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20,000 Dialogues is a nationwide initiative that uses films to facilitate dialogue about Muslims and Islam. Watch the video to learn more.
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Our Team
Daniel Tutt
Michael Wolfe
Alexander Kronemer
Luby Ismail
 Daniel Tutt – Outreach Director
Contact Daniel for all questions related to 20,000 Dialogues. He can be reached at
Daniel@upf.tv
, or (202) 298-8088 in the 20,000 Dialogues office.
Daniel’s work seeks to build greater understanding across religious and cultural lines with a particular emphasis on Islam and Muslims. He is the Outreach Director of Unity Productions Foundation (www.upf.tv), a national media and educational foundation that produces films about the Islamic experience that seek to build greater understanding between Americans and Muslims. Of the half dozen educational projects he oversees, one of the more exciting ones is called 20,000 Dialogues, a film-based dialogue initiative that uses UPF films to create dialogue around crucial policy, cultural, and civic problems between Muslims and American mainstream culture.
He is a Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (www.ispu.org), a non-partisan think tank that seeks to provide commentary and analysis on issues relating to Islam and Muslims, a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the European Graduate School, and an advisor for the 9/11 Unity Walk and Religious Freedom U.S.A.
His recent publications include a policy brief for the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding entitled “Malleable Stereotypes: How Media is Improving the Image of American Muslims”, and “What Would Nietzsche Say About Europe’s Islam Crisis?”, and “Neuroscience and the Changing Media Stereotypes Towards Muslims” both published in the Huffington Post Religion section.
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 Michael Wolfe – Executive Producer
Michael Wolfe is co-founder of Unity Productions Foundation and Executive Producer for UPF Films. For 15 years, Wolfe was publisher of Tombouctou Books, a small press that published poetry and avant garde prose. Wolfe's first books on Islam were The Hadj, a first-person travel account, and One Thousand Roads to Mecca, an anthology of 10 centuries of travelers’ writing. After September 11th, he edited Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith which won a 2003 Wilbur Award. In 1997, Wolfe hosted a televised account of the Hajj from Mecca for Nightline. The program was nominated for Peabody, Emmy, George Polk, and National Press Club Awards. It won the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Media Award. In 2003, Wolfe worked with CNN-International reporter Zain Verjee to produce a documentary on the Hajj. In 2002, Wolfe co-created, co-produced, and co-executive edited the two-hour television documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet which aired on PBS and on National Geographical International. With UPF, Wolfe continues to produce documentaries for PBS and other broadcasters in the U.S. and abroad.
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 Alexander Kronemer – Executive Project Director and Executive Producer
Alexander Kronemer is co-founder of Unity Productions Foundation and Executive Producer for UPF Films. He is a writer, lecturer, and documentary producer focusing on religious diversity, Islam, and cross-cultural understanding. He has a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Harvard University. Kronemer has published essays in Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Beliefnet.com, and Washington Post. His articles have been included in the September 11th memorial book, Up From the Ashes and Wilber Prize winner, Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith. Kronemer’s work has been supported by grants from the World Economic Forum, U.S. Institute of Peace, National Endowment for the Humanities, Packard Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He appeared as a CNN commentator during live coverage of the Hajj in 1998, which was broadcast to 400 million viewers. In 2000, Kronemer served a one-year appointment at the Bureau of Human Rights in the U.S. Department of State and as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission
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 Luby Ismail – Advisor
Lobna “Luby” Ismail, president of Connecting Cultures, Inc., is a training specialist in cross-cultural communication, cultural competency, Arab and American cultures, Islamic awareness, and religious diversity. She is the author of “Doing Business in the Middle East and North Africa” and “Finding Diversity.” Luby has been selected as a Peace Fellow for Seeds of Peace and a Malone Fellow in Middle East and Islamic Studies by the National Council for U.S. and Arab Relations. She has been a presenter at Iraqi Reconstruction conferences, the Arabian Society for Human Resource Management conference in Bahrain and the Society for Human Resources’ Workplace Diversity. Luby has provided training for hundreds of law enforcement and military officers on Arab and Muslim Americans and on Iraq and Iraqi cultural. Luby holds a Master’s degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a B.A. in International Service from The American University in Washington, DC.
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Summer Intern Staff 2010
 Léna Sulpovar - Outreach and Dialogue Facilitation Intern
Léna Sulpovar is a Master of Arts in Social Justice in Intercultural Relations candidate at the School for International Training (SIT). She was born in Uzbekistan, raised in Israel, and has studied both in the U.S. and France. Léna's interests include: languages, travel, religion and spirituality, international and independent cinema, the media, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and peace building. Léna is looking forward to becoming part of the UPF team and working towards positive social change.
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 Nushmia Khan - Design and Marketing Intern
My name is Nushmia Khan and I am studying Multimedia Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. I'm so excited to work as an intern for UPF and 20,000 Dialogues because their mission coincides with my hopes of helping improve Islam's image through the media. My interests and skills include photography, graphic design, flash animations, web design and videography. I hope that I can use them to benefit the foundation.
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 Aran Aghapour - Outreach and Engagement Intern
Being born in Iran and raised in America has allowed me to naturally identify with Middle Eastern and Western culture, creating my interest in their relations and perceptions of one-another. As an upcoming graduate from the University of California, Irvine, I will soon receive a bachelor's in both Political Science and International Studies, minor in Conflict Resolution, and certificates in Conflict Analysis, California Mediation, and Middle East Studies. At UC Irvine, I have served as Historian and Events Chair of the Afghanistan Development Project, working to raise awareness on Afghan culture in order to humanize the Other. Through my involvement with the Olive Tree Initiative, I traveled to Israel and the West Bank to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring insight back to my politically polarized campus. Because the group's mission is to develop dialogue on this contentious issue, I recently organized a two-week program that included community forums, panels, regional guest speakers, and social gatherings. To further my academic influence, I wrote a reflective article for journal publication. I am currently comparing my data from the region with national advocacy groups and my polarized campus to research the influence of Diasporas' identities on Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation. Because my passion for the Middle East and conflict resolution lie directly within 20,000 Dialogues initiative, I am very excited for this opportunity to intern for UPF. Top
 Matt Fuller
An Eagle Scout from Springfield, Virginia, Matt Fuller graduated from Annandale High School in 2005 and earned his BA in International Relations at the College of William & Mary in 2009. He is currently enrolled as a graduate student at American University seeking an MA in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Resolution. Matt has spent the past two summers working for Public Strategies Washington, a lobbying firm in which he worked on everything from the recent Health Care bill to the Colombian Free Trade Agreement to attempting to get an imprisoned Egyptian free speech advocate out of jail. Matt believes passionately that interfaith dialogue is the key to promoting acceptance and understanding in America, which is why he has joined the team at UPF.
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