WEBVTT 00:00:05.549 --> 00:00:11.169 Hi, my name is Iqbal Akhtar and we are very honored 00:00:11.169 --> 00:00:16.000 today to have Matt Anderson. from Mosaic here 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.500 in Miami and we'll be talking to him a little 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:22.300 bit about his journey professionally, educationally, 00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.300 also personally in terms of the really wonderful 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.940 work that he does both supporting faith communities 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:31.800 here in Miami and particularly sort of the interfaith 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.939 work that he's involved in and his vision for 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:39.259 what a better world for us looks like and he's 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:43.820 one of the many people who are just You know, 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.659 he's not someone who is very proud or boastful, 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:51.060 but he has done so much and he's a bedrock of 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:53.420 our community here in Miami. So we wanted to 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:55.560 just take this time to highlight him and to get 00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.259 to know a little bit more about him and to celebrate 00:00:58.259 --> 00:01:00.060 kind of the work that he's doing and hopefully 00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:06.239 give some voice and some greater exposure to 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.799 the work that Mosaic is doing as well. So with 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:12.230 that, I welcome you, Matt. Thank you. Thank you 00:01:12.230 --> 00:01:14.670 for having me. Thanks. So talk to us a little 00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:17.049 bit about your background. Where did you grow 00:01:17.049 --> 00:01:20.530 up and what was your early life like? Sure. So 00:01:20.530 --> 00:01:23.730 I grew up here in South Florida in Pinecrest. 00:01:24.129 --> 00:01:30.950 So Miami is my home. I'm a product of two diasporas. 00:01:30.969 --> 00:01:33.890 One, the Haitian diaspora and the Bahamian diaspora. 00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:35.370 And those are really two important communities 00:01:35.370 --> 00:01:38.590 that helped to build Miami. And on top of that, 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:41.569 my family is very diverse and multicultural. 00:01:42.030 --> 00:01:45.670 So from the get -go, I was exposed to a lot of 00:01:45.670 --> 00:01:51.640 different cultures just in my own family. On 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.239 my journey to where I am today, it started before 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:57.599 I was born, and my mom and dad were dating, and 00:01:57.599 --> 00:01:59.120 when they were kind of planning what our family 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:01.260 would look like, one of the things that was important 00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:03.379 to them was that we'd be a philanthropic family. 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:08.539 So as a family, we focus on social justice, we 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:12.879 focus on the arts, education, and Haiti. So a 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.360 lot of our time and resources has gone to supporting 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:20.460 organizations that cater to those arenas. And 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:24.060 I went away to Massachusetts for college. I didn't 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:26.280 think I was ever moving back to Miami. And in 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:29.860 2010, I had the opportunity to move back to jumpstart 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.520 my career in commercial real estate. The majority 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:34.319 of my career was spent in commercial real estate 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.979 and banking. But in my five to nine, I spent 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:39.879 a lot of time supporting a lot of different organizations. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:43.199 When I moved back to Miami, it was a really special 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.340 time for young professionals because this was 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:48.780 a time where at top of mind for a lot of nonprofits 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.919 was succession planning and making sure they 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:53.759 had a pipeline for the next generation of leaders 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.599 and making sure that we had the right skills 00:02:56.599 --> 00:03:01.319 to eventually take the torch. I was lucky to 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:02.840 be one of those young professionals that was 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.659 identified by the nonprofit community. And they 00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:09.659 poured a lot of training and mentorship and opportunities 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:13.360 for me to hone my skills, which eventually led 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:16.800 me to this opportunity. I got to know Roberta 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.909 Shevin, who was an epic. community leader and 00:03:20.909 --> 00:03:25.250 executive director of what was then mccj now 00:03:25.250 --> 00:03:29.050 mosaic miami and it was funny because roberta 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:31.090 would take me on meetings before i was even on 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:33.289 the board and exposed me to a lot of different 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:36.310 people from the community and eventually i was 00:03:36.310 --> 00:03:39.090 asked to be on the board and i was the youngest 00:03:39.090 --> 00:03:41.729 board chair in the organization's history And 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:44.469 then eventually we had some leadership transition 00:03:44.469 --> 00:03:47.110 during the pandemic. And I was asked by the board 00:03:47.110 --> 00:03:49.789 to consider leaving my role in finance to lead 00:03:49.789 --> 00:03:52.729 the organization. And it's been the opportunity 00:03:52.729 --> 00:03:56.509 of a lifetime. It was a critical time for this 00:03:56.509 --> 00:04:00.729 country where this country and this community 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:06.150 needed an organization like Mosaic Miami that 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:09.090 had a long legacy in this community of bringing 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:12.599 people together. to step up and find ways to 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:15.340 create safe spaces for dialogue and to help to 00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:19.839 heal the community. But when I stepped in, we 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:23.759 needed a lot of work on our part to bolster what 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:30.519 we had and create a new foundation. And like 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:31.740 I said, we've been in this community for almost 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:35.800 90 years. And we started off as a national organization. 