DARE TO
UNDERSTAND
AWARD
Since 2012, Interfaith Philadelphia has held an annual Dare to Understand Concert and Awards Presentation.
The Dare to Understand Award honors individuals, communities, and businesses of distinction that have championed the work of interfaith engagement and understanding across lines of difference. This award celebrates those who boldly “dare to understand” and applauds the courage it takes to cross lines of difference in order to work together for the common good. Awardees lead their communities by example, demonstrating humility, curiosity, and respect, qualities imperative in interfaith work.
For more information about this event, please contact Sara Zebovitz, at: ssz@interfaithphiladelphia.org.
Dare to Understand Award Recipients
2023
Valarie Kaur
2022
Msgr. Michael Carroll
Sr. Maria Hornung
2021
Dr. Ala Stanford
Founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium
Dr. Anthony Fauci
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
2020
Milan Kunz
On behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philadelphia Area
Rev. Steven Lawrence
On behalf of NewCORE (New Conversation on Race and Ethnicity)
2019
Krista Tippett
Journalist, Author, Host of National Public Radio Program and Podcast "On Being"
2018
PECO
Accepted by Elizabeth Murphy
Husnaa Hashim
Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, Walking the Walk Aluma
Jane Golden
Founder, President of Mural Arts Philadelphia
2017
Eboo Patel
Founder, President of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC)
2016
Gity Banan-Etemad, MD
Founding Board Member, Philadelphia Baha'i Faith Leader
The Honorable Michael A. Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
2015
Helen Cunningham
President of the Samuel S. Fels Fund
SEPTA/General Counsel Gino Benedetti
Leaders in the Center's coalitional effort to mount a public response to the anti-Islamic ad campaign on SEPTA buses
Read remarks from our 2015 Walking the Walk Alumni Presenter, Hanna Elmongy
2014
Interfaith Philadelphia 10th Anniversary Awards
Current and Past Board Chairs:
Rev. Richard Fernandez
Imam Muhammad Abdur-Razzaq Miller
Sr. Gloria Coleman, SHCJ
Lawrence Silverman, Esq.
2013
S.A. Ibrahim
CEO of Radian; Sponsor of Ibrahim Fellows Program (interfaith initiative for young adults) Convener, Business Leaders Roundtable of Interfaith Philadelphia
Michael Pasek (Student Recipient)
Alumnus of the Interfaith Center's Walking the Walk Youth Program; Ph.D. Candidate, Penn State in Diversity & Psychology
2012
Thomas Stewart, In Memoriam
Banker and Board member of Interfaith Philadelphia whose interfaith activism followed the tragic loss of his son-in-law in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
About the Award Artwork
Artist Krista Bard's series, "Sacred Words," has garnered acclaim through exhibitions in Paris, Palm Beach, Miami, and Washington, DC. Bard created the piece "Understanding" as a gift to Interfaith Philadelphia. In it, she meticulously translated the word into numerous languages. Bard believes "Understanding" embodies Interfaith Philadelphia's mission and is one of the most powerful word in the world. According to Bard, “It raises the human spirit and calls forth that which is best in each of us. It is precisely what the world needs at this moment.”