Management
LibForAll Foundation's board and management consist of a close-knit
team of individuals whose lifelong experience, training and passions
have equipped them to play a vital role in accomplishing the Foundation's
mission.
Chairman & CEO:
C.
Holland Taylor was educated at the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Princeton University; has studied
in Berlin, Germany; and has been involved with the Muslim world for
nearly four decades—having spent years in the Middle East and Indonesia.
At
the age of 26, Mr. Taylor co-authored two books (The Prosperity
Handbook and A Christian Guide to Prosperity) which presented the
case for economic liberty and political reform to a wide general
audience. Endorsed by the American Economic Council, The Heritage
Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Foundation for Economic
Education and over 40 U.S. congressmen and senators, The Prosperity
Handbook and its companion volume went on to become bestsellers
in
the U.S. (sample endorsements).
From 1993-98, Mr. Taylor served first
as president, then CEO of USA
Global Link, a pioneering international
telecom company which he
helped to build from scratch, with sales representatives and/or
customers in over 100 countries worldwide, including Dupont, IBM,
Baker & McKenzie,
Bechtel, Dun & Bradstreet, Eli Lilly, Colgate-Palmolive, Del
Monte, Kimberly Clark, Hyatt, Lehman Brothers, Levi Strauss, Nike,
Procter & Gamble, Unisys, Arthur Anderson, the Rockefeller
Foundation, Lloyds Bank, The National Bank of Canada, Air France,
Airbus Industrie,
Banque Rothschild, Banque National de Paris, Credit Lyonnais, Interpol,
Medecins Sans Frontieres, GEC Alstom, Hoechst, Sandoz, Commerzbank,
ING Bank, Siemens, Daewoo, Fuji, Kobe Steel, Mitsubishi, Mitsui,
Seiko, CARE International, the United Nations and the United States
government, among others.
Mr. Taylor has been credited by numerous
leading business and telecom industry publications as being one
of the essential catalysts in
the deregulation of the global telecommunications industry. In
his work at USA Global Link, Mr. Taylor used his knowledge of economics
and politics to build a successful business by introducing competition
to previously monopolistic markets; freeing customers from their
dependence on a single high-priced and inefficient service provider;
navigating a hostile regulatory environment; dealing effectively
with governments on six continents, which generally owned the monopolies
being undermined by USA Global Link; harnessing the power of the
mass media to promote his company's interests; forging powerful
business
alliances (including a 'sole provider' relationship with the World
Trade Centers Association, representing 283 World Trade Centers
in 86 nations with over 400,000 members), and dramatically lowering
the cost of telecommunications service to customers worldwide.
Mr. Taylor has served as Vice-chairman of the European Competitive
Telecommunications Association (ECTA); was elected to multiple
terms on the board of directors of the U.S.-based Telecommunications
Resellers
Association (now known as CompTel/ASCENT) by the TRA's approximately
400 members; and served as an advisor to the U.S. State Department,
and to the Secretary-General of the International
Telecommunication Union, on matters of global telecom liberalization.
In his roles
as author and businessman, Mr. Taylor has appeared on numerous
U.S. and international television and radio programs,
and been the subject of widespread print coverage including the
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LA Times, Barron's, Financial
Times,
USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Business Week, AP, UPI, Reuters,
Communications Week International, tele.com, Internet Week,
Der Spiegel, Stern, Nikkei, Telecomunicaciones Latinoamerica, and numerous
other
national and international publications.
Following his retirement from the telecom industry in 1998, Mr.
Taylor pursued an in-depth study of Javanese culture, inspired by
its unique synthesis of religious pluralism, tolerance and
diversity. In the wake of 9/11, this in turn led to the
establishment of LibForAll Foundation, and its work to strengthen
moderate and progressive Muslims in their efforts to promote the
culture of liberty and tolerance, while preserving the positive
values of local, native cultures throughout the Muslim world.
