Interfaith Youth Core

IFYC is a national nonprofit that equips the next generation of citizens and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed for leadership in a religiously diverse world. Partnering with higher education institutions and corporations, IFYC is dedicated to making interfaith cooperation the norm and building Interfaith America in the 21st century.

We are deeply grateful to the Interfaith Youth Core for their grant funding and continued support of our work.

Camira Powell

Camira Powell has a true passion for helping individuals and organizations become better versions of themselves to maximize their social impact. She holds a dual BA in Communication and French from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia University. Currently, she works as part of Edelman's Purpose team and helps organizations large and small develop and operationalize their communications, program management, and CSR initiatives. When not collaborating with you, you can find her dreaming of her next trip, attempting an Ina Garten recipe, or dog-sitting the hungriest puggle in the world, Polly.

We thank Camira for all her wisdom and guidance in helping us work towards an inclusive, anti-racist retreat space and appreciate her continued support and input.

Shreya Thumma

Shreya loves design and illustration and uses it as a form of relaxation when she isn’t scanning patients at work as a sonographer. She grew up in New Zealand and Australia and is now looking forward to making new friends and building roots in the States. Shreya is excited to delve into the world of graphic design and illustration while also establishing herself as a patient focused sonographer in the US. We are deeply grateful to Shreya for bringing her incredible talents and vision to the design of our logo, flyer, website.

Gina Ryder

Gina is a freelance journalist based in New York City typically covering psychology and spirituality and a former adjunct professor at CUNY. She taught a narrative-medicine themed writing class to first-year medical students at Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education as well as led narrative workshops at homeless shelters and centers for people in recovery from substance abuse. She loves helping everyone from famous doctors to teenagers write and publish personal stories. We are grateful for her help in building the agenda for our retreat! Please check out her work here.

Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones is a pediatric hospitalist and fiction writer. Her first interaction with the medical system stemmed from a severe injury as a teenager, and her life’s mission (with her job and her writing) is to help hospitalized children feel supported, heard, and less alone. To learn more and to read stories of teamwork, gratitude, silliness, and empowerment, please visit her website: jjnightling.com (credit to Shreya Thumma for website design!).

Our Friends & Family

Too many people to list but special thanks to everyone in our life who love, support, and dream with us. We’d like to specifically thank our friends for taking the time to give us their honest thoughts- you are all so integral to helping us build our community!

Special shoutout to our husbands Derek & Neelaysh.