Genesis at the Crossroads’
SOUNDS OF HEALING™
Live, in-person
World premiere performance
Genesis at the Crossroads’ Gala
Making History with Our First-Ever
GENESIS PEACE HUB
The Adler Planetarium · Chicago
June 23, 2022

Saffron Caravan
Genesis at the Crossroads’ professional world music ensemble unites artists from Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, Morocco, India, the Middle East, Brazil, Venezuela and the US for cross-cultural collaborative performances, music education and roundtables on music, healing, and peacebuilding. This program features:

Badi Assad
- Musician, Composer, Author
- Saffron Caravan Vocalist and Guitarist
Badi has played an array of international concerts/festivals including innovative collaborations with Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo-Ma, Sarah McLaughlin and others. She is also the Guitarist/Vocalist in Genesis at the Crossroads’ Saffron Caravan ensemble. With 15 albums released worldwide, her CD, Wonderland was selected by the BBC London as among the 100 Best and Amazon.com’s 30 Best. Guitar Player selected her as one of the guitar players that would revolutionize the world. In addition to reaching the Top 10 in Europe, her hit song, Waves was featured in the soundtrack of It Runs in the Family, featuring Michael and Kirk Douglas. Awarded Best Composer of The Year (APCA/BR) for her CD, Between Love and Luck, she was also distinguished by Rolling Stone Magazine to be among the Brazilian guitar masters of history.
Cantos de Casa, her children’s CD, won Trophy Cata-Vento for Best CD of the Yea and her Pega no Coco won first prize for Best World Music Song at the USA International Songwriting Competition. In 2014, Badi was commissioned by The Guitar Film Festival Marathon in New York, to compose for the remake of the Chinese silent film, The Goddess (1934). Invited to also serve in the role of Festival Curator, she not only performed her composition live at New York’s Merkin Hall, but also received a New York Times highlight as Best of the Festival.
She writes a weekly column about music for the online version of TOP Magazine and is the author of the newly released book, Around the World in 80 Artists (Pólen Livros). The film, BADI directed by Edu Felistoque was named Best Film by The FestCine Maracanaú in Fortaleza, Brazil and was featured at the 2018 Brazil Summerfest in New York.

Badi Assad
Lebanese-Brazilian Vocalist & Guitarist

Aaron Bensoussan
- Moroccan Vocalist
Born in the coastal city of Essaouira, Morocco, Aaron became the next generation of a revered Moroccan rabbinic dynasty. His Grandfather, Rabbi Haim David Bensoussan was the Chief Rabbi of Morocco and his Great Grandfather, one of the most revered rabbis to emerge from the city of Fez. According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the Bensoussan Family traces itself back to Rabbi Yehuda Bensoussan, a teacher of Maimonides. Aaron studied the art of Sephardic liturgical music with his Father and other masters of Moroccan music, all of which colors his expansive repertoire.
His interest in both Ashkenazic and cantorial music began when he relocated to New York at the age of 14 to study at a Yeshiva, a Jewish religious day school.A graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he also studied at both Yeshiva University Belz School of Music and Queens College. He was fortunate to study with Master Cantors in both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions including, the late Moshe Ganchoff, the late David Koussevitzky, Noach Schall, Daniel Gildar, the late Sammy Amzallag and Avraham Ben Haim.
Aaron has performed in concerts and festivals all over the world, including the Jerusalem Theatre in Jerusalem, The Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv and Carnegie Hall in New York City.One of his most satisfying, creative endeavors has been composing music combining Ashkenazic and Sephardic elements with Middle Eastern Rhythms, Jazz, Flamenco and pop grooves to masterfully weave a culturally rich musical tapestry.
Encompassing these elements, his newly released CD, A New Journey, continues to receive rave reviews. His renowned composition, L’cha Dodi, included on the Putumayo World Music Series, A Jewish Odyssey, has been sung in synagogues all over the world; countless cantors and singers have requested permission to record his compositions on their albums. With many cantorial and pop recordings to his credit, Aaron’s repertoire includes his original compositions along with Judeo-Moroccan classics. The New York Times called his singing, “stout and impassioned.” For 25 years he served as Cantor for large prestigious congregations in both New York and Toronto. Aaron relinquished his professional cantorial role on the synagogue altar to devote himself to delivering his message for peace from a larger “platform” — that of the world stage.

