»Fish Interfaith Center Advisory Council

The Fish Interfaith Center Executive Advisory Council is comprised of campus and community members engaged in religious and interfaith work. We have drawn from a number of community religious institutions, as well as members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, and student body of Chapman University. Our mission statement is as follows:

The mission of the Fish Interfaith Center is to provide sacred space and stimulating programming to inspire and assist people as they:

  • Explore, discover, and deepen their spirituality
  • Develop an appreciation for spiritual diversity with a view to mutual enrichment
  • Integrate the spiritual and intellectual dimensions of life
  • Engage in ethical reflection and the discussion of values, and construct a vision of what they can contribute to the common good.

Chapman University is deeply committed to interfaith dialogue and reconciliation among religions. We are committed to welcoming students of all religions to campus. The Advisory Council discusses ways we can be involved in interfaith engagement in our community, and implements ways to introduce interfaith engagement to our student body. We are dedicated to making sure Chapman is a welcoming place for students of all faiths throughout their college years.

In March of 2012, members of the Advisory Council helped to design and participated in the interfaith event, the Installation of the Dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel. It was a symbol of interfaith cooperation and a wonderful example what an interfaith service can be.

Co-Presidents:

Dr. Julye Bidmead, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Chapman University. Dr. Bidmead teaches a variety of courses in Religious Studies at Chapman, as well as serving as an archaeologist on multiple excavations in Israel.

Jasdeep Singh Mann represents the Sikh Center for Orange County, and is involved in a variety of interfaith organizations in Orange County.


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The Council Members

Name Position on Council Affiliation 
Jim Bain Religious Representative Organizing Committee Member, Prajnopaya; Tibetan Buddhist
Julye Bidmead Co-Chair, Faculty Representative Religious Studies, Assistant Professor
Nancy Brink Religious Representative Director, Church Relations 
Heidi Cohen  Religious Representative Temple Beth Shalom - Rabbi
Annie Calhoun
Religious Representative Trinity Episcopal Church
Brenda Davis
Religious Representative  
Brittney Souza Student Representative President of the Interfaith Council
Member of TAK
Abdullah Jafrey Alumni Representative  
Damon Johnson  Religious Representative Coordinator Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Advisor for LDSSA at Chapman
Nirinjan Khalsa Religious Representative Sikh
Jasdeep Singh Mann  Co-Chair, Religious Representative California Sikh Council 
  Religious Representative Jewish Student Life Coordinator - Hillel At Chapman University
Hillel Foundation of Orange County 
Gail Stearns Dean Dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel
Michele Wanner Associate vice president, development Chapman Staff
Karen Wilkinson Trustee Chapman Trustee 
Mohamed Allali Religious Representative Professor at Chapman University
Ray Zimmerman Religious Representative Professor at Saddleback College
Secretary of the Baha'i community of Orange