Moderator

• Judge Harvey Bartle, III

  Judge Harvey Bartle, III, is a Senior United States District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He served as the chief judge from 2006 to 2011. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2011. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 2009 to 2011. Prior to his time on the bench, Judge Bartle was in private practice in Philadelphia and later served as the Insurance Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1980 and as the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1980 to 1981. He is a member of Christ Church, Philadelphia.

Panelists

• Judge Ramy Djerassi

  Judge Ramy Djerassi has served on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, First Judicial District of Philadelphia, for more than twenty years. He was appointed to the bench in 2003 and was retained in 2013 and in 2023. Judge Djerassi is a passionate Jewish advocate and is active at various synagogues across Philadelphia, as well as with a number of Jewish organizations. He is a former assistant district attorney in Philadelphia and served as Board president of Habitat for Humanity during the 1990’s. He is a member of Congregation Mikveh Israel.

• Former Judge Kent Jordan

  Former Judge Kent Jordan served as a federal judge for more than two decades, including a tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 2006 to January 2025, before entering private practice. In addition to his tenure on the Third Circuit, former Judge Jordan’s more than forty years of experience include serving as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. He is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and has been called as a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in Philadelphia.

• The Rev. Samantha Vincent-Alexander

  The Rev. Samantha Vincent-Alexander is the 20th rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, where she has served for 3 years. Before that, she served in a historic church in Hampton Virginia. Samantha loves writing and yoga and is the co-author of two recent books.

• Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian

  Yosef Zarnighian is the Minister (Rabbi) at Congregation Mikveh Israel - Synagogue of The American Revolution. Prior to Mikveh Israel, Rabbi Zarnighian served his Iranian Jewish community in Great Neck, NY, where he was born and raised. He is proud husband and father and serves as a Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.