Berkley Center

His Highness Muhammad Sanusi II is the fourteenth Emir of Kano and Khalifa of the Tijjaniya Sufi order in Nigeria. A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, he has extensive experience in economic policy, financial reform, and governance. He is an advocate for girls’ education, women’s empowerment, and sustainable development, having served as a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate since 2019. He founded the Muhammad Sanusi II SDG Initiative, which supports teachers and promotes inclusive education across sub-Saharan Africa. His work bridges Islamic leadership, economic development, education, and social reform.

Rev. Laurent Basanese, S.J., is head of office at the Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and secretary of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims. He is also a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, specializing in Arabic and Islamic studies, Muslim-Christian dialogue, and interreligious relations. Previously, he founded and directed the Gregorian Centre for Interreligious Studies. He holds doctorates in Arabic and Islamic Studies and Religious Sciences and Systems of Thought. Basanese also serves on the board of directors of KAICIID, the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

Somboon Chungprampree (Khun Moo) is a Thai social activist working for peace and justice in Asia. He became involved in Thai student movements, especially those focused on environmental justice, while he was at university. Since 1997, he has held different positions with key Thai and Asia regional and international civil society organizations. They include Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation (SNF), a Thai NGO established in 1968, Spirit in Education Movement (SEM), focusing on empowering civil society in Burma, Laos PDR, Cambodia, and Thailand, School for Well-being Studies and Research, and Wongsanit Ashram. He has served as Executive Secretary of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) since 2010. He is the editor of the Seeds of Peace journal issued three times a year. As a civic leader he serves on the boards of several international and national foundations.

Pasquale Ferrara served as the director general for political affairs and international security at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation between 2021 and 2025. He previously served as the ambassador of Italy to Algeria from 2016 to 2020. He joined the Italian Foreign Office in 1984 and has spent much of his career in Italy and abroad, including overseas postings in Chile, Brussels, and the United States. Ferrara holds a degree from the University of Naples.

Michael Fisch is the founder and CEO of American Securities, a private equity firm established in 1993. He serves as a managing member of its private equity funds’ general partners and on its investment committee. His expertise spans private equity, investing, and corporate finance. Fisch chairs the Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Center advisory council and the board of Princeton Theological Seminary. He also serves on the boards of Northwell Health and the Atlantic Council. He holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University, where he has been a guest lecturer since 2006.

Margaret Karram is the president of the Focolare Movement, a position she has held since 2021. A Christian Arab born in Haifa, Israel, she has dedicated her career to promoting interreligious dialogue, peacebuilding, and understanding across cultures and faiths. She previously held leadership positions within the Focolare Movement in the Holy Land and currently serves as a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. Internationally recognized for her contributions to interfaith dialogue, Karram has participated in global peace initiatives and authored works exploring fraternity, human connection, and dialogue as pathways to peace.

Rabbi Michael Melchior is the founder and president of the Mosaica, an organization in Israel that works to cultivate a culture of conflict resolution, dialogue, and consensus building. Rabbi Melchior is also an activist who has helped to establish several other civil society organizations in Israel, a former Knesset member, the honorary chief rabbi of Norway, and the rabbi of a synagogue in south Jerusalem.

Alissa Qotrunnada Munawaroh Wahid is the national director of Gusdurian Network Indonesia, a grassroots movement promoting interfaith dialogue, democracy, human rights, and religious tolerance. A trained family psychologist with a master’s degree in psychology, she specializes in multiculturalism, moderate Muslim movements, and leadership development for interreligious youth. She also serves as general secretary of the Family Welfare Agency of Nahdlatul Ulama, one of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organizations. As a civil society ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals in Indonesia, she advocates for peace, good governance, and access to justice. Her work emphasizes community engagement and interreligious understanding.