Susan Spaulding Burke brings over three decades of management experience across diverse industries, having held leadership positions with Gannett Co., Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., and Westinghouse Nuclear. She retired from Westinghouse as a project manager overseeing operating procedures for AP1000 Nuclear Power Plants, where she applied her expertise in professional leadership and training development.

A lifelong learner committed to bridging understanding across communities, Susan became a tutor with Copper-to-Gold after participating in the program, inspired by insights gained about cross-racial interactions. She has been a devoted member of the Bahá’í faith since 1987, serving the Pittsburgh, PA Cluster in various capacities including the Spiritual Assembly, Area Teaching Committee, and as an educator using Core Curriculum and Ruhi Institute materials. As a Ruhi Institute tutor since the 1990s, she has dedicated herself to spiritual education and community building.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts and a Master of Science in Professional Leadership, Training and Development. A Jacksonville, Florida native and proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she continues her service through volunteering at Crossroads Presbyterian Church Food Pantry and previously served on the board of Evolve Coaching, a nonprofit supporting neurodiverse adults in work and college transitions. She treasures her roles as wife and mother to an adult son, drawing from all her experiences to contribute meaningfully to her community.

Romy Rahmanian is the principal attorney at the Law Office of Romy S. Rahmanian, a law firm that is dedicated to assisting clients in the areas of estate planning, trust administration, estate litigation, probate, real estate and business law. His work includes advising clients on how to strategically position themselves before litigation becomes necessary.

He is an adjunct professor of law at U.C. Berkeley School of Law, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and Southwestern Law School. Romy received his Juris Doctorate Degree from Southwestern Law School where he served as a Senior Editor for the Southwestern Law Review and as a full-time judicial extern for the Honorable Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the California Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Sacramento County Bar Association. Romy has also worked as a volunteer for the Bet Tzedek, a non-profit, public interest law firm providing free legal services for underprivileged, elderly and disabled residents in Los Angeles County.

Sue ‘s professional career in nursing has allowed her to serve both within the U.S and internationally. Her education includes graduate work at Emory University where she won 1998’s Emory University’s School of Public Health Gangarosa Award in International Health and the School of Nursing’s Graduate Innovative Project award. Sue earned a Master’s degree in nursing doubling as a family nurse practitioner and a psychiatric nurse practitioner; while also earning a Master’s degree in International Public Health.

She has served in different leadership roles during her career and while serving as the national director of psychiatric nurse practitioners for a company, she was awarded the Outstanding Professional Award in 2010. Although Sue is currently partially retired, she works parttime as a psychiatric nurse practitioner in telepsychiatry.

Sue is a Bahá’í and has served the Bahá’í Faith in several different capacities, both on the homefront and as an international pioneer. Her service is always focused on engagement with individuals, faith-based and community organizations in working for the “betterment of the world through pure and goodly deeds” done locally.

For a number of years, Sue has been focused on racial justice and the importance for people of African descent, “the Pupil of the Eye”, to be in the forefront of work to develop spiritually just and loving communities.

Dr. Raven Deerwater is a distinguished mathematics educator with a career dedicated to curriculum development, teacher empowerment, and fostering a sense of belonging in academic communities. He holds a PhD in Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Chicago, as well as an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University. He is an author of UCSMP Algebra, UCSMP Geometry, and Bridges to Mathematics (4th and 5th grades).

After retiring as an enrolled agent (tax practitioner) after 30 years, Raven currently works as a Remote Mathematics Teacher Coach at the University of Michigan, implementing “Belonging Centered Instruction” with teachers of underserved students. This work directly addresses the disparities in mathematics education that often stem from racial and socioeconomic factors by collaborating with teachers to create inclusive and equitable learning environments.

Raven has also developed curriculum for leadership training in professional organizations. He is on the faculty of the National Association of Enrolled Agent’s Schuldiner/Smollan Leadership Academy, and he is the Vice-President of the Melos Institute (which researches professional organizations).

Raven lives on the Mendocino Coast in California with his wife Rebecca (an experienced Copper to Gold facilitator), and he is Treasurer of the Mendocino Coast Jewish Community.

Copper to Gold has had a profound impact on how he views leadership, teaching, andcurricular materials.

Karen Streets-Anderson is the grand-daughter of civil rights activists. The Civil Rights Museum at Indiana University South Bend commemorates the contributions her grandparents made to integrate and legally address racial discrimination in South Bend, Indiana. Being mentored by them, and often included in their social justice and anti-racism activities, profoundly shaped Karen’s identity, values and worldview. Their example inspired her to become involved in a number of racial justice and race amity organizations (the NAACP, the Institute for the Healing of Racism) as well as create educational workshops on racial bias and institutionalized racism, culminating in her advisory role and participation in Copper to Gold since its inception.

After graduating from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Politics (Political Science), Karen launched a career in broadcast television news production. This included electronic graphics, floor directing during newscasts, operating cameras in the studio and out in the field, and commercial voice-overs. She eventually moved on from television to advertising, working as a media buyer for an advertising agency. While there, she closely worked with minority and women-owned businesses in order to devise marketing strategies that would allow them to gain wider recognition and greater reach.

Karen has served on the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’i’s of Nashville, Tennessee, the local governing administrative body of the Nashville Bahá’í community, for 30 years. For many of those years she has either been the Assembly’s Chairperson, Secretary or Recording Secretary.

Together, Karen and her husband of 36 years, Nolan, have raised 2 sons who have turned out to be talented young men in their own right. Now entering a new chapter in life, Karen is writing a coming of age novel that explores the intersectionality of race, culture, colorism, class and gender as its main characters try to truly connect with others and build community in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Gary Littell lives in Goodfield IL and is a Lead Software engineer with 30 years experience working for State Farm Insurance. He is currently the lead developer on a team that is transitioning omni-channel contact centers for the State Farm Claims department to the Amazon Web Services platform. Gary has expertise in voice and chat bot design and development utilized for contact center automation. He has been awarded multiple patents during his career. Gary excels at seeing the needs of the day as they pertain to individuals, communities, and institutions and designing and leading teams to deliver technical solutions to address these needs. Gary graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He also holds a Chartered Financial Consultant (Chfc) and Chartered Life Underwriter designation from the American College.

Gary is a Bahá’í and has served the Baha’i Faith in several different capacities. Most recently his service has focused on activities of race amity. These activities include participating in the Rooting out Racism boot camp for the past year and serving as a facilitator for the Copper to Gold program.

Gary Sulski is a dedicated advocate for racial equality and a devoted member of the Bahá’í Faith, a religion that emphasizes the oneness of humanity. Born in a large Midwestern city, Gary grew up witnessing the stark divisions of race and class that plagued the region. Inspired by the Bahá’í teachings he encountered in his early twenties; he committed his life to dismantling prejudice and fostering unity. The Bahá’í principle that all people are created equal under God resonated deeply with him, igniting a passion for social justice that has defined his journey.

 For over five decades, Gary has worked tirelessly to combat racial discrimination. He has organized interfaith dialogues, piloted community workshops, and participated in grassroots initiatives to bridge racial divides. Drawing from the Bahá’í emphasis on eliminating all forms of prejudice, he has championed education as a tool for change, often championing love and fellowship among all races. Gary’s efforts extend beyond words; he has marched in movements, supported policy reforms, and mentored youth from marginalized backgrounds. Now in his late sixties, Gary continues his mission, living out the Bahá’í vision of a united world, one act of service at a time.