Hi, my name is Iqbal Akhtar and we are very honored
today to have Matt Anderson. from Mosaic here
in Miami and we'll be talking to him a little
bit about his journey professionally, educationally,
also personally in terms of the really wonderful
work that he does both supporting faith communities
here in Miami and particularly sort of the interfaith
work that he's involved in and his vision for
what a better world for us looks like and he's
one of the many people who are just You know,
he's not someone who is very proud or boastful,
but he has done so much and he's a bedrock of
our community here in Miami. So we wanted to
just take this time to highlight him and to get
to know a little bit more about him and to celebrate
kind of the work that he's doing and hopefully
give some voice and some greater exposure to
the work that Mosaic is doing as well. So with
that, I welcome you, Matt. Thank you. Thank you
for having me. Thanks. So talk to us a little
bit about your background. Where did you grow
up and what was your early life like? Sure. So
I grew up here in South Florida in Pinecrest.
So Miami is my home. I'm a product of two diasporas.
One, the Haitian diaspora and the Bahamian diaspora.
And those are really two important communities
that helped to build Miami. And on top of that,
my family is very diverse and multicultural.
So from the get -go, I was exposed to a lot of
different cultures just in my own family. On
my journey to where I am today, it started before
I was born, and my mom and dad were dating, and
when they were kind of planning what our family
would look like, one of the things that was important
to them was that we'd be a philanthropic family.
So as a family, we focus on social justice, we
focus on the arts, education, and Haiti. So a
lot of our time and resources has gone to supporting
organizations that cater to those arenas. And
I went away to Massachusetts for college. I didn't
think I was ever moving back to Miami. And in
2010, I had the opportunity to move back to jumpstart
my career in commercial real estate. The majority
of my career was spent in commercial real estate
and banking. But in my five to nine, I spent
a lot of time supporting a lot of different organizations.
When I moved back to Miami, it was a really special
time for young professionals because this was
a time where at top of mind for a lot of nonprofits
was succession planning and making sure they
had a pipeline for the next generation of leaders
and making sure that we had the right skills
to eventually take the torch. I was lucky to
be one of those young professionals that was
identified by the nonprofit community. And they
poured a lot of training and mentorship and opportunities
for me to hone my skills, which eventually led
me to this opportunity. I got to know Roberta
Shevin, who was an epic. community leader and
executive director of what was then mccj now
mosaic miami and it was funny because roberta
would take me on meetings before i was even on
the board and exposed me to a lot of different
people from the community and eventually i was
asked to be on the board and i was the youngest
board chair in the organization's history And
then eventually we had some leadership transition
during the pandemic. And I was asked by the board
to consider leaving my role in finance to lead
the organization. And it's been the opportunity
of a lifetime. It was a critical time for this
country where this country and this community
needed an organization like Mosaic Miami that
had a long legacy in this community of bringing
people together. to step up and find ways to
create safe spaces for dialogue and to help to
heal the community. But when I stepped in, we
needed a lot of work on our part to bolster what
we had and create a new foundation. And like
I said, we've been in this community for almost
90 years. And we started off as a national organization.
We were called the National Conference of...
Christians and Jews, which started in the 1920s
when hate groups like the KKK were gaining power
in the U .S. And a group from the Jewish community
and Christian community came together to do activism.
NCCJ was really at the forefront of interfaith
relations for this country. And eventually that
organization disbanded in 2005, but we were one
of the lucky markets to be able to stay. and
continue to impact. And for a long time, we used
the name MCCJ. But as Miami's community became
more and more diverse, so did our work. And our
name wasn't so relevant anymore. We still honor
that history, but we needed a new name that was
relevant for these times. And through a very
generous gift from the Knight Foundation, we
got some resources to do a total rebranding campaign.
So we hired Jack Hart. over at Roar Media to
kind of do our rebranding. And he helped us to
find the name Mosaic Miami, bringing all the
beautiful pieces of Miami to create a beautiful
mosaic. You know, right now, our focus on youth
is really important right now. It's really hard
for kids to get cultural literacy now. which
was something that I was very lucky to have growing
up. Because in order for teams to really prosper,
in order for relationships to be strong, you
have to have the tools and wherewithal to be
able to understand people that aren't like you.
