By JoAnne Wadsworth, Communications Consultant, G20 Interfaith Forum
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The 2026 Annual G20 Interfaith Forum, “Resilient Hope, Shared Future,” takes place October 15 to 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the fourth and final post in a short series introducing some of the people taking part, following earlier posts on religious leaders, government and policy voices, and practitioners and humanitarian leaders. Please note that the program is still being finalized, and the names below represent only a portion of the academic, research, and media participants expected.
IF20 grew out of academic work on law and religion, and research has remained central to what the Forum produces each year: policy briefs, working group reports, and the analysis that underpins its recommendations to G20 policymakers. This year’s program brings together scholars of law and religion, peacebuilding practitioners who now teach, computer scientists, evaluation researchers, two university presidents, and journalists who cover faith for national audiences. A selection follows.
Forum Leadership and Research
Prof. W. Cole Durham is President of the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and founding director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. He has spent his career on comparative law and religion, advising on religious freedom legislation in many countries. He will speak at the opening ceremony, moderate the session on promoting freedom of religion or belief, and offer concluding comments at the closing ceremony.
Prof. Katherine Marshall is Vice President of the G20 Interfaith Forum Association, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and Executive Director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue. She spent thirty-five years at the World Bank, including as counselor to its president on ethics, values, and faith in development. She will speak at the opening ceremony, on the Deadline 2030 plenary, and at the closing ceremony.
Fred Axelgard is Director of Special Projects for the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and has worked extensively on Middle East policy and on IF20’s anti-trafficking work. He will moderate the session on human trafficking and modern forms of slavery.
Luisa Banchoff is a researcher and report writer with the World Faiths Development Dialogue, and contributed to IF20 research on faith engagement and the Sustainable Development Goals. She will speak in the session on faith engagement on poverty and hunger.
University Leadership
Linda Livingstone is President of Baylor University, the first woman to hold the position, and previously served as a business school dean at George Washington University and Pepperdine. She will join the Friday evening plenary on faith and higher education.
Shane Reese is President of Brigham Young University and a statistician by training, having previously served as the university’s academic vice president. He will join the Friday evening plenary on faith and higher education.
Law, Religion, and Religious Freedom
Dr. Nicholas Miller is a professor of law and religion at Washington Adventist University and has written on the religious origins of American church-state separation. He will speak in the session on promoting freedom of religion or belief.
Dr. Allen Hertzke is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma and a longstanding scholar of religion and politics, including the international religious freedom movement. He will speak in the session on promoting freedom of religion or belief.
Prof. Rodrigo Alves directs the Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion. He will speak in the session on faith engagement on poverty and hunger and moderate the session on faith and media.
Prof. Maniraj Sukdaven teaches religion studies at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He will speak in the session drawing lessons from the G20 Interfaith Forums held in South Africa and Brazil.
Dr. Elizabeta Kitanovic is a professor of ecumenism and Christian confessions and founder of the Institut de Théologie Orthodoxe Apôtre Paul and the Facta est Lux Human Rights Institute. She will speak in the sessions on faith approaches to mental health and on faith and media.
Peacebuilding, Education, and Evaluation Research
Prof. James Patton is Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Religious Studies at Utah State University and part of its Heravi Peace Institute. Before moving to academia he led the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy and worked with the U.S. State Department and USAID on conflict management, with field experience across some forty countries. He will speak in the session on religion, peace, and the next generation of peacemakers.
Prof. Andy Reed holds the Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University. He will speak in the session on religion, peace, and the next generation of peacemakers.
Amaarah DeCuir is a Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University whose research addresses Muslim students, educational equity, and inclusive schooling. She will speak in the session on educational initiatives for social cohesion.
Kristian Noll is Knowledge Exchange and Impact Manager at the International Inequalities Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He will speak in the session on faith communities and a planet in crisis.
Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago serves as Dean of Research and Strategic Partnerships at Pasifika Communities University and brings extensive experience in social development across the Pacific. She will speak in the session on faith communities and a planet in crisis.
Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer is a Native Hawaiian scholar of Indigenous epistemology at the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu campus, known for her work on Hawaiian ways of knowing. She will contribute a video message to the session on faith communities and a planet in crisis.
The impact evaluation session is led by a Brigham Young University team alongside Parker Gardner of Capital One Software Strategy. Prof. Tim Smith of BYU Counseling Psychology will present with doctoral candidate Brook Schaefermeyer and students Jenna Boden, Abigail Morgan, and Chayton Dalby, drawn from the Ballard Center’s Good Measure, Faith, and Homelessness teams. The session offers IF20 partners practical tools for measuring program impact, including a new app and a case example, on the premise that influencing policy increasingly requires demonstrable evidence.
Technology and AI
Dr. Medlir Mema directs the AI Ethics and Governance Institute and leads the AI and Global Governance program at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels. He holds a doctorate in political science from George Washington University, teaches political science and international law, and co-hosts a podcast on AI’s implications for politics, law, and society. He will moderate the Saturday plenary asking whether AI is a modern miracle or an existential threat.
Prof. David Wingate is a professor at Brigham Young University working in machine learning. He will speak in the session on AI innovation and human dignity.
Prof. Eric Ringger is a professor of computer science at Brigham Young University with a background in natural language processing. He will speak in the session on AI innovation and human dignity.
Dr. DZ Kalman is a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Kalman will speak on the Saturday plenary on technology and faith perspectives on AI systems.
Media and Communications
Sarah Jane Weaver is Editor of the Deseret News, the first woman to hold the position since the paper’s founding in 1850. She spent nearly three decades at Church News, serving as its editor from 2017, where she expanded its reach substantially and launched translation, video, and podcast operations. She will moderate the Thursday afternoon session on peacemaking through disagreeing better.
Dr. Marianna Richardson is Director of Communications for the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and lead writer of IF20’s discussion paper on AI innovation and human dignity. She will moderate the session of the same name.
Angela Redding is Executive Director of the Radiant Foundation, which produces media exploring faith and belief for general audiences. She will speak in the session on faith and media.
Sandile Makasi is Communication Director for the South Africa Area Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will help lead the session drawing lessons from the G20 Interfaith Forums held in South Africa and Brazil.
Follow the Forum’s Discussions
This closes this series. Across four posts we have introduced religious leaders, government and policy voices, practitioners and humanitarian leaders, and the scholars, researchers, and journalists above. In every case the list has been partial. Additional participants are expected, several sessions are still being finalized, and the full program continues to develop ahead of October. Frequently updated program details are available at g20interfaith.org.
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JoAnne Wadsworth is a Communications Consultant for the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and Editor of the Viewpoints blog, IF20’s platform for commentary at the intersection of faith and global policy. She has covered the work of the Forum across multiple G20 cycles, producing summaries, articles, and editorial content that bring the voices of interfaith leaders and scholars to a broader audience. Her writing engages with topics spanning environmental governance, religious freedom, anti-racism, poverty and inequality, and the role of faith in multilateral policy processes.