Suzan Johnson Cook

Suzan Johnson Cook, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, U.S Dept. of State Office of International Religious Freedom and past Hollister Awardee

Appointed in 2011 to Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom by President Obama, Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook is the principal adviser to both the President of the United States and Secretary of State and the first African American and the first female to hold this position.

Prior to joining the Department of State, she served as the senior pastor and CEO of the Bronx Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in New York City from 1996-2010.

She has had three Presidential appointments, two Cabinet Secretary Appointments, and a United States Senate Confirmation. Amb. Johnson Cook held the position of Chaplain to the New York City Police Department for twenty-one years, the only woman to serve in that role; she was on the front lines of 9/11. For three decades she served as senior pastor to three New York City congregations, as a professor at New York Theological Seminary from 1988-1996, and as an Associate Dean and Professor at Harvard Divinity School from 1990-1992.

Amb. Johnson Cook is the recipient of several awards including the Juliet Hollister Award and has also authored ten books. She is a graduate of Emerson College (’76, BA), Columbia University Teachers College (’78, MA), Union Theological Seminary (’83, MDiv), and United Theological Seminary (1990, Ph.D. Ministry).

Awards Presenters

Rolland Smith

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Nadia Bilchik

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Naomi Tutu

Social justice activist and daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Tutu The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s life as an activist for human rights. The third child of Archbishop...

Majora Carter

Peabody Prize and McArthur Foundation Award-winning urban environmentalist past Hollister Awardee, Majora Carter She's probably the only person to receive: an award from John Podesta's Center for American Progress, AND a Liberty Medal for Lifetime Achievement from...

Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes

The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes served as Senior Minister of The Riverside Church for 18 years and is currently President of the Healing of Nations Foundation. Before serving at the Riverside Church, Rev. Forbes taught at Union Theological Seminary, where he first served...

Professor Suheil Badi Bushrui

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Dr. Marcus Braybrooke

Dr. Marcus Braybrooke is a retired Anglican parish priest and the President of the World Congress of Faiths, of which he has been a member for over 50 years. He is a co-founder of the Three Faiths Forum, Patron of the International Interfaith Centre at Oxford, and a...

Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is the curator of the TED Conferences, a platform for identifying and disseminating innovative, impactful, and visionary ideas. After graduating from Oxford, Mr. Anderson explored a career in journalism before launching his own publishing company,...

Paul F. Knitter

Paul F. Knitter is the Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was formerly Emeritus Professor of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a licentiate from the Pontifical...

Linus Roache

The UK-born Linus Roache has enjoyed a 25+ year acting career in theater, television, radio and cinema across the world. Accolades include a 2002  London evening Standard best actor award for his portrayal of Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Julian Temple’s acclaimed movie...

Rabbi Lawrence Troster

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Ibrahim Abdil-Mu’id Ramey

Ibrahim Abdil-Mu’id Ramey directs the human and civil rights advocacy work for the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, He has been a leader for many years in numerous campaigns for peace, disarmament, and nonviolent global justice, both...

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