Aaron Bensoussan
Moroccan Vocalist

Haytham Safia
- Middle Eastern-European (Oud)
Safia’s music colorfully sources itself from his rich cultural past: he was born in the Village of Kafr Kasif in the Northern Galilee, an area strongly influenced by its neighboring Druise community. A versatile and adventurous musician, Safia graduated from the Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem in 2002. He turned to Europe, the Netherlands in particular, for cross-cultural challenges, which included successful collaborations with the multinational band No Blues. He currently resides in the Netherlands.
Safia has released multiple CDs, including Promises (2007) created with three fellow multi-disciplinary artists to produce a stunning album full of emotion ranging from contemplative to exuberant, and jarring to playful instrumentation. Safia has also worked with two classically trained musicians from Amsterdam (Cellist Eva van de Poll and Oboe player Hanneke Ramselan) as well as the gifted Iranian percussionist, Afra Mussawisada, to produce a mellifluous and riveting collaboration. His prior release, Blossom, unites nine artists from nine different nations in a cross-cultural exchange.
Safia’s oud-playing is known for both its precision and experimentation, particularly with Ramselan’s oboe, in songs like Moments of Relief, or the percussion duet Path to the Roots. Influenced by the gentle instrumental exchange of Tunisian Anouar Brahim’s, his unique combination of classical Western and Eastern instrumentation blends beautifully in a playful musically-styled “conversation,” Answering Nature’s Call.
Haytham Safia has long established himself as a talented composer with a well-full of innovative ideas. Voice of the Desert on the Promises release stands out for its power and harmony, exemplifying his gift for composition. His latest quartet, an example of his foray into novel cross-cultural music, incorporates Oriental rhythms while respecting classical Western components. He contrasts that with Having Fun, a racy jazz-inflected jaunt.
Three years following his debut in the Netherlands, Safia created a well-admired solo album, U’D, which offers traditional Arab oud phrasing alongside magical Maqams, his unique trademark which re-interprets much of the traditional melodic oud repertoire. His exquisitely- produced oud improvisatory passages (Taqasim) are further embellished with his meditative signature. His revelatory Nahawand track immerses audiences in a brilliant transcendent state.
With a contemporary approach to the Oud, Safia playfully manipulates recurring themes, underscoring traditional introductory and closing phrases.

Haytham Safia
Middle Eastern-European Oud Player

Javier Saume Mazzei
- Venezuelan Percussionist
A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Javier began playing percussion at the age of eight. He holds a B.A in Music from College of Performing Art, Roosevelt University. Javier has performed with Rhonda Richmond, Reginald Veal, Harlin Riley, Cassandra Wilson, Badi Assad, and the Symphony Orchestra “Sistema de Orquestas Juveniles de Venezuela”. He has performed internationally in concerts, master classes, and residencies in Beijing, The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall with Sones de Mexico Ensemble. He has recorded with Sones de Mexico, the only group in NARAS history to be nominated for the Latin Grammy and Grammy (2008.) Javier plays as a guest musician in the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theatre at North Eastern University Associate Institution and teaches percussion at People’s Music School.

Javier Saume Mazzei
Venezuelan Percussionist

Wendy Sternberg, MD
- Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, Genesis at the Crossroads
As the founder and creative engine behind Genesis at the Crossroads, Wendy designed all programs to date and continues to oversee production and implementation of performance/artistic programs, education and humanitarian initiatives worldwide. She forged national/international partnerships with over 45 institutions and founded Saffron Caravan, Genesis’ professional world music ensemble uniting artists from Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, Morocco, Israel, India, Brazil, Venezuela and the US for cross-cultural collaborative performance and educational programs. Since 2011, Sternberg has created and produced a body of inquiry-based salon programs on the intersection of human rights, human development and the role of the arts to help shape and inform a humanistic society and transform conflict. One annual salon series focuses on women’s leadership. She masterminds the creative development/management of the current Genesis Academy Summer Institutes for international youth leaders from areas of conflict as well as the future Genesis Peace Hub. (Due to the pandemic, the Peace Hub began virtually in 2020 with Sounds of Healing; its physical campus place-making on Chicago’s South side is in the process of coming to fruition for a slated 2023 opening.)
Affectionately called a Doctor without a Border, her prior 20+ year career as a primary care internal medicine physician informs the healing aspects at the heart of Genesis at the Crossroads. Under her leadership, Genesis boasts over 150 award-winning programs, internationally acclaimed by the UN, The Kennedy Center, Rotary, The King of Morocco, the British Council, the US Institute of Peace and the US Department of State. A Rotary Peace Fellow and a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine featured her as a Woman to Watch. She was named one of the 10 Jewish Chicagoans of the Year and was a 2011 Charles Bronfman Prize Nominee. Sternberg is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Woods Fund – Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation Task Force. On the celebratory occasion of the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, Sternberg was deeply honored to be chosen as the closing speaker, following the remarks of Gandhi’s Granddaughter, Nelson Mandela’s Daughter and Cesar Chavez’s Grandson at the Gandhi 150: A Legacy of Peace 2019 program in Chicago. She keynoted the Gandhi King Foundation’s 2020 virtual peace program in India at the University of Hyderabad.
In the face of the pandemic, she retooled Genesis’ 2006 Art of Healing initiative into a cross-cultural collaborative health and wellness program with a focus on arts, trauma and healing. It features multiple virtual and in-person programs over the next few years (Sounds of Healing). Among other written work, publications include: For the Sake of Humanity; Research on Cross-Cultural Collaborative Arts for Public Health, Chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Methods for Public Scholarship, Oxford Press (2018).
Sternberg graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in French Literature. She received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine with field work in public health in Chennai, India. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Chicago.

Wendy Sternberg, MD
Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, Genesis at the Crossroads
Guest Artists:

Stacy Keach
- Actor and Author
Stacy Keach is a pre-eminent American interpreter of Shakespeare, with notable performances as Hamlet, Henry V, Coriolanus, Falstaff, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. Recently, when the Coronavirus struck, and after zooming the title role in an adaptation of King Lear, he and his wife, Malgosia, formed StacyKeachZoomTheater. Since then he has zoomed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hughie, The Unexpected Man, and most recently, David Storey’s Home.
Performance honors include: a Best Actor Golden Globe, three Obies, three Vernon Rice Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, three Helen Hayes Awards, the Millennium Recognition Award, the Shakespeare Will Award, nominations for Emmy and Tony Awards, and most recently, the International Satellite Mary Pickford Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and in 2019 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Filmography includes: Gotti, Truth, Gold, Fat City, Nebraska, If I Stay, Bourne Supremacy, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, The Ninth Configuration, Doc, Up In Smoke, American History X, The Long Riders, and The New Centurions.
TV series: Mike Hammer, Titus, Two and a Half Men, Blue Bloods Prison Break, NCIS: New Orleans, The Blacklist, Man with a Plan, and American Greed.
He is the author of All in All, his award-winning memoir.
Since 2004, Stacy has served on the Artistic Advisory Board of Genesis at the Crossroads, a non-profit organization dedicated to the bringing together cultures in conflict through collaborative arts, education and social justice initiatives. He participates in Sounds of Healing with a dramatic reading of the poem, A House Called Tomorrow by Alberto Alvaro Rios.