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.360 We were called the National Conference of... 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:42.689 Christians and Jews, which started in the 1920s 00:04:42.689 --> 00:04:46.050 when hate groups like the KKK were gaining power 00:04:46.050 --> 00:04:49.829 in the U .S. And a group from the Jewish community 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:52.029 and Christian community came together to do activism. 00:04:53.490 --> 00:04:56.610 NCCJ was really at the forefront of interfaith 00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:01.209 relations for this country. And eventually that 00:05:01.209 --> 00:05:06.029 organization disbanded in 2005, but we were one 00:05:06.029 --> 00:05:09.420 of the lucky markets to be able to stay. and 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:12.279 continue to impact. And for a long time, we used 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:16.379 the name MCCJ. But as Miami's community became 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:19.019 more and more diverse, so did our work. And our 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:22.019 name wasn't so relevant anymore. We still honor 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.660 that history, but we needed a new name that was 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:29.459 relevant for these times. And through a very 00:05:29.459 --> 00:05:32.399 generous gift from the Knight Foundation, we 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.300 got some resources to do a total rebranding campaign. 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:41.500 So we hired Jack Hart. over at Roar Media to 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:46.959 kind of do our rebranding. And he helped us to 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.379 find the name Mosaic Miami, bringing all the 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:53.000 beautiful pieces of Miami to create a beautiful 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:58.519 mosaic. You know, right now, our focus on youth 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:02.220 is really important right now. It's really hard 00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:05.800 for kids to get cultural literacy now. which 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:08.199 was something that I was very lucky to have growing 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:12.560 up. Because in order for teams to really prosper, 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.040 in order for relationships to be strong, you 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.860 have to have the tools and wherewithal to be 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:20.199 able to understand people that aren't like you. 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:24.459 Because diversity of ideas makes teams so much 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:29.800 stronger. The community also needs a space to 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.040 talk about difficult conversations. And we do 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:37.990 that. For example, last year, when things started 00:06:37.990 --> 00:06:41.509 to take an even worse turn for the worse in Haiti, 00:06:41.750 --> 00:06:45.569 we held a conversation at the Green Families 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:48.509 Green Space, where we brought thought leaders 00:06:48.509 --> 00:06:53.649 like Jackie Charles, Dr. Gilda Nicola, Gypsy 00:06:53.649 --> 00:06:56.730 Metelus, etc. Real thought leaders that really 00:06:56.730 --> 00:06:59.430 understand Haiti and can demystify a lot of tropes 00:06:59.430 --> 00:07:01.990 and misinformation that's out there. At this 00:07:01.990 --> 00:07:04.810 period in time, we have access at our fingertips 00:07:04.810 --> 00:07:07.310 to so much information. A lot of it's false, 00:07:07.449 --> 00:07:10.569 but how do you decipher that? So creating an 00:07:10.569 --> 00:07:13.129 opportunity for community members to ask questions 00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:15.610 to real thought leaders is something that we 00:07:15.610 --> 00:07:21.430 pride ourselves on to demystify tropes. We also 00:07:21.430 --> 00:07:28.069 are at the intersection of the arts and social 00:07:28.069 --> 00:07:31.829 impact. We use the arts as a jumping off point 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:36.250 for conversation. I think the arts are an equalizer. 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:40.250 We have a faith in film series that we partner 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:42.670 with the Gables Art Cinema. You did a panel with 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:45.610 us. Actually, our first one. Okay. Yeah. And 00:07:45.610 --> 00:07:49.009 then we also have a series at Gables Stage where 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:52.529 I do the talkbacks after every production. And 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:55.649 I curate these conversations based off the plays 00:07:55.649 --> 00:08:01.050 to kind of give. give the guests something to 00:08:01.050 --> 00:08:03.649 think about on the drive home after seeing the 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:08.970 play. We have our work cut out for us. What are 00:08:08.970 --> 00:08:12.370 the major challenges you see right now, you know, 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:17.310 at this moment with regards to, you know, interfaith 00:08:17.310 --> 00:08:22.029 relations and kind of community cohesion? Sure. 00:08:22.069 --> 00:08:25.970 So I really believe that, you know, The interfaith 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:28.689 work that we started off with our organization 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:33.210 in the 1920s as NCCJ was really important. But 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:35.370 I think that we can just rip up that playbook 00:08:35.370 --> 00:08:38.250 because it's a totally different world. And we 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:41.990 need to build a new foundation because you have 00:08:41.990 --> 00:08:44.610 people that have known each other and partnered 00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:48.250 with each other for decades that aren't talking. