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Eric Neufeld is an American Board Certified and Illinois Licensed Orthotist and Prosthetist based at Scheck and Siress Chicago Rush University Medical Center location. In addition to providing services in the Chicagoland area, Eric is a founding member of the Range of Motion Project (ROMP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing prosthetic care and education throughout the developing world. In 2004, Eric was awarded the Gunther Gehl Scholarship given to the most deserving resident in the Midwest Area. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview & Camera by Rachel Pikelny Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Rachel Pikelny Photos by Marc Altman Photography

Welcome to Whats Your Calling? Whats Your Calling? explores religious and secular notions of calling through sharing the stories of what people feel most passionate about doing with their lives and why. Adding new videos each week, were looking at all of the stuff that makes us human: our values, our passions, our doubts and hopes. Profiling individuals from diverse backgrounds – professional snowboarders, jazz musicians, tug boat captains, academics, improvisers, Muay Thai fighters, religious leaders, social workers, environmental activists, toy inventors – Whats Your Calling? shares what people have been called to do with their lives and how they hope to change the world. Camera & Interviews by Danny Alpert, Erin Williams, and Ian Kibbe Editing by Carol Martori

Demetrio Maguigad shares a story of loss from his childhood.  Demetrio works with Community Media Workshop, is the cofounder and radio host of Chicago is the World , and is a musician with the Filipino cultural collective  Bagwis. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Rabbi Sid Schwarz talks about chutzpah and his calling. Rabbi Schwarz is the founder of the PANIM Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values and the founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, where he continues to teach and lead services. The author of two groundbreaking books, Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation Can Transform the American Synagogue and Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World, Rabbi Schwarz now serves as a Senior Fellow at CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership and as a consultant to Jewish organizations around the country. (Washington, D.C.) Interview & Camera by Kasey Kirby Edited by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Rachel Pikelny & Erin Williams

Mark Horvath has been a drug addict, a con artist, a producer for Christian television, and for a time, homeless.  Now, hes using social media to raise awareness about homelessness and poverty in America.  Armed with a website (invisiblepeople.tv), Twitter account, and a camera, Marks on a mission to give a face and a voice to homelessness. Interview by Rachel Pikelny Directed by Susanne Suffredin Additional footage thanks to invisiblepeople.tv Camera by Ines Sommer Editing by Matt Lauterbach

Beth Kanter is the author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits.  She coauthored the book titled The Networked Nonprofit with Allison Fine, published by J Wiley in 2010, which received Honorable Mention for the Terry McAdams Award.  Beth has over 30 years working in the nonprofit sector in technology, training, capacity building, evaluation, fundraising, and marketing. Beth is a cofounder and partner of Zoetica, a company that serves nonprofits and socially conscious companies with toptier, online marketing services. 

The Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger, pastor at the Faith Community at Saint Sabina in Chicago, is a tireless advocate for the poor and voiceless. Though a longtime Chicago figure, Fr. Pfleger gained national notoriety during the 2008 Presidential elections for his outspoken style.  In this clip, he talks about why its so important to speak out, what it means to be a voice of conscience, and the role he believes the Church should play in our lives and in society. Fr. Pfleger was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1975. In 1981, at the age of 31, he became the youngest full pastor in the diocese when he was appointed Pastor at Saint Sabina. He is the proud adoptive father of Lamar and Beronti. 1997, he became a foster father to Jarvis Franklin, who was tragically killed in 1998 as a result of gang crossfire. Since 1968, Fr. Pfleger has lived and ministered in the African American community on Chicagos South and West sides. He spent two summers working in a Native American community in Oklahoma and did his seminary internship as a Chaplin at Cook County Jail & Precious Blood Catholic Church. Fr. Pfleger has been recognized by People, Time, Ebony, Newsweek, Jet, The New York Times, The LA Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and various Chicago outlets. He has also been profiled by 60 Minutes, the BBC, the Larry King Show, and Nightline. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview & Camera by Erin Williams Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Joshua Stanton is a Founding EditorinChief of the Journal of InterReligious Dialogue, CoFounder of Religious Freedom USA, and a Schusterman Rabbinical Fellow at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. He is also a founding coDirector of Lessons of a Lifetime, a nursing homebased project designed to improve intergenerational relations. Joshua is a blogger for the Huffington Post and serves on the Board of Directors of World Faith as well as the Education as Transformation project. He was most recently made a Religious Leadership Fellow at the Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions. (New York, New York) Interview & Camera by Danny Alpert Editing by Neco Turkienicz Produced by Erin Williams

Ruth Forman is the author of three awardwinning poetry books: We Are the Young Magicians , Renaissance , and children’s book, Young Cornrows Callin Out the Moon . She is the recipient of the Barnard New Women Poets Prize, The Pen Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award, The Durfee Artist Fellowship, and the National Council of Teachers of English Notable Book Award, and  she has been recognized by The American Library Association. A graduate of UC Berkeley and USC film school, Ruth works to inspire others with the power and magic of language, frequently collaborating on music and film projects, and providing readings and workshops to a wide variety of audiences. Ruth has presented in forums such as the United Nations, the PBS series The United States of Poetry and NPR. Ruth is a former teacher of creative writing with USC and June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley. Shes also a nineyear faculty member with the VONAVoices writing program. Her latest book of poetry is Prayers Like Shoes . Camera, interview & editing by Jack Gordon