Stacy Keach
- Actor and Author

Katherine Davis
- Chicago Jazz & Blues Musician
Katherine Davis’ life as a singer, songwriter, actress, and teacher is imbued with music. Whether she is portraying Bessie Smith or Ma Rainey on stage, appearing with piano accompaniment at a nightclub, fronting a large band, or singing for the Lord, Katherine steers her own course. Her command of various musical styles is saturated in blue. Katherine’s unique musical approach was nurtured from within by her circle of family and close friends.
Her Mother was from a family of jazz performers and opera singers. She loved to sing and wanted to be a professional vocalist, though she dedicated her life to her family. Katherine remembers hearing her Mother’s side of the family recount the stories of her Grandfather, Earl Campbell, performing with legends Louis Armstrong and Count Basie. Katherine’s father’s side of the family threw house parties all the time, during which the children were the only live performers. If a child sang or danced, family and friends would throw money at his or her feet. She was raised on the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington, Brook Benton, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson, Etta James, and Arethra Franklin. Katherine was also exposed to and inspired by the opera singers in her family.
She studied opera at the Sherwood Conservatory of Music under the direction of Maria D’ Albert. In studying opera, Katherine was laying the groundwork for her repertoire’s singular and all-encompassing musical style and diversity. Raised in Chicago’s infamous Cabrini-Green housing project on Chicago’s North side, Katherine and her family moved to the Englewood on Chicago’s South side in 1967. The move proved a good one for Katherine, as it provided exposure to an array of jazz and blues clubs. Within the jazz scene, there was a subscene wherein singers and musicians would perform for stage productions. A friend suggested that she audition for an acting part in a play produced by Kuumba Theatre for which Katherine was cast. She went on to play Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith to critical acclaim in Kuumba Theatre’s production of In the Heart of the Blues, garnering the attention of luminaries who advanced her career. She was soon singing in jazz and blues clubs, festivals and concerts throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Europe, the Caribbean and Venezuela. Her appearance with the Blues in the Schools children at the 1997 Chicago Blues Festival led to ongoing involvement as an instructor in the Blues in the Schools Program right alongside harmonica virtuoso, Billy Branch.
Within the course of an evening, Katherine’s voice can span the gamut from sweet and sultry to lowdown and dirty. She can phrase like Billie Holiday, scat like Ella, and growl like Howlin’ Wolf. Katherine is accompanied throughout Dream Shoes, her first CD (Chicago’s Southport Records) by some of Chicago’s top jazz and blues musicians, such as piano players Erwin HeIfer and Joe Johnson, bassists Nate Stuart, Tatsu Aoki, John Whitfield and Cecile Savage, saxophonist Will Sims, and Isaac Redd Holt, Phil Thomas and Casey Jones on drums. John Barrett of Jazz USA wrote of the CD: “While apparently simple, this album speaks volumes – that’s true of the best music, and the best dreams.” Noted Chicago Tribune critic Dan Kening added, “If there’s any justice in this world, the delicious melange of vintage blues and jazz on Dream Shoes will raise the profile of veteran Chicago singer Katherine Davis as a recording artist.”
Katherine continues to perform at clubs and concert venues at home in Chicago, and around the world. In January 2000, she was chosen to accompany Mayor Richard J. Daley to help represent the City of Chicago at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She performed there at the diplomatic reception. In the late 1980s her visage was immortalized on a 16-foot tall billboard that adorns the corner of Ohio and Orleans recognizing her contributions. Mayor Lightfoot recently bestowed upon her the 2020 Chicago Esteemed Artist Award.

Katherine Davis
- Chicago Jazz & Blues Musician

Jack Zara
- Bassist
Born in Chicago, raised in L.A., he started playing piano at 7, bass at 8. He began playing professionally at 16. A native Chicagoan, Jack has been playing bass for over 30 years. Based in jazz, he is equally at home playing latin, R&B and is deeply rooted in the Brazilian music scene. He has played festivals and concerts both locally and internationally. He has worked with some of the top musicians in and around Chicago. He can be heard on Von Freeman – The Improvisor (Premonition), Vonski Speaks (Nessa), Best of Von Freeman on Blue Note, George Freeman – 90 Going On Amazing. Around town he can be seen performing with Will Crosby, Bossa3, R’Gang, Neal Alger, and many others.