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:56.000 we need to create spaces and vehicles for people 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.179 to talk about elephants in the room and understand 00:09:00.179 --> 00:09:02.539 that you know this work isn't about converting 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:06.279 people or or making people think like you it's 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:10.000 about trying to find ways to to understand each 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.159 other and to kind of say look um i might not 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:20.039 agree with you but but i understand and We need 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:22.259 to create a space where people don't demonize 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:25.299 each other because that's toxic. At the end of 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:27.360 the day, we have to be able to live together. 00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:33.539 For many of us, the evil forces are against more 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:37.980 of us united than separate. So we've got to figure 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:39.779 out a way to support ourselves in those ways. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:46.519 And then, of course, there's loneliness. A study 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:51.730 came out. that said that loneliness is up there 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:56.070 with tobacco use. And I think that more and more 00:09:56.070 --> 00:09:58.330 coming out of the pandemic, after people living 00:09:58.330 --> 00:10:02.389 in isolation, I think people are seeking connection. 00:10:03.289 --> 00:10:07.090 They're seeking ways to build friendships and 00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:11.450 alliances. And I think that if more and more 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:13.590 organizations come together, I think that we 00:10:13.590 --> 00:10:17.909 can find ways to cure that. Talk to me a little 00:10:17.909 --> 00:10:22.350 bit about your own spiritual journey. Well, that 00:10:22.350 --> 00:10:27.330 might be a loaded question. But my spiritual 00:10:27.330 --> 00:10:32.049 journey is I'm definitely a man of faith. You 00:10:32.049 --> 00:10:35.610 can't do this type of work without having some 00:10:35.610 --> 00:10:42.570 sort of faith compass or belief in something 00:10:42.570 --> 00:10:46.279 that's bigger than yourself. Prayer is a big 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:51.100 part of my daily routine. I pray every day. My 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:55.720 religion that I was raised with is Catholicism. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:59.899 And it's something that's very close to my heart. 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:04.399 I also have a Jewish lineage in my family. But 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:09.919 I think that faith is really important. I think 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:13.399 that in this point in time, I think that faith 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:18.059 leaders have... a golden opportunity to bring 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:21.720 people together. Last year, I was on Capitol 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:25.600 Hill with some partners with the Interfaith Alliance, 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:30.539 and we were doing some lobbying. And it was so 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:36.539 interesting to see the power of the collar, you 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:43.389 know, and see how disarming a faith leader can 00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:47.409 be to a lawmaker that might be on the other side 00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:50.590 of the aisle. Because I think that at the end 00:11:50.590 --> 00:11:53.750 of the day, people have a tremendous amount of 00:11:53.750 --> 00:11:59.370 respect for faith leaders and value the way they 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:04.350 think and value their opinions. And even if they 00:12:04.350 --> 00:12:08.590 don't, you know, move the needle, you know, in 00:12:08.590 --> 00:12:11.950 a wide way, I think little wins matter in these 00:12:11.950 --> 00:12:15.909 days. And I think that if you can bring a Muslim 00:12:15.909 --> 00:12:21.350 imam, a priest, a Buddhist together in a room 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:25.590 and talk about and be able to find common ground, 00:12:25.889 --> 00:12:31.950 I think that's a huge, huge compass for people 00:12:31.950 --> 00:12:33.970 if they want to move into talking about politics. 00:12:37.149 --> 00:12:39.090 Because in America, I mean, the Thanksgiving 00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:43.649 table is not a friendly place anymore. But if 00:12:43.649 --> 00:12:46.710 we have those examples and we have people unifying 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:48.830 their communities, I think one step at a time, 00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:51.250 we'll be okay. But it's going to take a lot of 00:12:51.250 --> 00:12:58.809 work. What about children? What is important? 00:12:58.990 --> 00:13:01.350 I know that you do quite a bit of work with youth. 00:13:02.110 --> 00:13:07.399 What are the challenges that youth face? The 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:13.580 challenges that youth face, they spend the majority 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:17.860 of their time in school. And cultural literacy 00:13:17.860 --> 00:13:22.460 isn't necessarily a focus. So I think giving 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:27.580 kids experiential opportunities to go to the 00:13:27.580 --> 00:13:32.120 Holocaust Museum with a group of people that 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:34.220 are not necessarily part of their community. 