Poet Kevin Coval on the importance of understanding where you come from and how it impacts your life. Kevin is the cofounder of the Chicago youth poetry festival, Louder Than a Bomb and author of the book, Everyday People. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, talks about the Starbucks of the mind, finding patterns, and the relationship between music and information. DJ Spooky is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer. His Rebirth of a Nation was his first largescale multimedia performance piece and has been performed more than fifty times in venues around the world. Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica ,  a multimedia performance piece with video projections and a score composed by DJ Spooky and performed by a piano quartet, is a portrait of a rapidly transforming continent. DJ Spooky is also the founder of The Vanuatu Pacifica Project, a contemporary arts, green energy, and education program in Tafea, which provides an arts retreat to invited contemporary artists while serving the subsistence of three traditional villages on the island through clean energy, ecorestorative operations. (New York City) Interview & Camera by Thomas Peyton Editing by Neco Turkienicz Produced by Erin Williams & Rachel Pikelny

Scott Wallisch, a marathon runner and priest in training, talks about the connections between running marathons, maintaining faith, and finding the will to persevere. Directed by Maggie Bowman Editing by Matt Lauterbach Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Adam McKay, comedian, director and writer talks about tridents, allowing the universe to invent itself, and losing yourself to laughter.  Adam McKay was head writer at Saturday Night Live in the late 90s and is also the cofounder of the comedy website Funny or Die, which he launched with comedic actor Will Ferrell.  Working with Ferrell, Adam also directed the films Anchorman , Talladega Nights , and The Other Guys. (Los Angeles, California) Interview by Danny Alpert Camera by Jordan Dawes Editing by Rebecca Parish Produced by Amy Cargill & Danny Alpert

Hussein Rashid is a proud Muslim and native New Yorker. As a Nizari Ismaili Muslim, he believes his faith guides him to do good in this world, to leave the world in a better state than he found it for his, and others’, children.  Hussein is currently a faculty member at Hofstra University and Associate Editor at Religion Dispatches. He is a contributor to Talk Islam and AltMuslimah his work has appeared at City of Brass, Goat Milk, and CNN.com. He has appeared on CBS Evening News, CNN, Russia Today, Channel 4 (UK), State of Belief Air America Radio, and Iqra TV in Saudi Arabia. (New York, New York) Camera & Interview by Danny Alpert Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Tom Dawkins is a social entrepreneur, activist, organizer, burner, and dreamer. Hes the Manager of Communications and Emerging Media at HopeLab and is the cofounder of the social good crowdfunding platform, StartSomeGood.com. Tom previously founded Vibewire, an Australian nonprofit media organization and was also the first Social Media Director at Ashoka. He is also the Mayor of Black Rock City Farmers Market. He loves community, technology, music, street art, and being outdoors. 

Ronit Avni is an awardwinning filmmaker, human rights advocate and media strategist with an expertise in IsraeliPalestinian conflict resolution efforts. Ronit is the Founder and Executive Director of Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that researches, documents and creates media about Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders in nonviolence and peace building. Ronit previously worked for WITNESS and has trained NGOs from Honduras to Gambia to produce videos as a tool for public education and grassroots mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse, and as evidence before courts and tribunals. Ronit is currently a Young Global Leader, sponsored by the World Economic Forum, a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a United Nations Global Expert through the Alliance of Civilizations. Camera & Interview by Kasey Kirby Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Rachel Pikelny & Erin Williams

Golriz Lucina & Devon Gundry, two of the people behind the website SoulPancake and coauthors with Rainn Wilson and Shabnam Mogharabi of the New York Times bestselling book, SoulPancake, talk about their recent book launch party, what it means to connect deeply and to think differently about why were here and what were doing, and what our best friends think about what it means to be human. Golriz & Devon are newlyweds living in Los Angeles, where they host SoulPancake meetups. Golriz & Devon are also Bahai. Check out some of their music.  Camera & Interviews by Erin Williams Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

When he was 18 years old, Eddie Bocanegra went to jail for the murder of another man in a gangrelated shooting. Now, seventeen years later, Eddie is using the experiences from his past to stop gang violence by working with CeaseFire, a Chicago violence prevention program. Eddie is one of CeaseFires Violence Interrupters, men and women with ties to Chicagos gangs, who leverage their knowledge of the city to diffuse tensions and, hopefully, maintain peace by meeting with individuals, negotiating truces, and discouraging retaliation when conflicts erupt. (Chicago, Illinois) Whats Your Calling? camera & Interview by Rachel Pikelny Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Rachel Pikelny Eddies story and others can be seen in The Interrupters. From producerdirector Steve James and authorturnedproducer Alex Kotlowitz, The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who with bravado, humility and even humor try to protect their communities from the violence they once employed. Stills courtesy of CeaseFire and  The Interrupters,  a new documentary from Kartemquin Films . Watch the trailer for The Interrupters, see where the film is screening, and learn more here. 

Rachel Durchslag, Executive Director and Founder of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), talks about the balance between helping others and helping yourself. CAASE is committed to building a global community free from sexual exploitation and believes that all forms of sexual exploitation, including sexual assault and the commercial sex trade are detrimental to a healthy society and undermine the dignity of all people. CAASE directly addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or tacitly support sexually exploitive acts against all people. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Asad Jafri, aka DJ ManoWax, describes his decision to postpone school with just one semester left in order to to follow his passion.  Asad is the Director of Arts and Culture for the InnerCity Muslim Action Network. As a multidisciplinary artist, Asad has created, curated, and presented original productions across many genres of music, theater, visual art, and dance. His fusion of art and social change has been recognized both nationally and internationally, especially in the Hip Hop Community. He holds a position on the National Office of the Hip Hop Congress and is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation. Check out stories about Asad and his work in The Chicago Reporter and on Chicago Public Radio (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams