Education Team
Katy O'Leary
Director of Executive and Professional Education
Katy has long been interested in raising awareness through education and training to create environments where individuals can show up as their full selves. Prior to leading HIU’s Executive and Professional Education, she led a Dementia Friendly America Community Initiative in CT.
Dr. Vanessa Avery
Executive and Professional Education Fellow
Vanessa Avery is Executive Director of Sharing Sacred Spaces, Lecturer in Interreligious Engagement at Yale Divinity School, a Hartford International Executive and Professional Education Fellow, and former Senior Associate in Diversity with Cambridge Hill Partners.
Dr. Lucinda Mosher
Senior Scholar for Executive and Professional Education
Lucinda Mosher is a prolific author and editor with expertise in interreligious studies, chaplaincy, and Christian-Muslim concerns--and much experience as a keynoter and workshop leader. As senior scholar, she serves as Executive and Professional Education’s faculty liaison. She also co-directs HIU’s MA in Chaplaincy program.
Chaplain Aida Mansoor
Director of Field Education
Aida Mansoor is the Director of Field Education at Hartford International. She also serves in the community and works with the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut and the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford.
Dr. Deena Grant
Academic Dean; Associate Professor of Jewish Studies
An observant Jewish scholar, Dr. Grant values studying and teaching the Hebrew Bible from a historical-critical perspective and also as it is interpreted and lived out by faith communities. She is currently working on the concept of hate in the Hebrew Bible and has published a Divine Anger in the Hebrew Bible, which explores varying expressions of God’s anger across major biblical collections.
Dr. Hossein Kamaly
Professor of Islamic Studies and Interreligious Studies, Holder of the Imam Ali Chair in Shia Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought
Hossein Kamaly holds the Imam Ali Chair in Shia Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought at Hartford International University. Before obtaining his Ph.D. (2004) and MA (2001), both in history from Columbia University, he had earned an MSc degree in Mathematics, Statistics, and Operations Research from New York University.
Dr. Timur Yuskaev
Associate Professor of Contemporary Islam
Dr. Timur R. Yuskaev is Associate Professor of Contemporary Islam and Editor of The Muslim World journal. His book, Speaking Qur’an: the Emergence of an American Sacred Text, examines contemporary written and oral interpretations of the Qur’an.
Chaplain Jawad Bayat
Executive and Professional Education Fellow
Chaplain Jawad Bayat, an ACPE Certified Educator, is Manager of Pastoral Care and Clinical Pastoral Education at Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health (Princeton, NJ), where he is the primary chaplain for inpatients, provides outpatient coverage, and supports staff members.
Dr. Preeta Banerjee
Executive and Professional Education Fellow
Preeta Banerjee, Ph D is the Hindu Chaplain at Tufts University and a spiritual companion who draws on a broad and deep range of experience, having spent 20 years in academia, coaching and consulting as an advocate, educator, researcher, and author.