00:13:34.909 --> 00:13:38.090 is a big deal or to visit a mosque and to understand 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:43.070 all the facets of islam or um or even something 00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:46.250 as simple as going to the da vinci exhibit immersion 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:49.730 exhibit that pbs put on but bringing kids together 00:13:49.730 --> 00:13:52.590 that oftentimes they never have the opportunity 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:55.850 to meet and teach them how to find common ground 00:13:55.850 --> 00:14:00.019 i think is important or bring kids from different 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:03.379 communities together to understand miami's challenges 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:05.759 and come up with solutions together i think is 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:10.139 a big deal because you know miami's been a city 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:12.179 we've always talked about you know the brain 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:15.720 drain you know kids growing up here and and leaving 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:20.100 i think that if they were to understand their 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:24.659 communities from the get -go and and have a stake 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:28.000 in the game early on the idea of them staying 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:29.940 here would be more relevant. I mean, with me, 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.220 I couldn't not wait to leave Miami, but I'm so 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:36.000 happy I moved back. And even being here on campus 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.580 today, it's amazing how many students are on 00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:42.960 campus. And I think that goes to show the value 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.840 of FIU and the value of Miami for students from 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.740 all over the world that now have this place on 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:53.440 the radar. How has Miami changed since you were 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:57.659 a child? So Miami's changed in so many different 00:14:57.659 --> 00:15:01.039 ways. It's dense. I remember having a conversation 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:04.240 with my dad when I was about 18 years old and 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.580 explained to him that, you know, I wanted to 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:08.779 move to New York and that's where I wanted to 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:12.679 live. And he said, you know, Miami will one day 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:15.639 be that city where people walking just like New 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:17.320 York. Obviously, we're not at that magnitude 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:20.120 yet. We're still a relatively young city. But, 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.700 you know, to see, you know, Brickell City Center. 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:27.879 or Miami World Center, and foot traffic on the 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:31.139 bridge going from Brickell to downtown, I think 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:35.500 is incredible. But at the same time, that comes 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:38.100 at a cost. I mean, there's been a huge, great 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:41.740 migration to Miami since the pandemic, which 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:44.799 has driven up the prices of real estate that 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:47.580 are not sustainable. And it makes it really hard 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:51.980 for people that are, you know, $100 ,000. Salary 00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:55.679 does not get you anywhere in Miami anymore. So 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.639 the high cost of living is going to be at the 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:00.759 detriment of a lot of people in our age bracket 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:06.240 because saving for retirement is not easy anymore. 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.580 The United Way always puts out their Alice Report 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:12.779 where it talks about the poverty line and those 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:16.639 that are one paycheck away from... or one flat 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.039 tire away from a disaster you have people that 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:20.639 are making a hundred thousand dollars in miami 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.639 that are one you know one flat tire away from 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.299 disaster so those are tremendous challenges that 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:30.539 we have to look into sea level rise i think that's 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:33.080 that's something serious we had that storm a 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.360 couple days in miami on miami beach miami beach 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.559 was underwater yeah so finding you know sustainable 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:40.980 solutions for for miami i think is going to be 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:44.659 it's going to be really really important and 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:50.059 nurturing our youth. And then also, I always 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.639 say we can't wait for bad things to happen to 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:53.960 think it's a good idea to build relationships. 