Jack Zara
- Bassist

Tony Milano
- Chicago Keyboardist
Tony Milano is a Chicago-born keyboardist performing, producing, and experimenting with jazz, neo-soul and electronic genres. Rooted in the blues, Milano studied with Chicago blues legends Katherine Davis and Erwin Helfer when he was eight years old. Milano has also studied with Willie Pickens, Ed Simon, and Robert Irving III, to name a few. In his high school career, he became actively involved with the Chicago Jazz Institute Student Council, which gave him opportunities to represent the City at venues/festivals such as Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion and the Chicago Jazz Festival. He was also involved at the renowned Merit School of Music and Chicago Public Schools Advanced Arts Program, Gallery 37. Following high school, he attended the Oberlin Conservatory and graduated from University of the Pacific’s Brubeck Institute.
Milano is equally active in creating popular music, as he is in creating jazz-based and blues-based music. He has worked with pop artists such as Omar Apollo, members from Chance the Rapper’s band, Carter Lang, and many others. Aside from fluency leaping between genres, Milano is consistently creating music that draws from different influences to innovate blended genres. Equally invested in giving as much he is invested in creating, his passion for teaching inspired him to work on a project that focuses on community building while providing musical resources for youth. Upon graduating college, Milano gained further experience as a community leader through teaching music classes to high school and middle school students in a neglected area of Stockton, California. Milano seeks to make his mark creating his own original works and collaborating with a diverse array of artists, all while helping youth and strengthening music communities.
Tony Milano performed the accompaniment for Genesis’ Sounds of Healing™ version of Sweet Home Chicago.

Tony Milano
- Chicago Keyboardist
The Genesis Academy Summer Institute Graduates
A leadership and peacebuilding educational program for high school-aged youth from Chicago and other global areas of conflict. They live and learn together in four curricular areas: Heroes and Human Rights, Music and Peacebuilding, Environmental Sustainability, and Peace Journalism. With the arts thread throughout the program, students work to explore their individual voice, collective humanity, and the daunting issues we all face here in Chicago and as a global community.

Muhammad Faran
Born and raised in Pakistan, Faran is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Computer Technology from Bilkent University in Turkey. While he focuses on his undergraduate studies, he also enjoys exploring Turkey and its beautiful culture, adding to his diverse experiences growing up in different Pakistani cities, eventually spending his teenage years in Peshawar, the “City of Flowers.” Before his very own eyes, he has seen the “City of Flowers” become the city of bombs and terror.
Faran deeply associates the City of Chicago with his own personal development, having spent a year there from 2014-15 as an exchange student/ambassador with the US Department of State Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange Program. His fondness for the city grew even more when he attended the 2016 Genesis Academy Summer Institute and left inspired, moved, and motivated, all thanks to what he believed was an experience of a lifetime. In Chicago, at the Genesis Academy Summer Institute, he learned that much can be done to reclaim peace and to unite diverse people. He learned that artistic, and particularly musical appeal can have tremendous power in bringing people together.
While he soars through his life and lives every experience to the fullest, he always thinks of achieving peace and solidarity while fostering feelings of community. While he familiarizes himself with new technologies, he continues to dabble in music, including the rabab, a string instrument native to Afghanistan, Turkey and other neighboring countries. Like many others, Faran recognizes the seeds of peace within him, ready to be sown, ready to bloom.

Muhammad Faran

Patrick Reponse
Patrick came to Chicago when he was eight as a refugee fleeing violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He attended Alcott College Preparatory High School in Chicago, graduating in 2018. While there, he was the recipient of the 2015 Raised Voices Award for his original workshop speech. He was also named Most Improved Player for Boys’ Soccer (2014-15) as well as Boys’ Track and Field (2015-16). During his high school years, Patrick was deeply involved in Marwen’s visual arts program, wherein he created an entire professional portfolio, including photographic essays of his original work. He subsequently served as a Marwen volunteer video-editing student projects.
Patrick is currently a Junior at Columbia College Chicago on scholarship studying photojournalism. He worked as part of the photography staff for The Chronicle, Columbia College Chicago’s school paper. While pursuing his degree, he also works part-time as a professional freelance photographer capturing a variety of subject matter including engagements and weddings. In June 2020, his photograph of one of the Black Lives Matter protests in Chicago was published by the Chicago Sun Times. Patrick aspires to connect his passion for photojournalism with his interest in both environmental sustainability and human rights. He is a graduate of the 2017 Genesis Academy Summer Institute.

Patrick Reponse

Andrea Valentina Perez
- Vocalist/Poet
Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Andrea graduated from Madison Academy High School in 2019. As a little girl, she expressed such a deep interest in the arts and music that she consequently received a creativity-based education along with Flamenco dance lessons from that point onwards. Captivated by folkloric Hispanic music movements, Andrea recently began studies in Latin American music accompanied by vocal lessons both to forward her goal of building a foundation for her future career in music and creativity.
After her experience as a participant in the 2018 Genesis Academy Summer Institute, a global leadership and peacebuilding educational program for next-generation youth from areas of conflict, she came to realize her desire to further explore how the arts can be used to promote peace, especially in the field of human rights. Her collaborative peace journalism blog from the Genesis Academy Summer Institute examining the issues around xenophobia was published on the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting’s website to the world. Following the program, Andrea began working on her ground-breaking creative project, Alas (Wings) which explores issues of identity and childhood spent in the midst of civic unrest and state-sanctioned violence. It includes a compilation of short poems and songs, including those in the folkloric Spanish tradition, Nana.
She was a presenter/performer in the Arts and Creativity segment of the 2019 Genesis at the Crossroads’ Women’s Leadership Salon in Chicago, “How Can Women’s Leadership Critically Shape the 21st Century?”
In the future, Andrea looks forward to not only creating more songs inspired by Latin American music, but also starting her university studies, majoring in communications. She aspires to become a voice for Latin American human rights issues.

