Eboo Patel is the boundary-breaking founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, built on the idea that religion should be a bridge, not a barrier.

For Spertus Institute’s 2020 Leadership Forum, join Eboo Patel—along with Spertus students, alumni, and faculty—for dinner and discussion about religious diversity and the role of leadership.

Patel will draw on inspiring examples to underscore how we can build a country where all people thrive. To him, the best metaphor for a diverse democracy isn’t a melting pot, but a potluck. Everyone contributes and everyone feasts.

“To see the other side, to defend another people, not despite your tradition, but because of it, is the heart of pluralism.”
Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Core, Founder and President

Eboo Patel is a leading figure on issues of religious diversity and democracy. For 15 years he has worked with governments, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions to make interfaith cooperation a social norm. He served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of Acts of Faith, Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, and Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise. He holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship.

Spertus Institute is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community. Spertus Institute’s Center for Jewish Leadership is supported by a generous grant from the Crown Family. We are grateful for their support. 

Eboo Patel's photo courtesy of Interfaith Youth Core.