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:59.139 I think that we have to continue having these 00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:02.460 hard conversations and reaching across the aisle 00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:05.519 and wrapping our arms around people that are 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.859 not part of our day -to -day community. And it's 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:11.619 going to be crucial. I mean, that's something, 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:13.299 some of the work that I'm doing, especially with 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:15.079 Muslim -Jewish dialogue, and I think it's something 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:18.519 that, especially after October 7th, it's been 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:21.299 a big, you know, like you were saying, a lot 00:17:21.299 --> 00:17:23.519 of these relationships that had existed for quite 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.420 a while kind of really broke down and trying 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.940 to rebuild that. And what does that mean? And 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:30.759 having kind of some of the hard conversations 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:35.359 about, not just, I think, about what's happening 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:37.359 in other parts of the world, but like what type 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:40.480 of... What are our values as Americans and what 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.240 do we, what does it mean to be American in the 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:45.880 21st century? And I think that's a lot of, it's 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:47.539 not just something that we're asking, but it's 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:50.779 also even the political parties are asking. And 00:17:50.779 --> 00:17:53.779 some of it is very negative and it's very exclusivist 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:56.859 to say, okay, this is what American is and everyone 00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:58.619 else is not an American and they need to get 00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:03.210 out or to say, look, they're... you know, America 00:18:03.210 --> 00:18:06.089 is a type of diversity and where it's inclusive. 00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:08.809 And so I think there are two really competing 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:11.869 visions for this country that's been there since 00:18:11.869 --> 00:18:14.829 the beginning. And I think just kind of the economic 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:17.910 and political stress of the last couple of years 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:22.430 has really exacerbated that. And it's also really 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:28.710 revealed the fact that one of the common challenges 00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:34.579 that we have is that we don't have a lot of organizations 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:37.119 and associations that bring people from different 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:39.859 perspectives together, whether it's like social 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.039 clubs or anything like that. And so people just 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.819 tend to be more polarized in their own social 00:18:44.819 --> 00:18:48.099 media ecosystems. So being able to break through 00:18:48.099 --> 00:18:50.119 that. And I think one of the things that I really 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:52.500 appreciate about Mosaic is that a lot of the 00:18:52.500 --> 00:18:56.440 work that you're doing is in person. And it's, 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:57.980 you know, you kind of just have to do the hard 00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:01.220 work of being in person, showing up, being places 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:04.200 to develop those relationships. There's no virtual 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:07.680 way that we can substitute for that hard work, 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:11.460 you know. Oh, yeah. Those in -person conversations, 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:15.720 you know, post -October 7th, I've had a lot of 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.140 tough conversations. And there are nights where 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:22.589 I would sit up unable to sleep. Because I was 00:19:22.589 --> 00:19:24.329 nervous about the conversations I was going to 00:19:24.329 --> 00:19:29.569 have that next day. But to be honest, I never 00:19:29.569 --> 00:19:33.529 came out of those conversations being like, I 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:35.269 wish I didn't have them or that would be terrible. 00:19:36.190 --> 00:19:38.490 I think that when you bring two humans together 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:45.210 to talk, I should say two reasonable human beings 00:19:45.210 --> 00:19:49.829 together to talk, I think that if you listen 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:54.779 intently. I think it can be a good thing because 00:19:54.779 --> 00:19:57.759 for the most part, we've all had a mother and 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.859 a father, siblings, children. We've all experienced 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:07.640 pain. We've all liked some sports team or some 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:10.019 sort of music that we can find commonalities 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:12.380 on or a book that we're reading. And I think 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:14.720 that if we lean on those things, but also dig 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:18.700 into where we disagree and why. I think it's 00:20:18.700 --> 00:20:21.299 going to be a good thing. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:25.119 I think, you know, even going beyond the, a lot 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:28.440 of times the disagreement, you know, it's very 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.740 vitriolic when it's remote. But when you're in 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:35.440 person, you just can't hold the same anger and 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:37.299 intensity for a different perspective. And I 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:39.980 think you can also connect. I think naturally, 00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:45.599 we as human beings want to connect. So I think 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.460 even if you're from two completely different 00:20:47.460 --> 00:20:50.380 sort of like ideological perspectives, just physically 00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:52.539 being in the same room together, you want to 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:55.259 find some sort of commonality. And like you were 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:57.579 saying, I mean, it's all of those experiences 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:00.700 in life. And I think the greatest one, of course, 