Profiles &
Write Ups

 SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning, activist Skyler Oberst among TEDxSpokane Speakers

This year’s speakers include 2018 National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning, speaking about serving refugee and immigrant students and communities, Power 2 the Poetry’s Bethany Montgomery, Come Nzibarega, sharing insight into refugee camps, entrepreneur, transgender activist and business owner Robbi Anthony, who is running for county commissioner, calling for more community and compassion and the Spokane Interfaith Council’s Skyler Oberst.

Read More at: https://www.tedxspokane.com/

CATALYST MAGAZINE

Skyler Oberst Counted as One of Region’s “20 Under 40” Leaders

Each year Inland Business Catalyst asks our readership to submit nominations for 20 Under 40, a celebration of rising stars in our region who embody an entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, and excellence in their chosen industry, and demonstrate a commitment to giving back to the community, as well.  This year the winners were selected from an outstanding body of 90 nominees through a review of vetted area professionals and 20 Under 40 Hall of Famers.

Read More at: https://bozzimedia.com/20-40-2016/

PLURALISM PROJECT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Leadership Profile: Skyler Oberst

One way that we sought to document interfaith work taking place beyond or between organizations is through leadership profiles. These initial profiles offer a glimpse of the diverse motivations, leaders, and styles that contribute to a vital movement. At 21, Skyler Oberst represents the new wave of youth involvement, active in campus interfaith activity as well as developing two community interfaith organizations in Spokane, Washington.

Read More at: http://pluralism.org/leadership-profile/skyler-oberst/

THE FIG TREE

Interfaith Leader Spreads Opportunities to Understand Diverse Faiths

His experience of walls dividing people in places like Israel/Palestine, Berlin and Havana confirms his desire to build community in Spokane, noting that “we can help build community before walls are constructed. “Walls limit our ability to work as good neighbors,” he said.  “In some places with walls, people do not meet their neighbors.  If we are to have a healthy community, we need to meet our neighbors, to break bread, to meet people with no fixed agenda, to tell and hear stories, and to create the stories we want for our future.

Read More at: http://www.thefigtree.org/oct17/100117oberstinterfaith.html

EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Skyler Oberst Celebrates the Interfaith Community

Skyler Oberst is easy to pick out of a crowd of young professionals. It isn’t his fashionable eyeglasses, his watch and matching leather shoes, or the geometry of creases on his shirt and slacks that could only come from an ironing board. It’s something else – an unmistakable sense of purpose multiplied by passion. Trim and bright-eyed, he looks young for a late 20-something. When asked to define his work, Oberst grinned and said, “I remind people to love their neighbor.”

Read More at: https://sites.ewu.edu/easternmagazine/2017/03/20/skyler-oberst-celebrates-the-interfaith-community/ 

SPOKANE FAITH AND VALUES

Local leaders speak out against vandalism at Sikh Temple of Spokane

Members of the Sikh Temple say damages are estimated between $30,000 and $50,000. On Thursday afternoon faith and political leaders gathered in the temple’s langar to condemn the vandalism at a press conference organized by the Spokane Interfaith Council.

Read More at: https://spokanefavs.com/local-leader-speak-out-against-vandalism-at-sikh-temple/

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY BULLETIN

Good Neighbor Conference provides tools to combat bigotry and hate

“We owe it to Spokane, and we owe it to our community to be proactive in the face of discrimination,” said Skyler Oberst, president of the Spokane Interfaith Council and organizer of the event.  “We want to be proactive, and not reactive.” Oberst later said it is not enough for people to simply talk about their problems, but rather need to focus on what they have in-common.

Read More at: https://www.gonzagabulletin.com/news/article_88fcc6a4-ba67-11e6-ae69-ef132521373b.html

THE FIG TREE

Community rallies to stand in solidarity with Islamic Center of Spokane

When the Spokane Interfaith Council learned that anti-Muslim rallies were planned Oct. 10 at U.S. mosques and Islamic sites, they called for neighbors to stand with Spokane’s Muslim community. Skyler Oberst, the Interfaith Council president, said all Americans, not just the faith community, need to share the joys and sorrows of their neighbors who include Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Republicans, Democrats and atheists. “If we focus only on our own group, we are not building community, but risk building walls,” he said.

Read More at: http://www.thefigtree.org/nov15/110115islamctrrally.html

THE FIG TREE

Skyler Oberst Selected to Light the Candle “Righteous Among Nations” for Yom Hashoah at Temple Beth Shalom

Yom Hashoah program director Hershel Zellman , wh is gratified that Yom Hashoah is now an institution in the community, said this year the candle honoring “the righteous” will be lit by Skyler Oberst for his leadership of the Interfaith Council, educating people about local faith communities and working for human rights.

Read More at: http://www.thefigtree.org/april17/040117zellmanyomhashoah.html

LEADERSHIP SPOKANE

Skyler Oberst Receives Prestigious DaZelda Scholarship 

The DaZelda Scholarship, created and administered by Susan and Ira Amstadter, Class of 2000, owners of Express Employment Professionals, is awarded to an incoming member of the adult Leadership Spokane program who demonstrates a passion for his/her community, finds creative and innovative solutions to problems, has a zest for life and can answer the question, “What can you do today to strengthen your heart and increase your capacity to do good in the world?”

Read More at: https://leadershipspokane.org/what-we-do/scholarships.html 

INTERFAITH YOUTH CORE

Skyler Oberst Named an Interfaith Youth Core Germanacos Fellow

In partnership with activist/philanthropist Anne Germanacos and the Germanacos Foundation, we are pleased to present the 2016 Germanacos Fellowship, an initiative supporting Interfaith Youth Core’s alumni and their innovative ideas for social change centered on interfaith cooperation. IFYC Alumni see interfaith cooperation as a vehicle for impact on a variety of action issues. Over the course of their fellowship, these five alumni will cultivate projects that creatively address social issues while leveraging shared community values. 

Read More at: https://www.ifyc.org/sites/default/files/u4/201516GermanacosFellowship.pdf

SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

Spokane Interfaith Council Works for Religious Literacy

Mamdouh El-Aarag smiled as he looked at the crowd of 300 people squeezed into the Spokane Islamic Center’s main prayer hall Tuesday night. “It really warms my heart to see all of you here tonight,” he said. “This is the United States of America that I know and love.”The gathering was the third in a Spokane Interfaith Council series called “Meet the Neighbors,” which aims to provide an introduction to the diverse religions practiced in Spokane. Each month, the public is invited to a different house of worship to meet leaders, hear a brief presentation on the faith and ask questions. Interfaith Council President Skyler Oberst said he hoped the series would promote “learning about our differences, but focusing on our similarities.  We’re going to make some new friends. You’re required to do that tonight,” he told the group with a smile.

Read More at: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/jan/24/spokane-interfaith-council-works-for-religious-lit/

THE FIG TREE

Interfaith Leader Skyler Oberst tells of effort to have Spokane Designated a ‘Compassionate City’

Skyler Oberst, president of the Interfaith Council and delegate to the recent Parliament of World Religions, recently introduced the Charter for Compassion for the Spokane City Council to adopt.  With his positions as a policy advisor and community organizer, Skyler was uniquely positioned to help lead the effort. On Feb. 8, the council adopted a resolution to become a Compassionate City. 

Read More at: http://www.thefigtree.org/march16/030116ewlcoberst.html