Simran Jeet Singh, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life (Riverhead, Penguin Random House). 

Simran is a well-known scholar and champion of religious pluralism who is committed to driving civic change through disrupting bias and building empathy. He is an Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, Senior Adviser on Equity and Inclusion for YSC Consulting, and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. Simran is a regular contributor to major outlets, including The Washington Post, CNN, and TIME Magazine, and he writes a monthly column for Religion News Service.
Dr. Singh first became involved in Religion & Society’s programming as a panelist at its Conscience, Community, and Citizenship Symposium in 2018. He continued to share his expertise at the Program’s NYC Briefing on Religious Pluralism, Social Capital and Philanthropy event (2019), and as a member of two Powering Pluralism Network cohorts (Religious Literacy and the Racial Justice and Religion Task Force). At the Aspen Institute’s invitation, he also attended the 2019 Ideas Festival as an Aspen Ideas Scholar.

Prior to joining the Religion & Society Program in 2021, Simran published a children’s book with Penguin Random House about a personal hero, Fauja Singh, who is the oldest person to ever run a marathon. In 2016, he completed his Ph.D. at Columbia University and began teaching Islamic Studies at his alma mater, Trinity University. In 2018, he received the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Award from Harvard University for his work in religious pluralism. Simran’s thought leadership on bias, empathy, and justice extends across corporate, university, and government settings, and his work has been featured in various outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, BBC, and NPR.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Simran now lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters, where he enjoys running, writing, and chasing his kids.