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:02.460 is death. And that's something that we've all 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:05.420 experienced and shared. And so there's this really 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:08.279 deep emotional connection that can also be connected, 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.940 you know, that allow us and we all have the same. 00:21:11.879 --> 00:21:15.160 um, hopes for our children and sort of fears 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:18.000 about the future. And, you know, there's so there's, 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:22.420 and, you know, we all in all people want to have 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.579 a peaceful, good life with each other. Um, and 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:27.900 a lot of times we, you know, there are a lot 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:30.559 of these mental hurdles in our way that prevent 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:32.660 us from being able to do that, you know? So, 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:36.180 um, yeah, you know, I think, I think you're 100 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:40.539 % correct. Death is, um, Death is at our age. 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:42.640 We're similar in age. It's something that's very 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:46.200 much around us. Yes, we've got gray beards. Some 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:48.640 can say that shows refinement. That also shows 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.579 that we have some sort of pain coming. And our 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:54.759 friends have pain coming. And being able to process 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:58.640 those things is really important because it's 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:03.339 inevitable. And it's something that, you know. 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:06.500 For example, I lost my grandmother a couple of 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:08.859 years ago. Right. And it's interesting, like 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:11.380 leading up to that death, people are surrounded 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:13.720 by you. Right. Then you get to the funeral and 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:16.799 then and then what? Then things are quiet. So 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.140 it's like one of those things where you have 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:21.420 to having that support of others and supporting 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:24.740 others after that point, you know, it's crucial. 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:28.880 And, you know, also sharing in the different 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:33.819 traditions on how on how to on how to. not necessarily 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:38.099 navigate, but how to have the journey of death, 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:42.220 I think is also like an equalizer. And we're 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:45.279 also at that stage in our lives where we're both 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:48.720 like, you know, in the middle of our careers 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.920 and you're at the same time, your parents are 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:53.440 getting older and you have to take care, you 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:54.839 know, you have that, then you're also taking 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:57.859 care of young children as well. And so there's 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:01.359 a lot of different. demands, I think, in terms 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.900 of your time and your life. And at the same time, 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:06.420 trying to make meaning of it and also trying 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:08.539 to connect to other people. There's a lot of 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.980 things that you're juggling, but particularly, 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:12.819 I think, with the issue of death, because we 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:16.420 live in a culture that tends to minimize it or 00:23:16.420 --> 00:23:18.680 not really, it's not something that's very public. 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:22.200 in western society kind of death is kind of put 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:25.019 pushed to the side and you more it's about celebrating 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:27.400 life and kind of living you know your best life 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:29.799 or living you know and that's a great thing um 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:33.279 but also you know to have some sense of perspective 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.240 death like gives you perspective in terms of 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:39.160 kind of how short life is um what are the most 00:23:39.160 --> 00:23:40.740 things the things that are most meaningful and 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:42.119 what are the things that are distractions of 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:45.259 life um and then i think faith also helps to 00:23:45.259 --> 00:23:49.190 like bring that together as well oh 100 And then 00:23:49.190 --> 00:23:51.609 it's also, like you said, we're only here for 00:23:51.609 --> 00:23:54.809 a certain amount of time and time is our biggest 00:23:54.809 --> 00:23:56.990 asset. So it's like, what do we do with that 00:23:56.990 --> 00:24:00.029 time now? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. No, and 00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:04.269 I think just being able to do the work that we 00:24:04.269 --> 00:24:06.630 do, that's a huge blessing because there are 00:24:06.630 --> 00:24:09.230 a lot of people that are not as fortunate as 00:24:09.230 --> 00:24:11.130 we are to have the positions that we have and 00:24:11.130 --> 00:24:14.029 to be able to have the access to people and resources 00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.789 to do the work that we can do, you know. You 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:19.769 know, to live a purpose -driven life is the ultimate 00:24:19.769 --> 00:24:22.529 blessing. Absolutely. You know, some people, 00:24:22.650 --> 00:24:24.569 you know, they don't do that until they retire. 