Religious Diversity Leadership Summit: Building Your Roadmap to Religious Inclusion at Work
2026 Summit Speakers and Moderators:
Miranda Bennett-King 
Senior Director of Culture, The Hartford
Miranda Bennett-King is a Sr. Director of Culture at The Hartford, where she leads enterprise inclusion strategy and oversees employee resource groups, workplace communities, and culture-shaping initiatives that foster inclusion, belonging, and engagement.
With nearly 30 years of experience spanning operations, quality, and culture leadership, she is known for translating values into action and advancing sustainable, high-impact programming.
Her work focuses on designing initiatives that strengthen both human connection and business outcomes across the organization. Miranda partners across the business to create environments where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to thrive—recognizing that identity, including faith, plays an important role in how individuals experience belonging at work.
A passionate advocate for inclusion, Miranda is committed to helping organizations thoughtfully navigate complex dimensions of identity—fostering dialogue, shared understanding, and intentional leadership that bridges differences and builds trust.
Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Miranda resides in Alabama. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family, and is deeply grounded in her faith.
Nathan Calko 
Private Funds Associate, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Nathan Calko is an associate in the private funds practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. He received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his BTL from Ner Israel Rabbinical College.
James A. Felton III 
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Fordham University
Opening Remarks
James A. Felton III is the inaugural Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at Fordham University. Previously, he was the inaugural Vice President for Inclusive Excellence at The College of New Jersey, Chief Diversity Officer at State University of New York at Cortland, and the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at Anne Arundel Community College.
Recognized as a national leader and scholar-practitioner in the field of diversity in higher education, Felton has contributed to the development of several diversity and strategic plans; has managed several scholarship and mentoring programs for underrepresented students at a number of selective private liberal arts colleges and state-system universities across the country; and he has collaborated with corporate, nonprofit and federal agencies and NGOs to promote international programs and initiatives on diversity and social justice. He is the co-author of the book Inclusive Directions: The Role of the Chief Diversity Officer in Community College Leadership.
A frequent conference and workshop presenter, Felton has served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) since 2021 and became its National Board Chair in 2026. Previously, he served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity from 2015-2017. He served as the project team leader as part of Anne Arundel Community College’s participation in the Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus-Based Strategies for Student Success project sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) from 2014-2017. In 2016, he participated in the White House Convening on Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education, sponsored by the White House Domestic Policy Council in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education.
Felton earned a BA in Psychology and an MS in Education Administration at McDaniel College. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Indiana Institute of Technology.
Rev. Mark E. Fowler 
CEO, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Rev. Mark Fowler guides Tanenbaum to the fulfillment of its mission to promote justice and build respect for religious difference by transforming individuals and institutions to reduce prejudice, hatred, and violence. As CEO, Rev. Fowler is responsible for all of Tanenbaum’s departments, the design and implementation of all Tanenbaum trainings, and the expansion of Tanenbaum programs nationally and internationally.
Rev. Fowler represents Tanenbaum on the United Nations Multifaith Advisory Council for the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development, the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, the Inclusion Allies Coalition, and Interfaith United NYC.
As architect of Tanenbaum’s Corporate Membership Program, Rev. Fowler has conducted trainings at GSK, Merck, Turner Broadcasting, PwC, The Walt Disney Company, CVS Health, Aetna, Bloomberg, Sodexo, Google, Moody’s, Bank of America, Walmart, and Target, among others. He has also managed the design of Tanenbaum’s Religious Diversity Leadership Summit and the Religious Diversity Symposium, which have brought together senior leaders, DEI practitioners and advocates to strategize on creating religiously inclusive workplaces.
Rev. Fowler led the evaluation of Tanenbaum’s Education program and managed the process and creation of its second editions of the Religions in My Neighborhood and World Olympics curricula.
Rev. Fowler is a sought-after keynote speaker and facilitator in all of Tanenbaum’s core program areas, and has addressed organizations globally on issues of equality in race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. Recently, Rev. Fowler delivered the keynote at the 2020 Diversity Best Practices EmERGe conference, was featured in a fireside chat with Robert Cook, CEO and President at FINRA’s 2020 Virtual Diversity Summit and continued in his role as Navigator at the 2020 unveiling of OUTNext’s latest curriculum “Out of the Closet and into the C-Suite.”
Over the course of Rev. Fowler’s tenure at Tanenbaum, he has presented at the National Council on the Social Studies, National Association of Multicultural Education, Teaching Tolerance, the YMCA of Greater New York, Partnership for Afterschool Education, Asia Society, National School Board Association, the United Nations, the Newseum, the Power of Women Institute, the Return on Inclusion Summit, the OutNEXT Summit, and the Forum on Workplace Inclusion regarding prejudice reduction, conflict resolution, bias and bullying.