Because diversity of ideas makes teams so much
stronger. The community also needs a space to
talk about difficult conversations. And we do
that. For example, last year, when things started
to take an even worse turn for the worse in Haiti,
we held a conversation at the Green Families
Green Space, where we brought thought leaders
like Jackie Charles, Dr. Gilda Nicola, Gypsy
Metelus, etc. Real thought leaders that really
understand Haiti and can demystify a lot of tropes
and misinformation that's out there. At this
period in time, we have access at our fingertips
to so much information. A lot of it's false,
but how do you decipher that? So creating an
opportunity for community members to ask questions
to real thought leaders is something that we
pride ourselves on to demystify tropes. We also
are at the intersection of the arts and social
impact. We use the arts as a jumping off point
for conversation. I think the arts are an equalizer.
We have a faith in film series that we partner
with the Gables Art Cinema. You did a panel with
us. Actually, our first one. Okay. Yeah. And
then we also have a series at Gables Stage where
I do the talkbacks after every production. And
I curate these conversations based off the plays
to kind of give. give the guests something to
think about on the drive home after seeing the
play. We have our work cut out for us. What are
the major challenges you see right now, you know,
at this moment with regards to, you know, interfaith
relations and kind of community cohesion? Sure.
So I really believe that, you know, The interfaith
work that we started off with our organization
in the 1920s as NCCJ was really important. But
I think that we can just rip up that playbook
because it's a totally different world. And we
need to build a new foundation because you have
people that have known each other and partnered
with each other for decades that aren't talking.
we need to create spaces and vehicles for people
to talk about elephants in the room and understand
that you know this work isn't about converting
people or or making people think like you it's
about trying to find ways to to understand each
other and to kind of say look um i might not
agree with you but but i understand and We need
to create a space where people don't demonize
each other because that's toxic. At the end of
the day, we have to be able to live together.
For many of us, the evil forces are against more
of us united than separate. So we've got to figure
out a way to support ourselves in those ways.
And then, of course, there's loneliness. A study
came out. that said that loneliness is up there
with tobacco use. And I think that more and more
coming out of the pandemic, after people living
in isolation, I think people are seeking connection.
They're seeking ways to build friendships and
alliances. And I think that if more and more
organizations come together, I think that we
can find ways to cure that. Talk to me a little
bit about your own spiritual journey. Well, that
might be a loaded question. But my spiritual
journey is I'm definitely a man of faith. You
can't do this type of work without having some
sort of faith compass or belief in something
that's bigger than yourself. Prayer is a big
part of my daily routine. I pray every day. My
religion that I was raised with is Catholicism.
And it's something that's very close to my heart.
I also have a Jewish lineage in my family. But
I think that faith is really important. I think
that in this point in time, I think that faith
leaders have... a golden opportunity to bring
people together. Last year, I was on Capitol
Hill with some partners with the Interfaith Alliance,
and we were doing some lobbying. And it was so
interesting to see the power of the collar, you
know, and see how disarming a faith leader can
be to a lawmaker that might be on the other side
of the aisle. Because I think that at the end
of the day, people have a tremendous amount of
respect for faith leaders and value the way they
think and value their opinions. And even if they
don't, you know, move the needle, you know, in
a wide way, I think little wins matter in these
days. And I think that if you can bring a Muslim
imam, a priest, a Buddhist together in a room
and talk about and be able to find common ground,
I think that's a huge, huge compass for people
if they want to move into talking about politics.
Because in America, I mean, the Thanksgiving
table is not a friendly place anymore. But if
we have those examples and we have people unifying
their communities, I think one step at a time,
we'll be okay. But it's going to take a lot of
work. What about children? What is important?
I know that you do quite a bit of work with youth.