Andrea Valentina Perez

Victor Angel Araque Rangel
Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Victor attended a music conservatory for six years in Venezuela, playing and performing on piano. He and his family were forced to flee to Colombia in 2016 due to Venezuela’s escalating political and socioeconomic crisis. His exodus took place just following his participation in the 2016 Genesis Academy Summer Institute. It was at the Genesis leadership and peace education program that he first made contact with so many diverse cultures and first learned the importance of peacebuilding and methods to work on achieving it, especially those integrating social justice efforts with the arts. He was the youngest participant ever to be in the Genesis program, having just turned 15 when it began. Following the program, he created an original project for his high school International Baccalaureate degree based on this notion of music for peace with musical compositions and reflections to help resolve conflicts among young students and guide them towards promoting peace. He subsequently graduated from Gimnasio de Norte High School with an International Baccalaureate diploma.
Passionate about applied science and engineering, he is currently in his third semester of Computer Engineering at La Universidad de La Sabana in Colombia. He recently began teaching young students in mathematics, physics and chemistry. His fascination with other cultures also led him to study French and German with the aim of specializing in languages from those countries. Among his other hobbies, Victor enjoys sports and is both an avid karate and volleyball player.

Victor Angel Araque Rangel

Roheena Madni
- 2015 SI Graduate; 2017 Jr Staff
- 2019 Graduate, Institute of Business Administration, Karachi with a BA in Social Sciences
- CSR Director for Consumer Packaged Goods Co., Karachi
- Starting Master’s in Psychology program in 2021
Roheena recently graduated from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi with an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts. While pursuing her major in psychology, she took on the role of research assistant in the Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts. During her tenure there, she worked on two research projects, one of which revolves around behavioral psychology that navigates the veiling practice among Pakistani Muslims; her work is soon to be published.
From community welfare activities to environmental sustainability projects, Roheena has spent a considerable time giving back to society. In 2018, she represented Pakistan in a global competition wherein her team presented a product idea based on the notion of sanitation without water. The proposed product was a diffusible ball that could be used in toilets as a substitute for water, thereby saving billions of liters of water annually. The product idea turned out to be a potentially promising solution to global water shortage issues and placed in the top three ideas presented worldwide.
She is currently employed at a leading consumer packaged goods company as the Group HR Excellence and Innovation Lead, where she works on corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, employee engagement, corporate communication, and public relations. She is also a strong advocate for nurturing emotional and mental well-being in the workplace. She plans to attend graduate school for her Master’s Degree in Psychology in the near future.
Roheena seeks inspiration from the smallest of things and aspires to inspire the biggest of changes. In addition to being an alumna of the flagship 2015 Genesis Academy Summer Institute, she was also selected as the Junior Staff Member for the 2017 Genesis Academy Summer Institute where she contributed towards participants’ personal growth along with their leadership development. She embraces Genesis’ mission and passionately looks forward to dedicating her efforts to the Genesis Academy and Peace Hub in the near future.

Roheena Madni

Diego Madriz
- Student/Activist, Central University of Venezuela
Currently a student of Economics at the Central University of Venezuela, Diego has dedicated himself to defending human rights and promoting a culture of peace in Caracas’ diverse communities by leveraging the power of both the arts and education.
He currently serves as a youth leader in the Federation of Human Rights for Venezuela. In the capacity of volunteer, Diego has been involved with several different NGO’s in Venezuela. In 2018, for Friends of the Child Foundation that Deserve Protection (FUNDANA), he taught child victims of abandonment, neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse. in 2019, with the NGO Opportunity (Oportunidad A.C.), he was part of multiple theatrical productions primarily targeting the low-income Venezuelan “barrios” population to help raise their awareness of the processes of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Since the beginning of his university studies, Diego has participated in several extra-curricular activities which advocate for the defense of student rights, motivating students to go beyond their comfort zone and achieve personal growth. His own varied roles have included: Delegate to the Model United Nations UCVWorldMUN, Social Media Secretary for GeneraciónUCVista, and Active Member of Gestión Economía UCV, the latter two being the most important student associations at the Central University of Venezuela. Additionally, he tutors youth in bilingual education (Spanish-English).
His participation in the 2018 Genesis Academy Summer Institute was one of the most meaningful experiences of his life. Even though his dedication to make the world a better place began when he was just a young child, the Summer Institute gave him agency and helped him clarify his particular focus areas: namely human rights and peacebuilding. During the Summer Institute, Diego was featured on 91.5 FM WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR station to discuss his role in Genesis’ program. His collaborative peace journalism blog from the Genesis Academy Summer Institute examining the issues affecting Chicago’s homeless was published on the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting’s website to the world. In addition, Diego’s confidence grew exponentially from the program, such that he found the courage and inspiration needed to begin working and become more involved in his home communities. He came to profoundly understand that his age did not have to be an impediment to his global contributions as a youth activist. Wherever he is and whatever he does, Diego always hears and responds to Mahatma Gandhi’s imperative: Be the change you want to see in the world.

