Board
Imam Muhamed Hasic
President
Imam Hasic served as vice president of the board 2011-2012. He is the religious leader of the Medina Masjid (mosque) in southern St. Louis City, also known as the Islamic Community Center. He led the effort to create the mosque and community center, after coming to St. Louis in the late 1990s at the invitation of the Islamic Foundation of St. Louis, to help create a cultural and linguistic bridge between the more established Muslims from South Asia and the newly arrived Bosnian refugees. He has been an active member of IP for many years and is active in the community. He and his wife, Heba, reside in South St. Louis County.
Dr. Billie Mayo
Vice President
Billie Mayo, who has been a Baha’i for thirty-six years and is a past Cabinet member of Interfaith Partnership, serves as Chairperson of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the University City Baha’i community. Billie retired from the Saint Louis Public School System in 2003, after having served for thirty-eight years in various capacities from middle-school teacher to Assistant to the Deputy Superintendent of Saint Louis Public Schools and coordinator of the Saint Louis University Urban Leadership Program. Currently, Billie is a Senior Partner and co-owner of Educational Equity Consultants, a company dedicated to creating a safe space for People of Color and Whites to heal from the hurts of racism. Educational Equity Consultants also strives to build the capacity of individual schools and other organization to address racism in ways that enable All people to reclaim their inherent intelligence and nobility. Billie and her husband, Marvin, along with her two children are long time residents of University City, MO.
Ms. Kathy Liebmann
Secretary
Kathy has been a student of the Baha’i Teachings since she was 16 and is a true devotee to all the Teachings of God revealed throughout history, having been raised as a Baptist. She is an active participant in activities at the Baha’i Center in Webster Groves, MO. Formerly an early childhood educator, Kathy now works as a licensed massage therapist as well as a certified instructor of various therapeutic techniques. She and her husband, Tom, reside in Valley Park, MO.
Mr. Leonard Frankel
Treasurer
Lenny served as treasurer of the board in 2011. He is a member of B’nai Amoona Synagogue. A recognized expert in mediation who teaches the subject at Washington University School of Law, he is a lawyer in private practice in Clayton, MO, with Frankel, Rubin, Bond, Dubin, Siegel and Klein, P.C. He is and his wife, Julie, live in St. Louis County.
Mary Pedersen
Chair of Social Justice Committee
Representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mary has served as the Community Outreach and Interfaith Specialist in the St. Louis Region for over a decade. She has been actively involved with IP/FBW for many years, serving on the Board, participating in dialogue, supporting and organizing service projects and celebratory events. During a season of transition, she worked for IP/FBW as the Acting Executive Director. Mary is currently pursuing a degree in Religious Studies while raising her family in St. Louis County.
Dr. David Oughton
Chair of Interfaith Dialogue Committee
Dave served as secretary of the board in 2011. He is a faculty member in the theological studies department at St. Louis University and a long time teacher and student of world religions and interreligious topics. He is Roman Catholic and a member of St. Paul Catholic Church. He and his wife, Marie, live in Fenton, MO.
Rev. Mark Roock
Chair of Membership/Development Committee
Mark serves as a part-time pastoral assistant at Christ Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Webster Groves and as Director of Development – Planned Giving at Maryville University in St. Louis. Having served previously on the IP Board and the Development Committee and Visioning Committees, he is eager to return to interfaith work. He and his wife, Janet, live in Glendale, MO and have two adult children.
Rev. C. Jessel Strong
Representative of the Cabinet
Rev. C. Jessel Strong joined the Cabinet in 2012 to represent the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and soon was elected as the Vice Chair for 2013-2014. He is the president of the Clergy Coalition of Greater St. Louis. He was appointed the Cabinet Representative to the Board in 2013.
Members at Large
Dr. Lawrence J. Welch
Larry is the Director of the Archdiocese Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and represents the Archdiocese of St. Louis on the IP/FBW board and Archbishop Carlson on the IP/FBW Cabinet. He has worked for many years with IP/FBW and organizes many interfaith and ecumenical dialogues and activities for the Archdiocese. He is professor of systematic theology at Kenrick-Glennon College and Seminary in Shrewsbury, MO and has been involved in Christian and interreligious dialogue locally and internationally.
Harvey Schneider
Harvey is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth as well as a past president of the IP/FBW Board who has been an active and leading member of many community groups. He practices in the areas of corporate and business, administrative, taxation and estate law with the Clayton firm of Helfrey, Neiers & Jones, P.C. He and his wife, Leanne, live in St. Louis County.
Ann Miller
Ann is a Presbyterian and Chair of the Interfaith Partnership of St. Charles County. She is also a dialogue group facilitator and has long been an active member of the IP board.
Dr. Shahid Badar
Shahid attends Dar-ul-Islam Masjid (mosque) in Manchester, MO, and is a member of the non-profit organization, Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, which arranges congregational prayers, educational programs and social activities in conformity with the teaching of Islam. He is a medical doctor, an internist, with offices at Missouri Baptist Hospital. He and his wife are the parents of teenage children and reside in St. Louis County.
Karen Hylton
Rev. Aaron Rogers