11/20/2025
Celebrating Bridge Builders Across Minnesota
Last weekend, IRG held its 13th Annual Building Bridges Awards event, a night dedicated to honoring Minnesotans who build understanding across our communities.
Our keynote speaker was Nausheena Hussain, author of Prosperity with Purpose: A Muslim Woman's Guide to Generosity and Abundance. Her message on purposeful giving and community strength set the tone for the evening.
Building bridges is all about teamwork and relationships. IRG could not have been successful without the help of the many Minnesotans who reached out to us with sincerity to build understanding. It was this acute realization, along with the need to be true to our value system, one that nurtures in us the habit of being grateful to God for His numerous blessings, that led to the creation of the Building Bridges Awards Program. This award honors individuals and organizations who went above and beyond to bring Minnesotans closer together based on our shared humanity.
A quarter century of building bridges of understanding through education is an experience that is difficult to capture in words.
Our premise that human beings are decent individuals was proven every time we interacted with half a million Minnesotans. IRG’s adherence to objectivity and academic integrity opened more doors of understanding than one could have imagined.
Amidst the rising tide of anti-Islam hysteria, especially during election cycles, IRG stayed focused on dispelling stereotypes and building understanding and friendship across our communities. We are convinced that the voices of hate and bigotry will despair in finding roots here with the tremendous bridge-building work taking place across Minnesota.
As we walk toward the next quarter century, we expect our youth to lead the way for peace, friendship, and coexistence while helping create an environment where civility is the norm and where people from different backgrounds do not see one another as adversaries but as collaborating partners in all good.
As diehard optimists, we believe that we are only limited by the extent of our dreams. Let us dream big and make it a reality together.
IRG honored the following awardees:
Education: Brenda Lewis, Ph.D., Superintendent, and Rochelle Cox, Assistant Superintendent, Fridley School District
Health Care: Sneha Singh, PhD, Minnesota Department of Health
Interfaith: University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University
Law Enforcement: Gail M., Specialist, Ramsey County Correctional Facility
Lifetime Achievement: Zaheer Baber and Zarina Baber, for their decades of tremendous community leadership
Community Leadership: Nasrieen Habib, Founder of Amanah Recreational Project