Diego Madriz
Additional Student Performers:
Genesis Academy Summer Institute Graduates from 2015-2019

Ariba
Pakistan

Veronica Urbina
Venezuela

Safiyah Simpkins
Chicago/USA

Azar
Afghanistan

Andreina Conde
Venezuela

Socheata Hong
Cambodia

Atiq
Pakistan
Sounds of Healing™
Production Team

Carlinhos Antunes
- Sounds of Healing Musical Arrangement
Carlinhos Antunes, a musician of national and international repute, graduated from the São Caetano Arts Foundation. He also holds a degree in music history from Pontificia Universidade Catolica – Sao Paulo. He plays guitar, viola, tiple, charango, quatro, kora n’goni, saz, and varied percussion instruments. An ethnomusicologist by nature, his travels allow him to research sounds from different parts of the world, (including Brazil,) to incorporate them in his diverse musical ventures.
He has published over 25 works for CD, DVD, and documentary film. He is the director of the 15-year old Mundana Orchestra, which in 2017, rebranded as the Mundana Refugi Orchestra showcasing 22 musicians from Brazil and various parts of the world from the Refugi Project. Comprised of musicians from Iran, Palestine, Syria, DR Congo, China, Cuba, France, Guinea, Tunisia, and Turkey, their 2017 CD recording was released by the SESC label.
Working in the capacity of solo artist, ensemble member and festival participant, Antunes has visited over 45 countries including Peru, Chile, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Holland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain (where he lived for five years), Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Morocco, Burkina Faso, and Suriname. In São Paulo, he performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls including Sala São Paulo, Espaço das Américas, Tom Brasil, Ibirapuera Auditorium, SESC Pompéia, and Teatro Municipal. In 2008, he returned to Burkina Faso to perform at the Kuitsougou Nuits Atypiques Festival and present his documentary. In 2010, he participated in Scotland’s Celtic Connections where he received 5-star reviews from several local newspapers, TV outlets and BBC Radio. As a musician, he continues to regularly tour Brazil and other parts of Latin America, Europe, and Africa.
He has served as Secretary of Culture of the Municipality of Diadema (1982), Coordinator of the Adoniram Barbosa Project (1996-97), Cultural Advisor of the Campinas Metalworkers Union (1987-89), Creator and Artistic Director of the TERSARAU Projects, ENCONTRO É TEMPO, SANFONIA DA METRÓPOLE, Festa Lorca, Latinidades, Orquestra Mediterranêa, São Paulo dos Peoples, Director of MUSICAMP (Assoc. Musicians of Campinas)(1989) and professor of music and Brazilian culture.
In his prolific 41-year career, he has acted and recorded with some of the greats from Brazil and abroad who include: Tom Zé, Fátima Guedes, Filó Machado, Grupo Tarancón, Badi Assad from Brazil, Susana Baca from Peru, Carlos Nuñes and Canisares from Spain, Paul Winter from USA, Mahala Räi Band and Ionel Manole Trio (Taraf de Haidouks) from Romania, Isabel Parra and Tita Parra from Chile, Caracas Son Siete from Venezuela, Samir and Wissan Jubran from Palestine, Antonio Chainho from Portugal, Siwan Perver from Kurdistan, Group 4SHURE from Holland, Pascal Lefeuvre from France, Petros Tabourius from Greece, Xabi Lozano from Spain, Tenors of Bitti from Italy, Bilja Bistri from Serbia, Djiguiya from Burkina Faso, Chris Stout from Scotland, among many other artists.
CDs, DVDs and Documentaries recorded in Brazil and abroad
- CD Caravan Refugi Selo Circus, 2019
- CD Orquestra Mundana Refugi- live Selo SESC, 2018
- CD Kerlaveo, Dec. 2017
- Violet Terna Y Eterna, 2016
- About All Strings, Sept. 2014
- Violeta Terna and Eterna, Oct. 2014
- Muvuca (Daqui-France seal), 011/2012
- Live in Glasgow (Scotland), 2011/2012
- Ópera das Pedras, (Brazil Sesc Stamp) with Badi Assad, Naná Vasconcelos et al, 2011
- Original Quartet – Antunes, Rohrer, Barossi, Stout (Scotland-Brazil), 2010
- Carlinhos Antunes and Pascal Lefeuvre Duo (France-Brazil), 2006
- Atlantic Trio (France-unpublished), 2007
- Mundana Orchestra live (Brasil-Tratore), 2006
- Live Mediterranean Orchestra (Brazil-Sesc Stamp), 2006
- Mundano (Brasil-Lua Music), 2003
- Landscape Ballerina (Brasil-Lua Music), 1996 and 2002
- Samambaia, (Spain) Dodo Records, 1992
- Mama Hue-Grupo Taráncon, (musician and arranger), Continental label, 1987
DVDs and Documentaries
- DOC. Orquestra Mundana Refugi – SESC TV, November 2017
- Carlinhos Antunes and Orquestra Mundana, live on Aud. Ibirapuera, 2010;
- Barka-Documentário, (Explored music and education in Africa, SESC TV) 2010
- Seven days in Burkina, (music and education in Africa,) SESCTV, 2008
- Orquestra Mediterrânea, SESC label, 2006
- Índios Kalapalo, SESC label soundtrack with Sergio Bartolo, 2006
Books
- Songs of Rain, Earth, and Desire, Pialc-Publishing, 2019
- Without Borders – six booklets on music of the world
- Numerous texts on history and music, 1985-1987