What are the challenges that youth face? The
challenges that youth face, they spend the majority
of their time in school. And cultural literacy
isn't necessarily a focus. So I think giving
kids experiential opportunities to go to the
Holocaust Museum with a group of people that
are not necessarily part of their community.
is a big deal or to visit a mosque and to understand
all the facets of islam or um or even something
as simple as going to the da vinci exhibit immersion
exhibit that pbs put on but bringing kids together
that oftentimes they never have the opportunity
to meet and teach them how to find common ground
i think is important or bring kids from different
communities together to understand miami's challenges
and come up with solutions together i think is
a big deal because you know miami's been a city
we've always talked about you know the brain
drain you know kids growing up here and and leaving
i think that if they were to understand their
communities from the get -go and and have a stake
in the game early on the idea of them staying
here would be more relevant. I mean, with me,
I couldn't not wait to leave Miami, but I'm so
happy I moved back. And even being here on campus
today, it's amazing how many students are on
campus. And I think that goes to show the value
of FIU and the value of Miami for students from
all over the world that now have this place on
the radar. How has Miami changed since you were
a child? So Miami's changed in so many different
ways. It's dense. I remember having a conversation
with my dad when I was about 18 years old and
explained to him that, you know, I wanted to
move to New York and that's where I wanted to
live. And he said, you know, Miami will one day
be that city where people walking just like New
York. Obviously, we're not at that magnitude
yet. We're still a relatively young city. But,
you know, to see, you know, Brickell City Center.
or Miami World Center, and foot traffic on the
bridge going from Brickell to downtown, I think
is incredible. But at the same time, that comes
at a cost. I mean, there's been a huge, great
migration to Miami since the pandemic, which
has driven up the prices of real estate that
are not sustainable. And it makes it really hard
for people that are, you know, $100 ,000. Salary
does not get you anywhere in Miami anymore. So
the high cost of living is going to be at the
detriment of a lot of people in our age bracket
because saving for retirement is not easy anymore.
The United Way always puts out their Alice Report
where it talks about the poverty line and those
that are one paycheck away from... or one flat
tire away from a disaster you have people that
are making a hundred thousand dollars in miami
that are one you know one flat tire away from
disaster so those are tremendous challenges that
we have to look into sea level rise i think that's
that's something serious we had that storm a
couple days in miami on miami beach miami beach
was underwater yeah so finding you know sustainable
solutions for for miami i think is going to be
it's going to be really really important and
nurturing our youth. And then also, I always
say we can't wait for bad things to happen to
think it's a good idea to build relationships.
I think that we have to continue having these
hard conversations and reaching across the aisle
and wrapping our arms around people that are
not part of our day -to -day community. And it's
going to be crucial. I mean, that's something,
some of the work that I'm doing, especially with
Muslim -Jewish dialogue, and I think it's something
that, especially after October 7th, it's been
a big, you know, like you were saying, a lot
of these relationships that had existed for quite
a while kind of really broke down and trying
to rebuild that. And what does that mean? And
having kind of some of the hard conversations
about, not just, I think, about what's happening
in other parts of the world, but like what type
of... What are our values as Americans and what
do we, what does it mean to be American in the
21st century? And I think that's a lot of, it's
not just something that we're asking, but it's
also even the political parties are asking. And
some of it is very negative and it's very exclusivist
to say, okay, this is what American is and everyone
else is not an American and they need to get
out or to say, look, they're... you know, America
is a type of diversity and where it's inclusive.
And so I think there are two really competing
visions for this country that's been there since
the beginning. And I think just kind of the economic
and political stress of the last couple of years
has really exacerbated that. And it's also really
revealed the fact that one of the common challenges
that we have is that we don't have a lot of organizations
and associations that bring people from different
perspectives together, whether it's like social
clubs or anything like that. And so people just
tend to be more polarized in their own social
media ecosystems. So being able to break through
that. And I think one of the things that I really
appreciate about Mosaic is that a lot of the
work that you're doing is in person. And it's,
you know, you kind of just have to do the hard
work of being in person, showing up, being places
to develop those relationships. There's no virtual
way that we can substitute for that hard work,
you know. Oh, yeah. Those in -person conversations,
you know, post -October 7th, I've had a lot of
tough conversations. And there are nights where
I would sit up unable to sleep. Because I was
nervous about the conversations I was going to
have that next day. But to be honest, I never
came out of those conversations being like, I
wish I didn't have them or that would be terrible.