00:24:24.730 --> 00:24:26.970 Right. You know, get to wake up every day and 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:29.309 do that. Exactly. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. No, 00:24:29.410 --> 00:24:30.990 I totally agree with that. And I think that, 00:24:31.049 --> 00:24:32.990 you know, there's also something unique about 00:24:32.990 --> 00:24:35.490 Miami in that, you know, I've lived in different 00:24:35.490 --> 00:24:41.089 other places. And there's just a very, I don't 00:24:41.089 --> 00:24:43.910 know if it's because it's full of immigrants. 00:24:45.470 --> 00:24:48.410 as a place or there are constant people relocating 00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:51.470 here, but there definitely is an openness and 00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:56.309 an energy to difference. And there's a lot of 00:24:56.309 --> 00:24:58.569 creativity here, sort of with the art scene. 00:24:59.950 --> 00:25:02.890 So there's just so many different things that 00:25:02.890 --> 00:25:05.769 have come together to make, like you were saying 00:25:05.769 --> 00:25:09.250 with MCCJ and just sort of even the evolution 00:25:09.250 --> 00:25:13.289 of Mosaic, the fact that it remained and it has 00:25:13.289 --> 00:25:16.519 been able to thrive. in other parts of the country, 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:19.000 you know, it didn't do as well, right? Things, 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:23.839 you know, kind of fell away. Or somehow the increasing 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.839 diversity of America didn't translate into interfaith 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:31.079 or intercultural sort of, you know, dialogue 00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:33.500 and sort of communities. And I think that's something 00:25:33.500 --> 00:25:35.759 that's a huge blessing here. And the fact that 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:39.980 we have all of these... So it's not just us as 00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:43.099 younger people, but we're also mentored by an 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:46.380 older generation that has a background in history 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:49.079 and they actually have an understanding of how 00:25:49.079 --> 00:25:51.160 this is done and the resources to help make things 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:55.180 happen. That's a huge blessing as well. Oh yeah, 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:58.240 the mentorship piece, the intergenerational piece 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:02.680 of what we do is crucial. And having those veterans 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:06.019 that we can call on. Right. And also to hold 00:26:06.019 --> 00:26:08.220 us accountable. Right. You know, I think. Absolutely. 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:12.759 But also we have a, we have kind of a, we have 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:15.200 a role in also holding the next generation accountable. 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:17.339 Exactly. Yeah. No, I mean, and that's, you know, 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:19.079 that's what we're trying to do with FIU is also 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:22.059 to do interfaith projects, teaching interfaith 00:26:22.059 --> 00:26:25.890 courses and things like that. That's really important 00:26:25.890 --> 00:26:29.349 that this knowledge is something that can be 00:26:29.349 --> 00:26:32.890 lost and it has to be constantly taught and explained 00:26:32.890 --> 00:26:35.930 and lived and shown. And then also just to give 00:26:35.930 --> 00:26:42.680 students also a perspective on life that... you 00:26:42.680 --> 00:26:44.900 need to also give back to the community. You 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:46.680 need to volunteer. You need to do something more 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:49.119 than just make money. That there is something 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:51.160 greater, you know, to your life. And that in 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:54.559 those hours after work, you can do things to 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:58.519 support and help other people. And that's also... 00:26:59.529 --> 00:27:01.869 I would say it's a moral obligation in a way, 00:27:01.910 --> 00:27:05.170 because we have been granted so much. You know, 00:27:05.190 --> 00:27:07.309 we have to give back as much as we can. Honestly, 00:27:07.509 --> 00:27:09.650 we cannot. In the Islamic tradition, at least, 00:27:09.690 --> 00:27:15.829 the belief is that even if you were to say, you 00:27:15.829 --> 00:27:19.349 were to thank God for every, like, you just to 00:27:19.349 --> 00:27:22.000 do it. for every minute of the day, for the rest 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:24.200 of your life, it would not be sufficient to thank 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:27.099 God for the blessings that He's bestowed upon 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:30.039 us. So there's just no way that we can give back 00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:33.039 to God as much as we've been given, but to do 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:39.180 as much as we can to help others. 100%. And I 00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:43.299 think that the Bell Chapel here on campus, I 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:45.880 saw it today for the first time in a long time 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:48.480 as it's coming up. It's going to be, I think 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.380 it's going to be a... a game changer for this 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:54.059 campus. I really hope so. I think it's a neutral 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.980 territory where everyone can feel comfortable. 