Carlinhos Antunes
- Sounds of Healing Musical Arrangement

Felippe Jr.
- Sounds of Healing Visual Arts Producer and Director
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Felippe Jr. started working when he was 14 years old at Editora Abril, the largest publishing house, renowned for the country’s best graphic design. There, he took several courses in printing, color study, layout, final art and graphic design. During his 10 years devoted to Editora Abril, Felippe worked on various segments of several magazines, including five years at Revista Nova, the best magazine serving a predominantly female readership.
At the age of 24, he participated in the editing of Editora Globo, of Grupo Globo de Televisão, Brazil’s largest national TV network. At the age of 25 he became the Art Editor for Editora’s fashion magazines, participating in all of its special projects. Three years later, he transferred to TV-A, Grupo Abril’s subscription TV, creating the magazine’s second graphic project targeted for subscribers to ultimately lead the project with Gráfica to create Brazil’s first fully digitalized magazine. At 33 years of age, he returned to Editora Globo to lead the service magazine project, Ponto & Arte. The year following, he opened his own studio, Duo Artes Gráficas, making a series of magazines for target markets, including numerous medical and psychology magazines, among them, Editora Pinus and others.
Numerous other projects included graphic design for the magazines Polo, Golf and Yacht, all niched for the luxury market. His iconic design work has been featured in the decorative arts sections of multiple architectural exhibitions. In markets abroad in Argentina, he implemented Revista Gênios Brasil for children. He also crafted the Museum of Art in São Paulo’s visual communication for several major exhibitions, including Sigmar Polke, Lucian Freud, Foreign Papers and others. For Fapesp Magazine, he masterminded creative visual communications and executed notorious performances for gastro-perfomance artist, Simone Mattar. In 2020, he has dedicated a great deal of his creative energy producing and managing all visual communications including online and video content for Brazil’s legendary musician, Badi Assad.

Felippe Jr.
- Sounds of Healing Visual Arts Producer and Director

Badi Assad
- Musician, Composer, Author
- Saffron Caravan Vocalist and Guitarist
Badi has played an array of international concerts/festivals including innovative collaborations with Bobby McFerrin, Yo-Yo-Ma, Sarah McLaughlin and others. She is also the Guitarist/Vocalist in Genesis at the Crossroads’ Saffron Caravan ensemble. With 15 albums released worldwide, her CD, Wonderland was selected by the BBC London as among the 100 Best and Amazon.com’s 30 Best. Guitar Player selected her as one of the guitar players that would revolutionize the world. In addition to reaching the Top 10 in Europe, her hit song, Waves was featured in the soundtrack of It Runs in the Family, featuring Michael and Kirk Douglas. Awarded Best Composer of The Year (APCA/BR) for her CD, Between Love and Luck, she was also distinguished by Rolling Stone Magazine to be among the Brazilian guitar masters of history.
Cantos de Casa, her children’s CD, won Trophy Cata-Vento for Best CD of the Yea and her Pega no Coco won first prize for Best World Music Song at the USA International Songwriting Competition. In 2014, Badi was commissioned by The Guitar Film Festival Marathon in New York, to compose for the remake of the Chinese silent film, The Goddess (1934). Invited to also serve in the role of Festival Curator, she not only performed her composition live at New York’s Merkin Hall, but also received a New York Times highlight as Best of the Festival.
She writes a weekly column about music for the online version of TOP Magazine and is the author of the newly released book, Around the World in 80 Artists (Pólen Livros). The film, BADI directed by Edu Felistoque was named Best Film by The FestCine Maracanaú in Fortaleza, Brazil and was featured at the 2018 Brazil Summerfest in New York.

Badi Assad
- Musician, Composer, Author
- Saffron Caravan Vocalist and Guitarist

Vitor Loureiro
- Sounds of Healing Sound Engineer, Caverno do Audio
Born in São Paulo in 1992, Vitor Loureiro began electric guitar lessons in his early childhood and some years later, borrowed an old electric bass from his Father and became self-taught. His studies in classical guitar at Faculdade Santa Marcelina University furthered his passion and greatly influenced both his musicality and technique. He was already completely involved with music when he fell in love with sound engineering.
In 2012, Vitor began working at the music studio, Estúdio Arsis as a freelancer assistant recording engineer. It was there that he had the opportunity to work on Grammy-nominated “Festa na Roça” (Toninho Ferragutti and Neymar Dias). He worked on sound engineering for the Oratorio Society of NY at Auditório do Ibirapuera recording, and at numerous other venues.
As an international performer, Loureiro played with Ulisses Rocha in many renowned Brazilian festivals, including Ilhabela in Jazz and Festival do Vale do Café, sharing the stage with masters of Brazilian and international music, including Grammy Award-winning drummer, Edu Ribeiro. In the United States, he played bass with MPB and Brazilian Jazz groups, while exploring new styles with a diverse array of bands from pop to experimental rap. Vitor participated in the Brazilian Music Institute in Fort Lauderdale, a renowned event organized by faculty of the University of Florida.
Upon his return to Brazil, Loureiro joined veteran musicians Ivan Vilela, Raiff Dantas, Ulisses Rocha and Walmir Gil in their singular quintet project, “O Quinteto” playing bass. He also mixed and mastered their eponymous album.
In 2018, Loureiro had the privilege of attending an internship at Galaxy Studios in Belgium, one of the most important music and audio post-production studios in Europe and the world, where legendary artists like the Scorpions recorded. There, in the capacities of assistant recording engineer, soundtrack composer, assistant sound designer, EBU standardizer, and assistant quality control check he had the opportunity to work on large international projects including: “London Fields” (Johnny Depp),” “Gent West” (Jeroen Dumoulein), “First Man” (Ryan Gosling), and “Elvy Wereld’s: So Ibiza!” (Erwin van den Eshof). That same year, Vitor mixed the all-star, historic, acoustic guitar album, “Violab”, that features some of the most respected acoustic Brazilian guitar players in duos and trios as never seen before. Chico Pinheiro, Yamandu Costa, Alessandro Penezzi, Ulisses Rocha, Marco Pereira and Badi Assad were some of the musicians involved in the project.
Last year, Loureiro recorded, mixed and mastered most of the songs of the debut album “Narrativas de um Brasil” by prodigy, Arthur Endo, the winner of IMAGINE Brazil. He also worked on the debut albums “Olhares, idéias e sons” (Gabriel Maron) and “Dois Na Praça” (Pedro Matsuda).Vitor continued working as a bassist while mixing and master engineering the tribute album, “Um Tributo a José Domingos”, which features popular and illustrious Brazilian singers including Monica Salmaso, Badi Assad, Vinicius Calderoni and others. Currently, Loureiro devotes his time and energy to many areas of music, merging sonic and musical concepts.

