Dr. Heather Miller Rubens, Executive Director and Roman Catholic Scholar
Dr. Heather Miller Rubens assumed the role of ICJS Executive Director in July 2016. She is also the Roman Catholic Scholar at the ICJS. Dr. Rubens holds degrees from Georgetown University (B.A.), the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (G.Dip.), and the University of Chicago (A.M. and Ph.D.). In her research she explores how religious minority communities navigate their political, legal, and cultural space in light of the experience of other minority communities.
Halla Attallah, Visiting Muslim Scholar
Halla Attallah is a doctoral student at Georgetown University's department of Theological and Religious Studies. She holds degrees from the University of Washington (BA and BS), and the American University of Paris (MA in Middle East and Islamic Studies with Language). Her research examines the Qurʾān's narrative content using a literary critical lens and draws on feminist, gender and disability literary theories. She is currently completing her dissertation, "Gender and Disability Rhetoric in the Qurʾān: A Literary Examination of the Qurʾān's Annunciation and Birth Stories."
Dr. Fatimah Fanusie, Civic Leaders Fellowship Director
Dr. Fatimah Fanusie is a historian of 19th- and 20th-century American religion whose research is an evolving reappraisal of the study of African American Islam, the modern Civil Rights Movement and Islam in the West. She is also Historian Consultant for the Howard Thurman Historical home in Daytona Beach, Florida. She received her BA in History and Arabic from Lincoln University, her MA in American History from Tufts University, and her Ph.D. in American History from Howard University.
Christine Gallagher, Teachers Fellowship Director
Christine Gallagher is excited to use her experience in ministry and education to work with the teacher and clergy communities here at ICJS. Most recently, she was the director of Mission and Ministry at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore where she taught theology courses, planned the school’s campus ministry programming, and served on a number of committees to help further reflection on how the school lives its mission. She grew up in Philadelphia, studied American Studies at Georgetown University, and received Masters’ degrees in theology and history at Villanova University. Christine served on the planning committee for the teachers fellowship and was a member of the first teachers cohort.
Dr. Benjamin Sax, Jewish Scholar
Dr. Benjamin Sax was director of the Malcolm and Diane Rosenberg Program in Judaic Studies and the founding faculty principal at the West Ambler Johnston Residential College at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. After completing a Master’s degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Jewish Thought, he earned a doctorate in the history of Judaism at the University of Chicago. Ben’s work investigates the complex relationship between philosophical hermeneutics and modern theology.
Dr. Matthew D. Taylor, Protestant Scholar
Dr. Matthew D. Taylor holds a Ph.D. in Theological and Religious Studies from Georgetown University with an emphasis in comparative religion and contemporary communities of Muslims and Christians. He also has degrees in English and Religious Studies (B.A.) at the University of California, Irvine, and in Theology (M.A.) from Fuller Theological Seminary. In his research, he compares how communities of Muslims and Christians in America navigate modernity and religious pluralism in their connection to and use of their respective scriptures.
Laura Urban, Director of Development
Laura Urban has been working in development and communication for nonprofits for nearly 30 years, both in Baltimore and Chicago. She most recently served as Vice President of Giving at the Maryland Food Bank. She was a member of ICJS's inaugural Justice Leaders Fellowship in 2016 and has been an active leader in her Baltimore City neighborhood and Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church. Laura earned a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University.
Bobby Waddail, Business Manager
Bobby Waddail is the Business Manager at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies. Bobby was Baptist Campus Minister at Towson University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for almost thirty years before retiring in June 2007. He holds an M. Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in accounting, from the University of Kansas. Bobby has participated in many ICJS programs and events over the years.
Melissa Zieve, Director of Operations
Melissa Zieve is a life-long Baltimorean. She brings decades of experience in local social justice, religious, and education communities. She previously served as President of Bolton Street Synagogue, where she had also worked as Education Director and teacher. She is an active leader in the Union for Reform Judaism and with Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development. Prior positions include Program Director, Community Organizer, and Community Liaison for various local and statewide non-profits. Melissa holds a Bachelor's degree in religion and mathematics from Goucher College and a Master of Social Work with a concentration in community organizing from the University of Maryland.