I think that when you bring two humans together
to talk, I should say two reasonable human beings
together to talk, I think that if you listen
intently. I think it can be a good thing because
for the most part, we've all had a mother and
a father, siblings, children. We've all experienced
pain. We've all liked some sports team or some
sort of music that we can find commonalities
on or a book that we're reading. And I think
that if we lean on those things, but also dig
into where we disagree and why. I think it's
going to be a good thing. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah,
I think, you know, even going beyond the, a lot
of times the disagreement, you know, it's very
vitriolic when it's remote. But when you're in
person, you just can't hold the same anger and
intensity for a different perspective. And I
think you can also connect. I think naturally,
we as human beings want to connect. So I think
even if you're from two completely different
sort of like ideological perspectives, just physically
being in the same room together, you want to
find some sort of commonality. And like you were
saying, I mean, it's all of those experiences
in life. And I think the greatest one, of course,
is death. And that's something that we've all
experienced and shared. And so there's this really
deep emotional connection that can also be connected,
you know, that allow us and we all have the same.
um, hopes for our children and sort of fears
about the future. And, you know, there's so there's,
and, you know, we all in all people want to have
a peaceful, good life with each other. Um, and
a lot of times we, you know, there are a lot
of these mental hurdles in our way that prevent
us from being able to do that, you know? So,
um, yeah, you know, I think, I think you're 100
% correct. Death is, um, Death is at our age.
We're similar in age. It's something that's very
much around us. Yes, we've got gray beards. Some
can say that shows refinement. That also shows
that we have some sort of pain coming. And our
friends have pain coming. And being able to process
those things is really important because it's
inevitable. And it's something that, you know.
For example, I lost my grandmother a couple of
years ago. Right. And it's interesting, like
leading up to that death, people are surrounded
by you. Right. Then you get to the funeral and
then and then what? Then things are quiet. So
it's like one of those things where you have
to having that support of others and supporting
others after that point, you know, it's crucial.
And, you know, also sharing in the different
traditions on how on how to on how to. not necessarily
navigate, but how to have the journey of death,
I think is also like an equalizer. And we're
also at that stage in our lives where we're both
like, you know, in the middle of our careers
and you're at the same time, your parents are
getting older and you have to take care, you
know, you have that, then you're also taking
care of young children as well. And so there's
a lot of different. demands, I think, in terms
of your time and your life. And at the same time,
trying to make meaning of it and also trying
to connect to other people. There's a lot of
things that you're juggling, but particularly,
I think, with the issue of death, because we
live in a culture that tends to minimize it or
not really, it's not something that's very public.
in western society kind of death is kind of put
pushed to the side and you more it's about celebrating
life and kind of living you know your best life
or living you know and that's a great thing um
but also you know to have some sense of perspective
death like gives you perspective in terms of
kind of how short life is um what are the most
things the things that are most meaningful and
what are the things that are distractions of
life um and then i think faith also helps to
like bring that together as well oh 100 And then
it's also, like you said, we're only here for
a certain amount of time and time is our biggest
asset. So it's like, what do we do with that
time now? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. No, and
I think just being able to do the work that we
do, that's a huge blessing because there are
a lot of people that are not as fortunate as
we are to have the positions that we have and
to be able to have the access to people and resources
to do the work that we can do, you know. You
know, to live a purpose -driven life is the ultimate
blessing. Absolutely. You know, some people,
you know, they don't do that until they retire.
Right. You know, get to wake up every day and
do that. Exactly. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. No,
I totally agree with that. And I think that,
you know, there's also something unique about
Miami in that, you know, I've lived in different
other places. And there's just a very, I don't
know if it's because it's full of immigrants.
as a place or there are constant people relocating
here, but there definitely is an openness and
an energy to difference. And there's a lot of
creativity here, sort of with the art scene.
So there's just so many different things that
have come together to make, like you were saying
with MCCJ and just sort of even the evolution
of Mosaic, the fact that it remained and it has
been able to thrive. in other parts of the country,
you know, it didn't do as well, right? Things,
you know, kind of fell away. Or somehow the increasing
diversity of America didn't translate into interfaith
or intercultural sort of, you know, dialogue
and sort of communities. And I think that's something
that's a huge blessing here. And the fact that
we have all of these... So it's not just us as
younger people, but we're also mentored by an
older generation that has a background in history
and they actually have an understanding of how
this is done and the resources to help make things
happen. That's a huge blessing as well. Oh yeah,
the mentorship piece, the intergenerational piece
of what we do is crucial. And having those veterans
that we can call on. Right. And also to hold
us accountable. Right. You know, I think. Absolutely.