Vitor Loureiro
- Sounds of Healing Sound Engineer, Caverno do Audio

Shuling Yong
- Documentary Filmmaker, Media for Social Change
Shuling Yong is a Singapore-born, Chicago-based documentary filmmaker with a passion for social change. She has worked on films like The Feeling of Being Watched (Tribeca, 2018, dir. Assia Boundaoui), Radical Grace (Hot Docs, 2015, dir. Rebecca Parrish), In Time To Come (Hot Docs, 2017, dir. Tan Pin Pin), and films by the award-winning Chicago media collective Kartemquin Films like In The Game (Madrid Int’l, 2015, dir. Maria Finitzo) and America To Me (Sundance, 2018, dir. Steve James).
Shuling’s film Growing Roots (2015) premiered on the Discovery Channel. She is now directing her first feature-length documentary, Unteachable, which was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute Network Market, Good Pitch² Southeast Asia 2017 and was awarded Best Pitch at the CNEX Chinese Documentary Forum 2017.
Shuling is a Kartemquin Films Diverse Voices in Docs Fellow, a participating filmmaker at the BRITDOC Queer Impact Producers Lab, the DocNet Southeast Asia Strategy Workshop and the KOMAS Video For Change Forum
While pursuing her degree in Radio/TV/Film at Northwestern University, Shuling founded Media For Social Change, a social enterprise dedicated to fostering positive community impact through video and audio storytelling.

Shuling Yong
- Documentary Filmmaker, Media for Social Change

Wendy Sternberg, MD
- Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, Genesis at the Crossroads
As the founder and creative engine behind Genesis at the Crossroads, Wendy designed all programs to date and continues to oversee production and implementation of performance/artistic programs, education and humanitarian initiatives worldwide. She forged national/international partnerships with over 45 institutions and founded Saffron Caravan, Genesis’ professional world music ensemble uniting artists from Iran, Afghanistan, Cuba, Morocco, Israel, India, Brazil, Venezuela and the US for cross-cultural collaborative performance and educational programs. Since 2011, Sternberg has created and produced a body of inquiry-based salon programs on the intersection of human rights, human development and the role of the arts to help shape and inform a humanistic society and transform conflict. One annual salon series focuses on women’s leadership. She masterminds the creative development/management of the current Genesis Academy Summer Institutes for international youth leaders from areas of conflict as well as the future Genesis Peace Hub. (Due to the pandemic, the Peace Hub began virtually in 2020 with Sounds of Healing; its physical campus place-making on Chicago’s South side is in the process of coming to fruition for a slated 2023 opening.)
Affectionately called a Doctor without a Border, her prior 20+ year career as a primary care internal medicine physician informs the healing aspects at the heart of Genesis at the Crossroads. Under her leadership, Genesis boasts over 150 award-winning programs, internationally acclaimed by the UN, The Kennedy Center, Rotary, The King of Morocco, the British Council, the US Institute of Peace and the US Department of State. A Rotary Peace Fellow and a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine featured her as a Woman to Watch. She was named one of the 10 Jewish Chicagoans of the Year and was a 2011 Charles Bronfman Prize Nominee. Sternberg is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Woods Fund – Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation Task Force. On the celebratory occasion of the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, Sternberg was deeply honored to be chosen as the closing speaker, following the remarks of Gandhi’s Granddaughter, Nelson Mandela’s Daughter and Cesar Chavez’s Grandson at the Gandhi 150: A Legacy of Peace 2019 program in Chicago. She keynoted the Gandhi King Foundation’s 2020 virtual peace program in India at the University of Hyderabad.
In the face of the pandemic, she retooled Genesis’ 2006 Art of Healing initiative into a cross-cultural collaborative health and wellness program with a focus on arts, trauma and healing. It features multiple virtual and in-person programs over the next few years (Sounds of Healing). Among other written work, publications include: For the Sake of Humanity; Research on Cross-Cultural Collaborative Arts for Public Health, Chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Methods for Public Scholarship, Oxford Press (2018).
Sternberg graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in French Literature. She received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine with field work in public health in Chennai, India. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Chicago.

Wendy Sternberg, MD
- Founder & Executive/Artistic Director, Genesis at the Crossroads