Community leaders honored at Interfaith Leadership Dinner

Members of the Grand Valley and West Michigan interfaith communities came together to honor three community leaders during the annual Kaufman Interfaith Institute Leadership Dinner April 27.

The event, held at the L. William Seidman Center on Grand Valley’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus, honored Lillian Sigal, Marchiene Rienstra and Ghazala Munir with the Sylvia Kaufman Leadership Award. All three women were celebrated for their work establishing the Interfaith Dialogue Association of Grand Rapids in the 1980s and for their dedication to interfaith initiatives in West Michigan.

“West Michigan has been blessed with dynamic leaders who have promoted interfaith understanding, which has contributed greatly in making our communities healthy and vibrant,” said Douglas Kindschi, Kaufman Interfaith Institute director. “Diversity is a strength and it is a privilege to recognize and promote such efforts.”

Jesse Bernal, vice president for Inclusion and Equity, opened the evening with remarks regarding Grand Valley’s ongoing efforts to the advancement of inclusion and community as it relates to interfaith understanding and acceptance.

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell was on hand to recognize the three honored leaders during a special presentation focusing on navigating interfaith channels and the role service provides in bringing people of various backgrounds together.  

The evening also spotlighted former and current Grand Valley students, as well as two local high school students, for their involvement with interfaith initiatives in the West Michigan community. Grand Valley students honored included Sam Lampe, ’15, Shelby Bruseloff, Derek Zuverink, Amina Mohamed, ’15, and Mohib Azeem.