Pro-Ject' Understanding

Gail J. Stearns is The Irvin C. and Edy Chapman Dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Chapman University. She is the author of Open Your Eyes: Toward Living More Deeply in the Present (Wipf & Stock, 2011). An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Gail also holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. from Washington State University, with emphasis in gender theory, and has taught university courses on world religions, happiness, interfaith dialogue, ethics, and spirituality and gender. Dr. Stearns received her Mindfulness Teaching Certification from UCLA.

Fereshteh T. Bethel holds a Ph.D. degree in Psychology, an M.S. in Education, and a B.A. degree in 'Comparative History of Culture' -- the latter was earned from Damavand College, a Christian-based institution of higher learning, in Tehran, Iran. Her doctoral dissertation was written on 'A Psychological Theory of Martyrdom: A Content Analysis of Personal Documents of Baha'i Martyrs of Iran Written Between 1979-1982'.

For 22 years, Dr. Bethel served as a member of faculty at California State University System teaching undergraduate and some graduate level courses in Psychology, Life span Human Development, and Education. In 1996, she was invited to present her 'Research on the Status and Rights of Women in the Holy Books of Major Abrahamic World Religions' at a national women's conference workshop sponsored by California State University - Long Beach. For an electronic version of this research compilation, please email: [email protected]

In a variety of settings and at some four continents of the world, she has presented on numerous psycho-social and religious topics. Dr. Bethel is a licensed Clinical Psychologist -- currently, not practicing -- and is married and has two children.

An accomplished leader, teacher, innovator and visionary with extensive ministerial experience on three continents, 30 years of leadership, non-profit and entrepreneurial experience in over 15 different organizations, and deep teaching and consulting expertise nationally and internationally in theological education and congregational ministry.  Skilled in executive leadership, strategic planning within complex environments, creative programs and fundraising. Presently working as a consultant for the Kern Family Foundation.

Practicing Cardiologist near Los Angeles. Inventor of Perfusion Angioplasty Balloon. Performed First Angioplasty in India, Mexico, Moscow, & Ukraine.  Established a Chair in the name of his mother at the University of California, Irvine ( UCI).  Holds over two dozen Patents, medical & non medical, including one for Identity Theft.

Kori Strobl is an Orange County based yoga teacher and has been teaching yoga since 2003.  As a passionate student of yoga philosophy, her teaching emphasizes incorporating yoga’s sensible philosophy into the physical practice to support and enrich her student’s lives. She marvels at yoga’s unique ability to support practitioners of all religions to deepen their connection and understanding of their own faith. Kori has a knack for making complex and esoteric concepts approachable, interesting and practical. She has led teacher trainings, workshops, and retreats internationally and at home. She lives on an urban farm in Costa Mesa, CA with her wonderful husband and two energetic children.

Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi was born in India in 1943. He received his Islamic education at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, India. Siddiqi graduated from the Islamic University of Madina in Saudi Arabia in 1965 with a higher degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies. He received an M.A. in Theology from Birmingham University in England (1969) and a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from Harvard University in the USA. (1978) He is presently the Imam and Religious Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove, California, the Chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA),  and an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies at Chapman University, Orange, California.

Fulbright Scholar, University of Bonn
Senior Pastor, Robinwood Church, Huntington Beach, California
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (Pentecostal)