Mr. Taylor is also the author of The Mystics, a recently-completed
historical novel which tells the story of Senopati ing Alogo, an
heroic figure who defeated radical Muslim attempts to annihilate
his ancient culture, 500 years ago. In doing so, the novel reveals
how tolerant, mystically-inclined
Javanese Muslims triumphed in their military and ideological conflict
with an earlier generation of militant extremists, who were much
like Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
Mr. Taylor is fluent in English, German
and Indonesian.
Vice President:
Ravi Krishnamurthy
was born in Chennai, India. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in
Electronics and Communication from the prestigious Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT Madras) and a Ph. D in Electrical Engineering
from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, USA. He
secured the All-India rank of 32nd out of 80,000 applicants in the
highly competitive nationwide entrance exam to the IITs.
A successful technologist and businessman, Dr.
Krishnamurthy holds 18 patents in several technical areas. His
business experience includes the penetration of new markets;
managing the adoption of visionary solutions; designing new and
complex technologies; and managing globally distributed projects,
executed by virtual teams.
Dr. Krishnamurthy has a profound grasp of the
essence of Islam and applies his business and technical skills to
develop LibForAll’s organization and oversee its programs. He has
been instrumental in refining LibForAll’s strategy, expanding
LibForAll’s portfolio of programs, developing detailed proposals,
elaborating work plans, executing programs, managing project teams
and creating reusable project templates. He played a key role in the
expansion of LibForAll’s counter-radicalization programs to Europe
and neighboring regions.
Dr. Krishnamurthy manages relationships with
partner organizations and presents LibForAll’s work at
public forums.
He has been an expert presenter at several international
conferences, including: the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s conference on Preventing
Incitement to Terrorism in Vienna; the European Commission’s
conference on Preventing Radicalization through Education in
Brussels; the National Homeland Defense Foundation’s annual
symposium in Colorado Springs; and Religious Freedom Day on the
Hill in Washington, D.C. He was invited to the First Annual
Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in Madrid. In
March 2008, he was invited to speak at COASI, the European Union’s
Working Group on Asia, where he was requested to present
“LibForAll’s general experience of how to work the anti-extremist
agenda,” and “provide suggestions on how the EU could contribute to
the promotion of moderate Islam.”
Dr. Krishnamurthy
was one of the organizers of the historic Bali Holocaust
Conference, sponsored by LibForAll Foundation and the Simon
Wiesenthal Center,
where
top Muslim leaders rejected the evils of Holocaust denial and
affirmed religious tolerance as a "blessing for all creation." Held
in response to the December '06 Holocaust denial conference in
Tehran, the summit showcased Indonesia's ability to play a unique
role in promoting tolerance between religions, and discrediting the
ideology of hatred.Dr. Krishnamurthy speaks English and Tamil and
reads/writes Hindi fluently.
Director
of Finance, Southeast Asia: Sonia Sri Suryani
has
a bachelor’s degree in English Language Education from Taman
Siswa University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Member of a successful
business family in Central Java, Ms. Suryani has experience in
a variety of fields, including sole management responsibility
for a transportation company for several years. In the course
of directing these enterprises, Ms. Suryani has acquired extensive
experience dealing with Indonesia’s local government and bureaucracy—minimizing
the impact of an unstable security situation, and a weak judiciary,
upon the businesses she has managed.
Ms. Suryani speaks Javanese, Indonesian, Malaysian and English.
Director
of Publications: Ahmad Gaus AF.
Chief
Editor at Paramadina Press from 1999-2005, Mr. Gaus is an alumnus of
the Communications Department at Institut Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu
Politik (IISIP/Institute for Social and Political Science) in
Jakarta, Indonesia. He studied religion at Pondok Pesantren (Islamic
boarding school) Daar el-Qolam under the tutelage of Dr. Kyai Haji
Ahmad Rifai Arief. While in college, Mr. Gaus was a member of
Indonesian National Students’ Movement, and a visiting student at
several religious schools associated with the moderate Nahdlatul
Ulama. In 1998, together with several intellectuals and activists,
Mr. Gaus founded the Indonesian Institute for Civil Society (INCIS),
an NGO that promotes advocacy and empowerment in the field of social
politics. He was INCIS’s Program Officer in a study of “ethnic
conflicts,” performed in collaboration with LP3ES-OTI. He was also
an associate researcher at P3M under Kyai Haji Masdar F. Mas’udi.
