Randolph Dobbs, Senior Consultant

Randolph, born in Oakland, California, and raised in Salinas near Monterey, pursued his education at Hartnell College. A member of the Regional Bahá’í Council of the State of California, Mr. Dobbs is actively involved in the Interfaith Collective in the Mayor’s Office for the City of Los Angeles. Since the mid-90s, he has held the position of secretary for the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles. In addition to these responsibilities, Randolph serves as the director of the Association of Bahá’í Studies and the Office of Religious Life at the University of Southern California (USC). He also sits on the Board of Directors of the University Religious Conference at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Renowned for his extensive articles and op-eds on the vision of a harmonious global community, freedom of belief, and the preservation of cultural diversity, his work has been featured on various websites and in numerous publications. Currently residing in Southern California, Randolph Dobbs frequently travels in various capacities. Furthermore, he is a sought-after speaker at conferences and forums, both within the United States and globally.

Tahirih T. Danesh, Ph.D. , Senior Consultant

Tahirih is dedicated to enhancing the enjoyment of socioeconomic rights and development within private and third-sector entities. Particularly passionate about young, marginalized, and minority communities, she is a serial civic entrepreneur, an advocate of the United Nations Global Compact Principles, and a member of the 30% Club, promoting gender diversity in leadership. Raised and inspired by some of the most impactful figures who helped shape the rise of her native Iran, she escaped to the West and has since lived and worked with a third of the world's cultures. She serves as the Executive Director of a niche educational foundation for students of Iranian descent in the West, the Chief Executive Officer of the foremost South African foundation in the UK, and an advisor to numerous charities and startups. She seeks and welcomes opportunities to promote learning and earning through spoken and written words but remains most passionate about elevating shared consciousness through practical approaches to complex processes. Tahirih Danesh holds a PhD in law and has contributed to a range of publications on human rights, policy, and education.

Professor Cai Degui 蔡德贵教授 , Senior Consultant

Professor Cai is a distinguished scholar of Chinese philosophy and Eastern religions. Formerly a professor at Shandong University, he served as Director of the Baha’i Research Center and Deputy Director of the China Confucius Foundation at the Ji Xianlin Institute. He has also been a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a contributing researcher at the Center for Eastern Culture, and a long-time member of the Expert Committee of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Born in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province in 1945, Professor Cai graduated from Beijing University with a degree in Arabic and later earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Shandong University. Over several decades, he has participated in academic exchanges in Kuwait, Egypt, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya, and Singapore, contributing to global understanding of Eastern thought. His research focuses on Chinese philosophy, Eastern philosophy, and comparative religion. Professor Cai is the author or editor of numerous influential works—including Ten Thinkers, History of Philosophy in Arabia, Meditation in the Desert, Chinese Philosophy, China’s Traditional Culture Ethics, Philosophy Research of Contemporary Islam and Arab, and The Research on Contemporary Baha’i Faith—and has published more than 140 academic papers. Having retired from his formal posts in China, he now resides in the United States and continues to contribute to scholarship and cross-cultural dialogue.

Betty Zhao 赵小蓓, Consultant

Betty graduated in 2006 from Beijing Chinese Women’s College with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education Management. In 2009, she received her American Montessori Society (AMS) Teacher Certification (2.5–6 years), and in 2010 completed the AMS (0–3 years) training program at the Eaton School Montessori Teacher Training Academy (EMTTA) in Beijing. Since 2006, she has been dedicated to the field of early childhood education, working as a frontline teacher, kindergarten administrator, teacher trainer, and organizer of parent book clubs and parent workshops. Passionate about education, Betty is committed to lifelong research and practice of educational concepts and methods that contribute to the holistic development and advancement of humanity. Betty and her family currently live in Xi’an, China, where she serves as a Montessori school administrator and actively supports our Innovation Club program.

Thando Zwane, Consultant

Born and raised in South Africa, Thando developed a deep passion for education, psychology, and early childhood development early in life. She studied Education and Psychology at Bath Spa University, specializing in early years education, fetal development, and primary education. Her experience spans various early childhood settings, including volunteering at an orphanage in Soweto, where she witnessed firsthand the profound impact of nurturing care on young lives. This deepened her interest in the earliest stages of human development and led her to her true calling as a birthkeeper, commonly known as a doula. In this role, she supports and educates pregnant women and their partners, helping them connect with their babies during the perinatal period. She focuses on fostering secure attachments, laying the foundation for lifelong emotional well-being. Now based in London, she is a sought-after birthkeeper, trainer, mentor, facilitator, and speaker.

Susanna Sutton, Consultant

Originally from Amesbury, Massachusetts, Susanna has dedicated her life to education and cross-cultural engagement. Alongside her husband, John, she has lived and worked in diverse communities worldwide, including the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico in the 1980s, as a teacher in Iringa, Tanzania (1988–1990), and in multiple cities across China (1992–2016), where she taught in colleges and schools. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor, she embraced innovative and creative teaching methods, adapting to diverse learning styles to make education more engaging and meaningful for her students.