Board of Directors

Scott Alexander, Ph.D.

Dr. Scott Alexander is currently Associate Professor of Islam at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also Director of the school’s Catholic-Muslim Studies Program. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in the history of religions, with a concentration in Islamic studies from Columbia University in New York.

In March of 2007, Dr. Alexander was one of five U.S. scholars to be awarded an Association of Theological Schools Lilly Faculty Fellowship in support of his research and writing. Beyond his extensive work with the Muslim community in Chicago and the U.S., Dr. Alexander also has first-hand experience with Muslim communities in the traditional Muslim world and is currently working to expand the outreach of CTU’s Catholic-Muslim Studies Program to similar programs in Nigeria, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

Mark Webb, Ph.D.

Dr. Mark Webb is Professor and Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Texas Tech University. He has received both his B.A. in philosophy and his two M.A. degrees, one in philosophy and the other in Classical Humanities from Texas Tech University, and earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Syracuse University. Professor Webb specializes in epistemology and philosophy of religion. He is currently working in the epistemology of religious experience, especially as it applies to non-Western religious experiences. His articles have appeared in The Journal of Philosophy, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, and Hypatia, and “An Eliminativist Theory of Religion,” in Sophia.

Levent Koch, Ph.D.

Levent Koch serves as the Director of Uplift Academy, NJ, dedicated to providing high-quality educational services that bridge the achievement gap stemming from socioeconomic disparities, empowering students of all backgrounds to realize their full academic and intellectual potential. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cukurova University, Turkey, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Abai State University of Kazakhstan, Levent Koch brings a wealth of academic expertise to his role. Prior to joining Uplift Academy, he served as Director of the Interfaith Dialog Center (2004-2012) and the North East Turkish American Scholars Association (2012-2017). With over 30 years of experience as an educator and educational consultant, Koch is deeply committed to leveraging his knowledge to uplift the New Jersey community and support the educational advancement of its youth.

Yasin Ceran, Ph.D.

Dr. Yasin Ceran is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Systems and Technology at San Jose State University, California. He has received both his M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in Management Science from University of Texas at Dallas. His primary research interests lie in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare, focusing on statistical data analysis, the economics of software platforms, and particularly in unsupervised and semi-supervised deep learning and machine learning in computer vision, targeting healthcare and bioinformatics applications. In addition to his academic and research contributions, Dr. Ceran is deeply committed to community service and international dialogue. He has served as a board member at various organizations at local and national levels.

Leonard Petlakh

Leonard Petlakh has served as the Executive Director of the Kings Bay Y since December 2006. The Y also has branches in Windsor Terrace, North Williamsburg and Clinton Hill under the umbrella of its JCC Brooklyn project. Prior to that, Leonard served as Associate Executive Director of the Hebrew Free Loan Society in NY. He earned his B.A. from Hunter College, CUNY ; an MBA from Baruch College, CUNY and an MPA degree from NYU. Leonard serves on the boards of the National Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, the North American Jewish Community Centers Association and the Alliance for Shared Values.

Officers:

Y. Alp Aslandogan, PhD

Executive Director, Alliance for Shared Values

Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared Values, a non-profit organization that promotes bringing together citizens of diverse backgrounds around shared values of humanity. The Alliance serves as an umbrella for foundations focusing on interfaith and intercultural dialogue in North America, bringing together citizens of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faith backgrounds around meaningful conversations and social responsibility projects. Dr. Aslandogan also serves as the chair of the Integration Committee of the North America Civic Platform, an association of cultural, religious and humanitarian organizations established by Hizmet Movement participants in North America. Prior to his current position Dr. Aslandogan served as the president of North American University, an adjunct faculty member of Prairie View A&M University, the board president of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog and a board member of the Gulen Institute in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Aslandogan is a co-editor of “Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement” and a co-author of “The Messenger: Prophet Muhammad and his life of compassion”. Dr. Aslandogan has served as an author and an editor of the Fountain magazine, and as a member of the board of practitioners and scholars of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue. He published opinion columns on Huffington Post and CNN.com. As the director of Alliance for Shared Values and a personal translator for Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen, the inspiration behind the Hizmet Movement, he was interviewed by PBS, CBS, and Voice of America. Dr. Aslandogan holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.