At ICJS, community & nonprofit leaders who are working for social justice can seek to understand how the religious diversity of our communities is an asset that can anchor Baltimore’s health and growth.
For Community & Nonprofit Leaders
Justice Leaders Fellowship Encounters Difference
The ICJS Justice Leaders Fellowship is a 10-month intensive program for local community, nonprofit, and civic leaders to study and dialogue together. The fellowship draws on the rich resources of diverse religious traditions to inform and inspire a more just Baltimore and to discover how religious pluralism is key to a democratic society.
Fellows come from diverse religious backgrounds and demonstrate success and leadership in a wide variety of fields, including advocacy, arts, public and mental health, nonprofit leadership, government, and entrepreneurship.
Justice Leader Fellows are committed to increasing interreligious understanding and cooperation to consider contemporary issues of justice through the lenses of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish teachings and traditions. Fellows work with each other and ICJS scholars to investigate justice issues.
The program is directed by Fatimah Fanusie, Ph.D., Program Director for Justice Leaders.
Please note: The Justice Leaders Fellowship will be on hiatus in 2024 to 2025. It will resume in fall 2025.
If you are interested in learning more, fill out the form below:
Interreligious Capacity-Building Grants
The ICJS Interreligious Capacity-Building Grants provide up to $2,200 to Justice Leaders Fellowship alumni who have an initiative that integrates their expanded understanding and interest in crossing religious barriers in service of the common good. These grants are intended to expand the capacity of participants to take the risk to initiate their idea. The grants are funded with the support of the T. Rowe Price Foundation,
Justice Leader Fellowship Rosters
Coming Together as a Community of Believers
“If we could somehow invigorate a whole community of believers in this city to understand that the destiny of Baltimore is waiting for us all to come together…we could make some great changes in this city.“
—Leon F. Pinkett III, ICJS 2021 Justice Leader Fellow
Funding Partners
Additional funding from the David and Barbara B. Hirschorn Foundation.
Justice Leader Voices
Providing Mental Health Support that is Spiritually Sound & Culturally Appropriate
Salaam… Peace Be Unto You… Shalom Three phrases that capture the divine essence of calm, order, and tranquility of the three Abrahamic faiths. I am grateful to have received not only peace, but it was refreshing to also encounter respect, validation, and compassion from the participants in the ICJS Justice Leaders Fellowship. Prior to this…
In Our Diversity, We Are United By Our Humanity
I sat and gazed around the room at this gathering of Justice Fellows, and I could feel the presence of our ancestors. I’m 22 years of age, and I do not consider myself a hugely religious person, although I foresee that changing as time goes on. Right now, I feel more spiritual. The faces I…
In Islam, the Path of Sacrifice and Charity Leads to Justice
We Muslims believe that sacrifice and helping those in need is essential to the fabric of a just society. My time as a Justice Leaders Fellow inspired me to think deeply about the concept of charity in my religion, Islam, as it coalesces with those of Christianity and Judaism. It brought back memories of learning…
Bridging Baltimore’s Many Divides
My experience in the ICJS Justice Leaders Fellowship has prompted me to think deeply about economic justice issues in Baltimore and around the country. Prior to applying for this fellowship and being advised that economic justice was going to be the focus of the program, the topic about the digital divide came to mind. My…