Rev. Fowler earned a B.A. in English and Education at Duke University and was trained as a Mediation and Conflict Resolution Specialist with the NYC Department of Education. Rev. Fowler also is a graduate of the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, is an ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual minister, and is a Dean of second-year students at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary.
John Mensah 
Program Director, Community Services Foundation
John Yeboah Mensah, SJD, is a legal scholar and program leader working at the intersection of law, policy, and governance. He currently works with a community development non-profit organization in the Washington, DC–Maryland area, where he leads compliance, government relations, and policy analysis work focused on equitable access and community impact.
Alongside his work, John serves as an Adjunct Lecturer in Law at the University of Professional Studies in Accra, Ghana, where he teaches courses in International Law, Human Rights, and International Security. He holds an SJD from Fordham University School of Law, where he was also an Access to Justice Initiative Fellow and a Fellow of the Institute on Religion, Law, and Lawyers’ Work, an affiliation he continues through his service on the Institute’s Alumni Advisory Council.
John’s work spans legal education, policy translation, and multi-stakeholder program management across the United States, Ghana, and internationally.
Martin L. Schmelkin 
Partner, McDermott Will & Schulte
Marty is a Partner in the Employment Law practice with McDermott Will & Schulte in New York City. He has over 30 years of experience in employment law, representing clients in all aspects of the employment lifecycle, including counseling on recruitment, hiring, employment agreements, compensation, promotions, leaves, disciplinary action, terminations and separation agreements. Marty has experience conducting workplace investigations on harassment and discrimination, litigating, arbitrating and mediating disputes, advising on restrictive covenants including garden leaves, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, coordinating the implementation of employment policies and programs across multiple global jurisdictions, and leading workplace training programs.
Marty has a wealth of experience with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, practices and programs, including conducting risk assessments to mitigate employment law risk. He also counsels employers on EEOC and state agency regulatory filings, pay equity analyses and diversity demographic disclosures.
Marty brings a unique perspective to his clients, informed by his work for 15 years in the legal department of a global financial institution, where he was a managing director and associate general counsel in the employment law group in New York City and Hong Kong. He has a particular in-depth experience with financial services firms, including investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and asset managers.
Marty received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR), and his law degree from the New York University School of Law. He is a Faculty Associate at Columbia University where he teaches a course on “Foundations of Labor & Employment Law” in the Human Capital Management masters program. He further serves on the Advisory Board of the Relationships Across Differences Roundtable at Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management, University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mohamed F. Sweify 
Counsel, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
Dr. Mohamed F. Sweify is an international arbitration counsel and New York litigator, with more than a decade and a half of experience representing clients in international arbitration, complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution involving complex domestic, cross-border and international transactions. A bilingual, dual-qualified attorney in both common and civil law jurisdictions, his international arbitration practice is global in scope, with particular emphasis on disputes connected to the Middle East and Africa.
Mohamed was educated in Cairo, California, and New York and he lectures on law at Fordham Law School and other U.S. universities. He has an extensive list of publication in international arbitration, including an internationally acclaimed book on “Third Party Funding in International Arbitration,” which has become a seminal reference in the international arbitration field. He previously served as a public prosecutor in Egypt, where he handled high-profile governmental corruption and white-collar crime investigations.
Dr. Sweify is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He has been appointed as a Delegate of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and is considered one of the youngest arbitrators in the history of the AAA/ICDR to be listed on the AAA/ICDR National Roster of Arbitrators. Currently, Dr. Sweify serves as the Secretary General of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. In 2022, Dr. Sweify was awarded the Africa’s 30 Most Promising Arbitration Practitioners Award. In 2021, Mohamed was awarded the Middle East Policy Center (MEPC) 40 Under 40 Award due to the impact he brings to boost the relationship between the U.S. and the Middle East.
Kimberly Tiedeken 
Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Princeton University
Kimberly Tiedeken is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion in Princeton University’s Office of Human Resources, where she focuses on dignity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives for staff. She facilitates in Princeton’s Inclusion & Diversity Certificate Program and collaborates with departments across the University to enhance Princeton’s inclusive excellence and help all employees thrive. Prior to joining Princeton, Kimberly spent eighteen years at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she held roles such as Mid Atlantic People Leader and Diversity & Inclusion Leader.
She is certified in coaching, diversity, and human resources, holding Certified Diversity Executive (CDE), Certified Professional Coach (CPC, ELI-MP), SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM SCP), and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) credentials.
As Kimberly’s life has been significantly influenced by individuals with disabilities, she believes in the power of advocacy, inclusion, and community service – volunteering with Red Cross Disaster Relief, Reading and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, and AmeriCorps. Kimberly resides in NJ with her husband and sons.