00:27:57.259 --> 00:27:58.940 Exactly. Yeah, and I think that's one of the 00:27:58.940 --> 00:28:00.420 things that we're really trying to do as well 00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:03.819 is to think about, you know, that's one of the 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:07.759 things with such a rapidly changing demographic 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:12.900 interscene is also to create spaces that people 00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:16.430 can come together in. So, you know, I mean, that's 00:28:16.430 --> 00:28:18.230 something that's been, you know, a big challenge, 00:28:18.269 --> 00:28:21.329 I think, is like where are the places where people 00:28:21.329 --> 00:28:26.089 can congregate? You know, people, especially, 00:28:26.309 --> 00:28:34.069 you know, as, you know, either basically as the 00:28:34.069 --> 00:28:37.670 city is reshaping itself and new people are coming 00:28:37.670 --> 00:28:40.589 in and older institutions are going away, the 00:28:40.589 --> 00:28:43.059 question is like, how do we? maintained spaces 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:45.940 where people feel comfortable of different groups, 00:28:46.119 --> 00:28:49.180 religions, cultures to come together, have dialogue, 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:54.420 and that are also value neutral as well. So, 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:56.140 you know, maybe people might not be comfortable 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:59.039 coming to a mosque, but a chapel at a university 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:01.119 would be an open. So there are all these sort 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:04.599 of third spaces that can bring people together 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:08.160 and just curating them, making them widely known 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:10.799 and available to people. I think that's also 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:13.730 something that's very important. I think projects 00:29:13.730 --> 00:29:17.349 like The Underline, I think that's a great equalizer 00:29:17.349 --> 00:29:21.009 in Miami. I think Meg Daly's vision of creating 00:29:21.009 --> 00:29:25.529 this 10 -mile course where people can congregate, 00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:27.829 have conversations, be active together, I think 00:29:27.829 --> 00:29:31.000 it's a big deal. People always talk about being 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.079 on one side of the tracks, but in the underline, 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.680 everybody's in line, you know? Exactly. Absolutely. 00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:38.299 Yeah, yeah. And I think the Freedom Towers new 00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:40.559 renaissance is going to be really important for 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:43.200 Miami. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Just, I mean, 00:29:43.220 --> 00:29:45.420 creating those physical spaces is kind of an 00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:48.680 architecture for, you know, interfaith sort of 00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:52.240 dialogue and exploration. I think that's something 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:54.200 that's very, very important. Yeah. And I mean, 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:56.700 yeah, you just see all of the, I mean, there's 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:59.920 already so much interest in terms of... One of 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:01.619 the other things that I think has been really 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:03.759 wonderful is that all of our dialogue groups 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:05.839 and meetings, there's always food available. 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:08.480 And just breaking bread together and having different 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:10.940 types of cuisines and exploring cultures through 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:14.359 art and sort of music and food, I think is such 00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:17.099 an important part of the city. You're definitely 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:19.900 seeing the diversification of food in Miami already. 00:30:21.849 --> 00:30:25.750 So that's wonderful. Any last thoughts about 00:30:25.750 --> 00:30:27.970 kind of your hopes for the future and kind of 00:30:27.970 --> 00:30:33.509 what Mosaic is doing in the next few months or 00:30:33.509 --> 00:30:37.829 a few years? So my hope for Miami is that, you 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:42.710 know, we continue to find ways to not listen 00:30:42.710 --> 00:30:46.609 to the noise and to come together human to human 00:30:46.609 --> 00:30:50.269 to make things better. because things are so 00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:52.509 complicated. A lot of people are hurting right 00:30:52.509 --> 00:30:54.890 now. A lot of people are struggling right now. 00:30:54.990 --> 00:30:57.589 And I think that I don't have a crystal ball, 00:30:57.670 --> 00:31:00.789 but I think things are going to get worse before 00:31:00.789 --> 00:31:03.970 they get better for people's financial lives. 00:31:04.450 --> 00:31:06.490 And that's going to create other challenges for 00:31:06.490 --> 00:31:08.930 this community, especially as our cost of living 00:31:08.930 --> 00:31:11.910 continues to go up. We're lucky to have a mayor 00:31:11.910 --> 00:31:17.049 that cares and tries to create solutions to help 00:31:17.049 --> 00:31:19.299 us. But I think that we... It's going to take 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:24.019 more than that. As it relates to Mosaic Miami, 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:28.680 we're at an inflection point where for the last 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:32.359 four years we've been harrying away, creating 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:35.039 programming, building a solid foundation for 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:38.220 it to live on another 90 years. But now it's 00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:40.240 time to find resources to allow us to scale. 00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:44.660 I started my team from scratch, and I've hired 00:31:44.660 --> 00:31:48.000 some really brilliant people. but I want to be 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:50.960 able to retain them and give them a platform 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:53.700 to grow. And I also want to be able to recruit 00:31:53.700 --> 00:32:01.460 more brilliant people to help expand the offerings 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:04.920 of Mosaic Miami at a time where the community 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:08.609 needs us more now than ever. Absolutely. Wonderful. 00:32:08.849 --> 00:32:11.029 Well, hopefully we have opportunities to work 00:32:11.029 --> 00:32:13.430 together and develop that vision. Definitely. 00:32:13.890 --> 00:32:15.609 That's wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Matt. 00:32:15.690 --> 00:32:17.130 I really appreciate your time. Thank you for 00:32:17.130 --> 00:32:18.930 having me. Absolutely. Thank you.