Kathar Sagar, Ocean of Stories

Sarah Conover has written six books on world wisdom traditions and the spiritual education of families. Her interests lie in building bridges of understanding between people of differing world cultures and wisdom traditions. As a former high-school teacher, she strived to bring multicultural perspectives to her students by collaborating with other educators worldwide. She was the recipient of two U.S. State Department grants that brought U.S. teachers to the Middle East to initiate classroom collaborations between students in the two regions. Sarah lives in Spokane, Washington, where she teaches creative writing and Buddhist meditation. Abhi Janamanchi serves as the Senior Minister of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, MD. He was born and raised in Southern India but moved to the U.S. in 1994. He is a third-generation member of the Brahmo Samaj, a liberal Hindu reform movement. Before coming to Bethesda, he served UU congregations in Florida, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Abhi has been actively involved in international interfaith and multicultural work for over two decades including as President of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF). His Unitarian Universalist-Hindu faith, his Indian heritage, and his American citizenship inspire and guide him in this work. Shanthi Chandrasekar is trained in the traditional South Indian art form of Tanjore-style painting. While many of her works are influenced by her Indian heritage, her true inspiration comes from the mystery and majesty of the world around her. Shanthi's work has been displayed in a variety of locations throughout the Washington, DC area, and she has won numerous awards, including the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in both 2013 and 2016 for works on paper and the Maryland Traditions Master Apprentice Award to teach Kolam drawing in 2010.