Mr. Gaus’s
articles, columns, features and book reviews have been published in
various prestigious Indonesian newspapers and magazines including:
Kompas, Media Indonesia, Republika, Suara Karya, Majalah Gatra,
MATRA, GAMMA, Panjimas, Petra, and Kultur, among others.
He is the co-author of Fikih Lintas Agama (Interreligious
Jurisprudence: Paramadina, 2003), and has edited several
anthologies by the renowned progressive Indonesian Muslim leader
Nurcholish Madjid, who established Paramadina Foundation and
Paramadina University in Jakarta. These anthologies include Atas
Nama Pengalaman: Beragama dan Berbangsa di Masa Transisi (In
the Name of Experience: Practicing Religion and Nationhood in a Time
of Transition; Paramadina, 2002), Dialog Ramadlan Bersama Cak
Nur (Ramadan Dialog with Cak Nur; Paramadina, 2000),
Kaki Langit Peradaban Islam (Horizons of Islamic Culture;
Paramadina, 1997), Masyarakat Religius (Religious Society;
Paramadina, 1997). With Professor Komaruddin Hidayat, Mr. Gaus
edited Passing Over: Melintasi Batas Agama (Passing Over:
Crossing the Boundaries of Religion; Gramedia-Paramadina,
1998). He has also contributed hundreds of entries to
Ensiklopedi Islam untuk Pelajar (Islamic Encyclopedia for
Students; Jakarta, PT Ichtiar Baru van Hoeve, 2002)
Mr. Gaus now
serves as Libforall Foundation’s Director of Publications, where he
is responsible for translating the best work of progressive
Indonesian Muslims into Arabic and English. He speaks Indonesian,
Malaysian, Sundanese and English, and is familiar with Arabic.
Programs Director, Indonesia:
Hodri Ariev
coordinates the development of LibForAll Foundation’s
think tank, the Nur al-Hikmah Society, within Indonesia, and leads
programs like the Grassroots Pluralist Network TV/Video Program.
Mr. Hodri was born in Jember, East Java and
hails from a Nahdlatul Ulama pesantren (Islamic Boarding
School) background. Mr. Hodri completed his Bachelors degree in
Islamic Law (Shari‘ah) at the Annuqayah Islamic Sciences College in
Madura Island, East Java, graduating cum laude, and his Masters
degree in Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism at the prestigious Syarif
Hidayatullah Islamic State University Jakarta. His research
interests include Islamic law, philosophy, mysticism and Qur’anic
Exegesis.
Mr. Hodri has served as the caretaker Rector
(President) of the Annuqayah Islamic Sciences College, handling the
process of development and succession within the College. He is also
an advisor to the Al-Falah and Bahrul Ulum Islamic Boarding Schools,
at Karangharjo, Silo and Jember, East Java respectively, on academic
and institutional development. He lectures on Arabic and English
textual studies at the Annuqayah Islamic Sciences College.
Mr. Hodri has written many book reviews, essays
and articles that have been published in leading newspapers. He has
also translated many books from English and Arabic into Indonesian,
including Kitâb Kunh Mâ Lâ Budda li al-Murîd Minhu
by Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi, Tadbîrât al-Ilâhiyyah fî Islâh
al-Mamlakah al-Insâniyyah by
Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi, Divine Flashes
by Fakhruddin ‘Iraqi, The
Way of Love by Nigel Watt,
The Clash of Fundamentalists
by Tariq Ali and Two Faces of Islam
by Stephen Schwartz.
Mr. Hodri
speaks Indonesian and English and is familiar with Arabic.
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