.  As a practical theologian, Peterson interrogates how intentional and unintentional practices shape Christian identities and configure worldviews.  Teaching in preaching and worship, he is acutely interested in the ways biblical interpretation, tradition, culture, and social location inform public proclamation and liturgy.  Dr. Peterson is an ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and has served broadly in the local church as assistant pastor, pastor, minister of music, and youth minister.  He has demonstrated commitment to ecumenism and has held positions in Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Mennonite, UCC, and UMC contexts.  Peterson and his spouse NaKisha have twin 6-year-old sons, Zayden and Zander.