Rev. Dr. Ian Rottenberg
Dean of Religious Life
Director of the Earl Hall Center
Phone: (646) 906-5913
Office Address: 303 Earl Hall
Mailing Address:
2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Rev. Dr. Rottenberg directs Columbia’s Earl Hall Center for Religious Life. Dean Rottenberg has academic degrees in philosophy and theology from Haverford College, Yale University, and Fordham University. As a leader of faith communities, he is passionate about increasing multi-faith dialogue, promoting mutual understanding, and working to meet the diverse religious needs of our university community.
Tessa McGowan
Associate Director
Phone: (212) 854-5714
Office Address: 112 Earl Hall
Mailing Address:
2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Tessa McGowan is the Associate Director at the Earl Hall Center where she manages interfaith and intercultural programs for the Office. Tessa has a Bachelor's degree from McGill University and a Master's degree in Religion. She deeply enjoys all things interfaith, specifically "religion &" — such as the intersection of religion with human rights, international development, and research. Outside of work you can find her trying out new exercise classes, baking, or walking in one of the nearby parks.
Ebad Rahman
Associate Dean of Religious Life and Advisor for Muslim Life
Phone: (212) 854-6256
Office Address: 102 Earl Hall
Mailing Address: 2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Imam Ebad(ur) Rahman memorized the Qur’an as a sophomore in high school. He completed a four-year pilot seminary program at Zaytuna Institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ebad then earned his B.A from New York University, with a concentration on Islam in America. In May 2021, he successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation on contemporary works of Qur'anic interpretation in the Religion Department at Columbia.
Anna Kalyani Sardar
Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (212) 853-4243
Office Address: 203 Earl Hall
Mailing Address:
2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Anna Kalyani Sardar is the Administrative Coordinator at Columbia’s Earl Hall Center for Religious Life. She completed her Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in 2024, where she concentrated in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement. Anna is deeply passionate about the kinetic and healing force of interreligious life and practice. She grew up between India and the U.S. and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 2018-20. In her spare time, Anna enjoys the transient experience of traveling, the solitude of libraries, and, as Goethe would say, "the shudder of awe [that] is humanity’s highest faculty."
Karissa Thacker
Pluralism Associate
Office Address: 203 Earl Hall
Mailing Address:
2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Karissa Thacker serves as the Pluralism Associate with a focus on multifaith initiatives. She holds a doctorate in psychology and is in her final year of the Master of Divinity program at Union Theological Seminary with a concentration in social ethics and contemporary society. Prior to theological study, Karissa was an organizational psychologist with a specialization in executive assessment, development, and character. Her book The Art of Authenticity won the Axiom Award for best business ethics book in 2017. Making sense of the world through multiple lenses with an awareness of the ultimate questions is her current area of research. Outside of work, you can find Karissa either watching or attempting a racquet sport.
Julian Bennett Holmes
Sacred Music Coordinator
Office Address: 203 Earl Hall
Mailing Address:
2980 Broadway, MC 2008, NY, NY 10027
Email: [email protected]
Julian Bennett Holmes is an award-winning composer and organist, harpsichordist, percussionist. He is the 2025–28 audio reviews editor for College Music Symposium. He recently produced a critical edition of three pieces by Bartolomeo Bernardi for the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music. In 2024, he joined the music theory faculty of the Mannes School of Music. He is a doctoral candidate at the Manhattan School of Music.