Interfaith CincinnatiInterfaith Cincinnati
This event will be streamed live on the Youtube Channel for the Interfaith Center at Miami University. Please follow and subscribe to our channel by clicking on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pq08p9H2y0IrqtVyAUUWQ
Stories are a fundamental component to the human experience. Creating space for ourselves, and others, to share our journeys, not only validates our shared experiences, but reminds us that we all have inherent value. We matter. Stories serve as both windows, and mirrors, to the human experience. They can cultivate empathy and compassion in a world where it is so easy to become desensitized to the suffering of others. This panel aims to use the power of story to shed light on the injustice and xenophobia that the immigrant community has faced in the past year and still continues to face currently. It is part of a larger programming initiative, called the Divergent Immigrant Experiences, founded by the Interfaith Center’s Student Liaison, Priyana Kalita, which creates space every month to highlight unique immigrant voices and experiences.
This program will be co-sponsored by Start the Wave and URI North America.
Panelists include:
Dr. Sofia Khan (She/Her) is a local physician and a mother of five children. She moved to Greater KC from NYC over 23 years ago. She is a community activist and an Interfaith Leader involved in numerous charity projects for over 15 years. She is the founder for KC for Refugees, a non faith based community alliance, helping locally resettled area refugees. Her non-profit advocates for refugee resettlement and provides community education on refugee-related topics. Besides providing support, it also helps build bridges between these families and the community.
Rico Ocampo (He/Him) who was born in Zacatepetl, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1992. He is an undocumented/DACAmented community organizer and activist. He has engaged in local, statewide, and national advocacy efforts to advance systemic change for homeless youth, immigrant communities, and underrepresented youth color. He currently serves as the Director for the Anytown Las Vegas, the longest running antiracist youth program in the state of Nevada. In addition, Rico also serves as the Youth Organizer for Make the Road Nevada, a non-profit organization that works with Latinx and working-class communities of color through policy innovation and transformative education.
KaMani (All pronouns with respect) who is a South Asian (teluGAY) gender queer bearded drag artist from Washington DC transcends western drag expectations by their performance repertoire and their aesthetic senses. #telugay
Esther María Claros Berlioz (She/Her) who earned her Ph.D. from Miami University and explores the intersections of immigration, schooling, and education. Having emigrated to the United States 17 years, her work centers the experiences of youth who’ve emigrated from the northernmost countries of the Central American isthmus and the impact immigration law, policy, and enforcement has on them and their families.
Priyana Kalita (She/They) who is a student-athlete from India who plays Women’s tennis for Miami University. Priyana is double majoring in Sport Leadership and Management with a concentration in coaching and Women, Gender and Sexuality studies. She was inducted in the Theta Alpha Kappa National Society for Religion and Theology studies for her work with the Trans community in sex work in India last year. When researching the topic, she got to learn about a lot of things related to Buddhism and Hinduism specifically which cultivated a desire to learn more about various other religions and religious practices. She hopes her internship at the Interfaith Center will allow her to learn about real experiences of people from various religions and faith traditions from all over the world.