Next month, bridgebuilders from across the country will gather for the 2026 Interfaith Leadership Summit, the nation’s largest gathering of students and educators committed to American civic pluralism.
This year’s Summit theme, A Road Forward, invites Summit attendees to consider the journey of pluralism, explore our country’s rich diversity, and imagine a future where we can cooperate across difference for the common good.
As we look forward to the Summit, Interfaith America spoke with this year’s mainstage speakers for the program’s opening and closing plenary sessions, a diverse group of leaders who will share their perspectives on the promise of pluralism. They reflected on what they look forward to about the event and some of their road trip and bridgebuilding essentials.
Editor’s note: The following conversations have been edited for clarity and length.
Harmeet Kaur Kamboj
Assistant Director of Workplace Strategy, Interfaith America
Summit MC
This year’s Summit theme is “A Road Forward.” What is one “road sign” — could be a person, experience, or piece of wisdom from your tradition — that has guided you on the journey to strengthen pluralism?
The road sign that guides me in all that I do reads, “Justice.” During the summer months especially, many Sikhs reflect on the meaning of justice, the sacrifices our ancestors have made to seek justice for their own and others, and how we can build just societies today that allow all people to flourish.
Friday Plenary
Watch: “A Road Forward: The Role of Pluralism in the Future of our Country”
Eboo Patel
President & Founder, Interfaith America
Opening Plenary Moderator
What’s your connection to this year’s Summit theme of a road trip, and how has travel shaped your understanding of pluralism?
I’ve been fortunate enough to do road trips around the United States, Britain, South Africa, Turkey, and India, and each one was a profound spiritual journey. I’ve stayed at Catholic Worker houses up and down the East Coast, had an audience with the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, prayed with Muslims who were part of the struggle against apartheid in Cape Town, and listened to the wisdom of Jewish sages in London. I’ve discovered beauty in our differences and inspiration in our common ground. Each time I came home more convinced than ever of the remarkable things we could accomplish together.
Dr. Loretta J. Ross
Activist, Public Intellectual and Professor, SpeakOut
Opening Plenary Moderator
This year’s Summit theme is “A Road Forward.” What is one “road sign” — could be a person, experience, or piece of wisdom from your tradition — that has guided you on the journey to strengthen pluralism?
A road sign that guides me is my faith in the ability of human beings to effortlessly offer compassion and assistance when facing natural disasters like fires, floods, and earthquakes. I believe we can offer that same empathy when facing man-made disasters like racism, poverty, sexism, and selfishness.
Dr. Carlos Campo
CEO & President, Museum of the Bible
Opening Plenary Panelist
This year’s Summit theme is “A Road Forward.” What is one “road sign” — could be a person, experience, or piece of wisdom from your tradition — that has guided you on the journey to strengthen pluralism?
One road sign that has always inspired and guided me in the journey to strengthening pluralism is a “welcome” sign. To me, “welcoming” is a state of being that captures the nature of our relationship to God, who is urging us forward — to connect more deeply —and also calls each of us to be more welcoming of one another as we learn and grow together.
Amy Spitalnick
CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Opening Plenary Panelist
What are you looking forward to about this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit?
At a moment when the loudest voices are trying to pit our communities against one another, this Summit is an opportunity to illustrate a different vision for our democracy and our futures — one that recognizes our safety and rights are bound together and that coming together across lines of difference and even disagreement is existential.
Go-to road trip snack?
Sour peaches
Sunday Plenary
Dr. Melissa Carter
Director of Student Life & Partnerships, Interfaith America
Closing Plenary Moderator
What are you looking forward to about this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit?
I’m most looking forward to the moments that remind us why this work matters: the instant the room fills with the energy of 700 people gathered around pluralism, the quiet relational magic of hallway conversations and shared meals, and the powerful flashes when participants articulate something new about themselves or their leadership. These are the experiences where mission becomes tangible, where connection turns into conviction, and where the work of building a more pluralistic society feels both urgent and deeply possible.
Go-to road trip snack?
Fountain Diet Coke and peanut chews
Dr. Vanessa Gomez Brake
Senior Associate Dean, University of Southern California Office of Religious & Spiritual Life
Closing Plenary Panelist
What are you looking forward to about this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit?
As always, I look forward to growing my network of higher education professionals who are dedicated to building bridges across differences. A highlight is learning from others’ experiences on their campuses, as well as seeing my own struggles reflected back to me, knowing my institution isn’t the only school facing certain challenges. I always have a lot to take back and share with my team.
I also love that these convenings feel like a throwback, to a time when I was in college and first experiencing interfaith dialogue. Back then, I was enthralled with exploring the beliefs and practices of my peers. I had a tendency towards holy envy, which is a form of falling in love with another’s tradition. Which may sound funny coming from an atheist, but there is just so much beauty in the world, and interfaith dialogue has a way of showing that through the myriad of lived traditions. So yeah, I still experience a thrill, every time I encounter beauty in other person’s tradition, as it brings something inside me, alive!
Go-to road trip snack?
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, utilizing chopsticks of course
Dr. Steven T. Collis
Law Professor & Director, Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, University of Texas at Austin
Closing Plenary Panelist
This year’s Summit theme is “A Road Forward.” What is one “road sign” — could be a person, experience, or piece of wisdom from your tradition — that has guided you on the journey to strengthen pluralism?
I am, among other things, a religious liberty scholar. I came into my field because I took a class from Professor Douglas Laycock. He has set a profound example to me of someone who values pluralism in more than words. An agnostic, he has spent much of his career advocating for laws and rulings that protect people from nearly every religious background other than his own. His is an example I have tried to follow.
Go-to road trip snack?
Chinook Sunflower seeds
Sabeen Safi
Student, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Closing Plenary Panelist
This year’s Summit theme is “A Road Forward.” What is one “road sign” — could be a person, experience, or piece of wisdom from your tradition — that has guided you on the journey to strengthen pluralism?
A recent “road sign” of mine was completing Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, this past May. I was surrounded by Muslims from every corner of the world who practiced their faith in different ways and came from different cultural backgrounds, yet we all shared the same purpose of completing this pillar of Islam together. It made me realize how often our differences overshadow what we have in common. Being away from the comfort of our homes and united by a shared purpose reminded me that our common humanity is often much stronger than the distinctions we focus on. That perspective has stayed with me and made me more intentional about noticing what connects people.
Go-to road trip snack?
Sour gummy worms
Dr. Simran Jeet Singh
Executive Director, the Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute & Professor, Union Theological Seminary
Closing Plenary Panelist
What are you looking forward to about this year’s Interfaith Leadership Summit?
I’m finding inspiration among people who are working to build communities of care. In a culture that’s always telling us to scale things up and to collect as much as we can, I’m increasingly drawn to people who are investing in relationships, with one another and with themselves. The Interfaith Leadership Summit attracts these kinds of people, and I’ve always made great connections with fellow travelers whenever I’ve attended in the past.
Can’t attend this year’s Summit in person? Tune in to livestreams of our opening and closing plenary sessions:
A Road Forward: The Role of Pluralism in the Future of our Country
Friday, August 7, 2026, 11:30am CST
A Pluralistic Roadmap for College Campuses
Sunday, August 9, 2026, 11:30am CST
