APDS Faculty
Many of our faculty members are among the most qualified people in their field and pioneers in their areas of expertise. Many hold advanced degrees from prestigious American universities and seminaries, including Harvard Divinity School, Graduate Theological Union, McCormick Theological Seminary, and Hartford Seminary. Several of them lecture and teach internationally.
All Paths Team
Rev. Debrah Daya Friedland-vanZyl
Co-Founder and Co-Director
Rev. Dr. Andre Van Zijl, D.Min
Co-Founder and Co-Director
Rev. Shayna Lester
Spiritual Counseling
Rev. Dr. Eric Kowalczyk, D.Min
Instructor, All Paths Team
Rev. Stephanie Clarke
Spiritual Counseling
Rev. Berry Behr
Africa Cohort Mentor
All Paths faculty member Rev. Berry Behr will be walking alongside as Ordination Ministry class mentor. Rev Berry serves as the Global Interfaith Ambassador for Emissaries of Divine Light International.
Africa Cohort
Rev. Tahil Sharma
All Paths Team
Rev. Margaret Burbank Yenoki
Adjunct Faculty
Rev. Dr. Jeff Utter
All Paths Team
Ruth Broyde Sharone
All Paths Team
Advisors
Circle of Wisdom Keepers
Rev. Dr. John Cobb on APDS
Advisor
Considered the foremost theologian of the 21st Century.
“American culture officially respects all religions while favoring none. However, its failure to favor any one tradition has led to turning religions, one of whose functions is to transform and unify basic public assumptions into the realm of purely private and culturally irrelevant matters. They have been replaced largely by the worship of private money and public power. Our present schooling system does not help. We urgently need new educational experiments. All Paths Divinity School is working creatively toward filling that need. It deserves the encouragement of the adherents of all traditions in this important experiment.”
– Rev. Dr. John Cobb
All Paths Divinity School is a proud partner of The Cobb Institute
Dr. Joseph Prahbu
Advisor
We honor the memory of Dr. Joseph Prahbu, who was a supporter and director of our school since its inception. In the video below, he speaks on the values of All Paths Divinity School and the role we can play in the years to come.
Imam Jamal Rahman
Advisor
Popular speaker on Islam, Sufi spirituality, and interfaith relations. Along with his Interfaith Amigos, he has been featured in the New York Times, CBS News, BBC, and various NPR programs. Jamal is co-founder and Muslim Sufi minister at Interfaith Community Sanctuary and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. He is a former co-host of Interfaith Talk Radio and travels nationally and internationally, presenting at retreats and workshops.
Rita D. Sherma, PhD
Advisor
Founding Director and Associate Professor at Graduate Theological Union’s (GTU) Shingal Center for Dharma Studies | Core Doctoral Faculty | Department Chair of Theology & Ethics | and Co-Chair of Sustainability 360 Initiative at GTU. Swami Vivekananda Visiting Professor in Hindu Studies at USC, Los Angeles. MA in Women’s Studies in Religion, PhD in Theology & Ethics from Claremont Graduate University. Published widely.
Dr. Bonnie Glass-Coffin
Advisor
Interfaith Reverend Bonnie Glass-Coffin, PhD, is a visionary and a bridge builder who believes that educating the whole person head and heart should be at the core of a liberal arts education. She has written two books about her work with Peruvian shamanism, The Gift of Life: Female Spirituality and Healing in Northern Peru and Lessons in Courage: Peruvian Shamanic Wisdom for Everyday Life with don Oscar Miro-Quesada.
H. E. Rev. Patrick McCollum
Advisor
Interfaith chaplain, Wiccan Priest, spiritual mentor, author, and peace counselor. He is known for his Peace Violin, which he plays all over the world. He operates the Patrick McCollum Foundation for Peace and has formed an alliance for ecological sustainability with Dr. Jane Goodall, H.H. Puja Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Dr. Vandana Shiva, and H.H. Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja.
Dr. Rev. Richard Rose
Advisor
Ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Assistant minister at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Monrovia, CA. Chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department at the University of La Verne. Program Director for the Ecumenical Center for Black Church Studies. His current research examines global issues related to Interfaith dialogue and Religious Pluralism.
Philip Goldberg
Advisor
Spiritual counselor, public speaker, and author American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, tracing the influence of the spiritual philosophy of Vedanta on influential artists and writers such as John Coltrane and the late J.D. Salinger. His most recent works include Roadsigns on the Spiritual Path, and Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times.
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