Ethel K. Millar Award for Religion and Social Awareness —
Sophia Said
Sophia Said is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has helped establish this outreach ministry to build bridges of peace and understanding and enhance public dialogue among different faith communities.
Said designs and implements interfaith initiatives in order to educate people about the various faith traditions and promote interfaith dialogue and awareness. She has provided community leadership by exemplifying interfaith cooperation skills
through several of her programs, including interfaith summer camp for youth, interfaith youth group for teens, educational classes and workshops for adults, interfaith prayer events, interfaith supper club, and much more. She has also increased awareness about the rights of immigrants and religious minorities by educating and bringing diverse communities together in Arkansas.
Sophia is also the founder of Madina Institute, a mosque in Little Rock committed to the principles of compassion, education, illumination, and inclusion, serving the spiritual, social, and educational needs of a growing Muslim population in Little Rock.
Born and raised in Pakistan, Sophia moved to United States for higher education. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah in 2007 with a degree in economics. She has a master’s degree from the Clinton School of Public Service and
has worked as a strategic adviser and gender based economic development consultant locally and internationally.
A recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award from Just Communities of Arkansas, the Peacemaker of the Year award from Arkansas Coalition of Peace and Justice, and several other awards from local and state-based organizations, Said is committed to creating peaceful, diverse communities based on the principals of coexistence and pluralism.