Our Team
Executive Director
Nina M. Fernando serves as Executive Director of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign: Standing with American Muslims, Advancing American Ideals, a multifaith coalition of religious denominations and faith-based organizations committed to countering and preventing anti-Muslim discrimination and violence in the United States by building a society where all are treated with dignity and respect. She first joined the Shoulder to Shoulder team in 2017.
Nina holds a Master of Arts in "Interreligious and Cultural Studies" from Claremont School of Theology and a Bachelor of Arts in "Social Change through Music and Religious Studies" from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands. Previously, she worked as a LankaCorps Fellow through The Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka supporting research on interreligious and intercultural conflict and coexistence at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Prior to that, she worked as a Faith-Rooted Organizer, educating, organizing, and mobilizing faith leaders to stand in solidarity with workers and immigrants at Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice in Southern California.
Nina's intersectional identities have informed her work as a multifaith community organizer, activist, vocalist, and songwriter. As a OneBeat Fellow in 2018, she joined a global network of emerging civically engaged musical leaders from around the world, she was named as one of the “21 Faith Leaders To Watch in 2021" by the Center for American Progress and she is a current member of The Religion and Society Program at the Aspen Institute's Racial Justice and Religion Collective. Nina shares a piece of her parent's story in her Teen Vogue op-ed published in the lead up to the Supreme Court hearing on the Muslim Ban.
Nina lives in Southern California with her spouse, Rev. Noel Andersen, and their children, Aiyan and Ashani.
Director of Strategic Communications
Rev. Cassandra Lawrence is the Director of Strategic Communications at the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, a multifaith coalition countering anti-Muslim discrimination to equip and engage religious communities beyond the Muslim community to counter anti-Muslim discrimination and violence. She is a provisional Deacon in the United Methodist Church.
Cassandra worked with the diplomatic and mediation community identifying training gaps and designing training processes for better engagement with religious and traditional peacemakers. She worked with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs on the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge International Program. She is a trained mediator, dialogue facilitator, and interfaith and racial justice community organizer. She also teaches negotiation and conflict transformation primarily to faith communities.
She has a BA in Religious Studies from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in comparative ethnic conflict from Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2021 she completed a master of divinity at Wesley Theological Seminary with honors, specializing in Public Theology, and received the Excellence in Public Theology Award. She is a Fellow with the BJC for Religious Liberty.
Development and Outreach Specialist
Uzma Sabir is a Washington DC native and dynamo for advocacy and activism in the DMV region. For over a decade she has helped organizations and campaigns exceed their development and outreach goals. In addition to her work in Development and Outreach for Shoulder to Shoulder, she is also the Outreach Director for the Campus Election Engagement Project, a national nonpartisan effort to engage US college populations with federal, state, and local elections.
Previously, Uzma has worked on a variety of high-level event planning, political and marketing efforts domestically and internationally. In each of her roles, whether as an organizer, development consultant, educator, or engagement strategist, Uzma has drawn on her passion for mobilizing America’s diverse communities in service of the greater public good. Inspired by the work of other bridge-builders in the face of new and evolving challenges, she looks forward to continuing her work at the intersection of public service and community engagement.
Uzma has a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies, with a specialization in Marketing and Advertising from George Mason University.
Operations & Local Partnerships Manager
Becca Tyvoll works as Shoulder to Shoulder's operations and local partnerships manager. In addition to working with Shoulder to Shoulder, Becca works with Peace Catalyst International in the Washington, DC area, building bridges between Evangelical Christian and Muslim communities, and helping to equip and empower Christians and others to become peacebuilders in their communities. She holds a Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the School of International Service at American University.
Before working with Peace Catalyst, Becca served as an Ecumenical Accompanier in the West Bank with the World Council of Churches, accompanying Palestinian farmers and engaging with Israelis and Palestinians pursuing peace in the land. While pursuing her Arabic language minor in college, Becca studied abroad in Jordan and lived with a Muslim host family, which first opened her heart and mind to the beauty of multifaith relationships. She also taught English and facilitated cultural exchange training with Iraqi refugees who were waiting to be resettled in the U.S. Becca also spent a few years working in campus ministry to college students. She continues to have a passion for countering all forms of oppression and discrimination, including anti-Muslim discrimination and is actively involved in several organizations working towards that end in the U.S. and abroad.
Email Becca.Tyvoll(a)s2scampaign.org
Volunteers
Outreach and Engagement Volunteer
Emma is very excited to be serving as an outreach and engagement volunteer for Al Amana Centre and Shoulder to Shoulder. She is originally from the Chicago area, and recently graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, IA with degrees in political science, writing and rhetoric, and Middle East studies. She now works for advancement at Northwestern in the area of annual giving and serves as the assistant women’s tennis coach.
Her interest in foreign affairs and global politics sparked a desire to study abroad in Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and Tunisia in the fall of 2019, but one of the most rewarding parts of her time spent there was the opportunity to study Islam and engage in interfaith dialogue. She was deeply impacted by the love, grace, and respect demonstrated in these conversations, and witnessed how religion is not only a means to communicate with God but a powerful tool for connection, forgiveness, and peace between humankind, drawing people together in areas of conflict.
Since returning to Iowa, she has been seeking out ways to respond to the problem of anti-Muslim bigotry and work towards understanding by encouraging dialogue and breaking down barriers of fear through engagement. She hopes to serve her community by leaning into God’s command to love our neighbors—embracing them instead of excluding them—in hopes that we may not only be reconciled with God, but also with each other.
Young Fellow
Salma is a sophomore at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. She serves as the Treasurer for the class of 2025. Salma runs on the Varsity Cross Country and Track team at her school. She also writes for her school newspaper, the Scribbler. She has been a member of her Girl Scout troop since the age of four, and she is currently working on her Gold Award. In her free time, Salma enjoys dancing on the Rythematia dance team, volunteering, painting, reading, baking her famous chocolate chip cookies, and binge-watching Netflix.
Young Fellow
Zaky is a Pakistani Muslim American leader with a goal of celebrating religious diversity and promoting teen involvement in interfaith. Since a young age he has been interested in Islam and finding similarity with others on the basis of religious values. As a minority within his school, Zaky is a part of his school’s DEI committee member where he advocates for policies that celebrate religious diversity. Additionally, Zaky plans and speaks at diversity events within his school where he seeks to educate his peers on DEI. Outside of school Zaky is an avid fencer who frequently competes on the regional and national level. In the future, Zaky hopes to combine his passion for DEI with his passion for health to solve public health issues pertaining to minority groups in the U.S.