Meet The Team

Dr. Bob Roberts Jr. is a pastor and renowned bridge builder who has dedicated his life to promoting and advancing religious freedom, peacemaking and civil engagement. He is the founder of GlocalNet, a ministry dedicated to mobilizing the church to bring about transformation in the public square, co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network (MFNN), an organization committed to promoting religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships, and newly appointed president of the Institute of Global Engagement (IGE), an organization that catalyzes freedom of faith worldwide so that everyone has the ability to live what they believe.

With decades of experience in peacemaking and international religious freedom, Dr. Roberts’ groundbreaking work has earned him respect and recognition from the United Nations, U.S. Department of State, World Economic Forum, ambassadors, international royal families, and policy leaders worldwide. His impressive contributions were honored by The White House in 2022 when he and the MFNN co-founders received the Uniter Award for their inspiring grassroots bridge-building work across faith groups throughout the US.

For over 30 years, Dr. Roberts led Northwood Church near Dallas, Texas, where he is now the Founding Global Pastor. He is also a prolific author of six books and the host of the Bold Love podcast, where he shares stories of his journey and encouraging people to boldly love their neighbors.

Bob holds a Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a BA from Baylor University

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Imam Mohamed Magid is the Executive Imam of All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Sterling, Virginia. He is the Chairman of International Interfaith Peace Corps (IIPC) and the former President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He is also the Chairman of Muflehun, a think tank which focuses on confronting violent extremist thought through research-driven preventative programs within a religious paradigm. Imam Magid has a long history of commitment to public service through organizations, such as The Peaceful Families Project.

Imam Magid has co-authored three books: Before You Tie the Knot: A Guide for Couples, Reflections on the Qur’an, and Change from Within. He has helped in organizing training and workshops for Imams and religious leaders, domestically and internationally, on the issue of violence against women. Imam Magid is also leading an initiative to protect religious minorities in Muslim majority countries through seminars and Imam training workshops. He has written for the Washington Post and Huffington Post, and has been profiled in Time Magazine and Wall Street Journal. He is the recipient for the Washingtonian of the Year 2009 and the Human Rights Award 2005 from Fairfax County.

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Designated by Newsweek Magazine as the most influential rabbi in America and by the Washington Post as the “quintessential religious lobbyist on Capitol Hill,” David Saperstein, for decades, directed the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, representing the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest segment of American Jewry, to Congress and the Administration.

For over two years (2015-2017), Rabbi Saperstein served our nation as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, carrying out his responsibilities as the country’s chief diplomat on religious freedom issues. Also an attorney, he taught seminars on Church –State law and Jewish Law for 35 years at Georgetown University Law Center.

During his career, Rabbi Saperstein has served as the chair or co-chair of several national interreligious coalitions including the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty and served on the boards or executive committees of numerous national organizations including the NAACP, People for The American Way, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Religious Partnership on the Environment and the World Faith Development Dialogue.

A prolific writer and speaker, Rabbi Saperstein has appeared on a number of television news and talk shows including Oprah, Nightline, Lehrer News Hour, ABC’s Sunday Morning, Crossfire, the Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball, Meet the Press, and the O’Reilly Factor. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, and Harvard Law Review. His latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

He currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service’s Center for Jewish Civilization as well as the Senior Advisor for Strategy and Policy for the Union for Reform Judaism.

Rabbi Saperstein is married to Ellen Weiss, an award-winning journalist and has two sons, Daniel and Ari.

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Micah has served over 21 years in Christian ministry including 14 years as a Senior Pastor in Tennessee & Missouri. He also held roles as a Director of Ministry Development at LifeWay Christian Resources and has lived and worked as a Christian minister in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Micah is a fantastic communicator being a frequent guest speaker at churches and conferences and an author of several books including Islam & North America: Loving our Muslim Neighbors, Leveling the Church, and others. He has also participated with Multi-Faith Neighbors Network as a pastor and participant in programs in Chattanooga, TN and Morocco.

​As Director of Programs, Micah is responsible for planning and execution of all programs for Multi-Faith Neighbors Network. He works with the team to ensure all Multi-faith Neighbors Network programming aligns with the vision and mission and sees that these are done with excellence.

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Daniel is responsible for ensuring the organization is executing at a high level and in an efficient way.

He loves talking about religion and politics and loves the work MFNN is doing for religious freedom for all faiths around the world.

Daniel holds a Business Marketing degree from Texas A&M University. He then received a Master’s in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. Daniel and his wife, Paige, have two young daughters.

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Steve is the executive director of the Network for Dialogue, a new non-profit initiative designed to facilitate civic dialogue in the Middle East and North Africa. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and has been in recent years a visiting professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Vrije University in Amsterdam and Utrecht University’s University College. Previously, he served as the executive director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Strategy Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. For more than six years, he directed the Brookings Institution’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, where he authored the book Understanding Tahrir Square: What Transitions Elsewhere Can Teach Us About the Prospects for Arab Democracy. ​

As Senior Advisor, Steve works to ensure MFNN is reaching its goals effectively through relationship building and community engagement along with overseeing the monitoring, evaluation, and learning for our various projects and programs.

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Prior to joining MFNN, Ali worked for the U.S. federal government as well as private sector companies specializing in program/project management.

Ali is an active member and volunteer at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center supporting Imam Mohamed Magid on a variety of different projects as well as working on the Multi-Faith, Government and Law Enforcement Committees.

Ali is currently serving in the U.S. Army National Guard. Lastly, Ali is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Behavioral Science.

As Director of Operations, Ali is responsible to ensure MFNN is operating efficiently and effectively.

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John Thielepape (pronounced Tee-lee-pap) has served as the Director of Missions for the Parker Baptist Association since 2006. The Parker Association serves Southern Baptist churches in Parker County, Texas on the western side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

John was raised in Nashville, TN and now lives in Weatherford, TX with his wife of 32 years, Charlotte, a retired public educator. They have one daughter and two sons. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis on Faith Development Theory.

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Josh is a marketing and communications veteran with over 15 years of experience in leading teams in corporate, retail, leisure, family entertainment, sports, and church communications.

Previously, he served as Vice President of Marketing at a large franchise, owned a mid-sized advertising agency, and was a communications pastor.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Josh holds a B.A. in Communications & Design from the University of Central Oklahoma. Josh and his wife Misty moved to Texas in 2005 and have two children.

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