But also we have a, we have kind of a, we have
a role in also holding the next generation accountable.
Exactly. Yeah. No, I mean, and that's, you know,
that's what we're trying to do with FIU is also
to do interfaith projects, teaching interfaith
courses and things like that. That's really important
that this knowledge is something that can be
lost and it has to be constantly taught and explained
and lived and shown. And then also just to give
students also a perspective on life that... you
need to also give back to the community. You
need to volunteer. You need to do something more
than just make money. That there is something
greater, you know, to your life. And that in
those hours after work, you can do things to
support and help other people. And that's also...
I would say it's a moral obligation in a way,
because we have been granted so much. You know,
we have to give back as much as we can. Honestly,
we cannot. In the Islamic tradition, at least,
the belief is that even if you were to say, you
were to thank God for every, like, you just to
do it. for every minute of the day, for the rest
of your life, it would not be sufficient to thank
God for the blessings that He's bestowed upon
us. So there's just no way that we can give back
to God as much as we've been given, but to do
as much as we can to help others. 100%. And I
think that the Bell Chapel here on campus, I
saw it today for the first time in a long time
as it's coming up. It's going to be, I think
it's going to be a... a game changer for this
campus. I really hope so. I think it's a neutral
territory where everyone can feel comfortable.
Exactly. Yeah, and I think that's one of the
things that we're really trying to do as well
is to think about, you know, that's one of the
things with such a rapidly changing demographic
interscene is also to create spaces that people
can come together in. So, you know, I mean, that's
something that's been, you know, a big challenge,
I think, is like where are the places where people
can congregate? You know, people, especially,
you know, as, you know, either basically as the
city is reshaping itself and new people are coming
in and older institutions are going away, the
question is like, how do we? maintained spaces
where people feel comfortable of different groups,
religions, cultures to come together, have dialogue,
and that are also value neutral as well. So,
you know, maybe people might not be comfortable
coming to a mosque, but a chapel at a university
would be an open. So there are all these sort
of third spaces that can bring people together
and just curating them, making them widely known
and available to people. I think that's also
something that's very important. I think projects
like The Underline, I think that's a great equalizer
in Miami. I think Meg Daly's vision of creating
this 10 -mile course where people can congregate,
have conversations, be active together, I think
it's a big deal. People always talk about being
on one side of the tracks, but in the underline,
everybody's in line, you know? Exactly. Absolutely.
Yeah, yeah. And I think the Freedom Towers new
renaissance is going to be really important for
Miami. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Just, I mean,
creating those physical spaces is kind of an
architecture for, you know, interfaith sort of
dialogue and exploration. I think that's something
that's very, very important. Yeah. And I mean,
yeah, you just see all of the, I mean, there's
already so much interest in terms of... One of
the other things that I think has been really
wonderful is that all of our dialogue groups
and meetings, there's always food available.
And just breaking bread together and having different
types of cuisines and exploring cultures through
art and sort of music and food, I think is such
an important part of the city. You're definitely
seeing the diversification of food in Miami already.
So that's wonderful. Any last thoughts about
kind of your hopes for the future and kind of
what Mosaic is doing in the next few months or
a few years? So my hope for Miami is that, you
know, we continue to find ways to not listen
to the noise and to come together human to human
to make things better. because things are so
complicated. A lot of people are hurting right
now. A lot of people are struggling right now.
And I think that I don't have a crystal ball,
but I think things are going to get worse before
they get better for people's financial lives.
And that's going to create other challenges for
this community, especially as our cost of living
continues to go up. We're lucky to have a mayor
that cares and tries to create solutions to help
us. But I think that we... It's going to take
more than that. As it relates to Mosaic Miami,
we're at an inflection point where for the last
four years we've been harrying away, creating
programming, building a solid foundation for
it to live on another 90 years. But now it's
time to find resources to allow us to scale.
I started my team from scratch, and I've hired
some really brilliant people. but I want to be
able to retain them and give them a platform
to grow. And I also want to be able to recruit
more brilliant people to help expand the offerings
of Mosaic Miami at a time where the community
needs us more now than ever. Absolutely. Wonderful.
Well, hopefully we have opportunities to work
together and develop that vision. Definitely.
That's wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Matt.
I really appreciate your time. Thank you for
having me. Absolutely. Thank you.