FRIDAY 1:00 – 2:30 PM
The Definitive Online Public Engagement Checklist
Online engagement can dovetail powerfully with face to face dialog events to dramatically increase the reach of public engagement. Inspired by an extensive review of case studies that have engaged over 10,000 people online, this session will produce the first ever definitive checklist to prepare engagement professionals for the effective application of online public engagement to support their outreach projects. This checklist will be compiled into a eBook based on the research results and the practical experience of NCDD attendees through a fast-paced interactive exercise. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Dave Biggs
Chief Engagement Officer, MetroQuest
Eileen Barron
Online engagement can dovetail powerfully with face to face dialog events to dramatically increase the reach of public engagement. Inspired by an extensive review of case studies that have engaged over 10,000 people online, this session will produce the first ever definitive checklist to prepare engagement professionals for the effective application of online public engagement to support their outreach projects. This checklist will be compiled into a eBook based on the research results and the practical experience of NCDD attendees through a fast-paced interactive exercise. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Dave Biggs
Chief Engagement Officer, MetroQuest
Eileen Barron
D&D for Everyone: How Do We Get Everyone to Participate?
Dialogue and deliberation are great for bringing people together across our differences. But, it can be a challenge to get everyone to the table when people just don’t think D&D is for them. Some view our work as inherently liberal. Others don’t see the point to more “talking” because these critical issues can’t wait to be addressed. How do we make D&D for everyone? Join us for this facilitated conversation about how we can better reach out, recruit and welcome those who are not inclined to participate in D&D processes. Topics will include how we frame our work to be even more inclusive and welcoming (to those who don’t feel that quite yet), the role of convening, and more. Come add your ideas – with plans to share whatever comes out of this “think tank” with other attendees and the NCDD network as a whole. (Plaza Court 8 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships, Hot Topics)
Cristin F. Brawner
Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Martín Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Jacob Hess
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Village Square Utah
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Dialogue and deliberation are great for bringing people together across our differences. But, it can be a challenge to get everyone to the table when people just don’t think D&D is for them. Some view our work as inherently liberal. Others don’t see the point to more “talking” because these critical issues can’t wait to be addressed. How do we make D&D for everyone? Join us for this facilitated conversation about how we can better reach out, recruit and welcome those who are not inclined to participate in D&D processes. Topics will include how we frame our work to be even more inclusive and welcoming (to those who don’t feel that quite yet), the role of convening, and more. Come add your ideas – with plans to share whatever comes out of this “think tank” with other attendees and the NCDD network as a whole. (Plaza Court 8 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships, Hot Topics)
Cristin F. Brawner
Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Martín Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Jacob Hess
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Village Square Utah
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Creativity, Complexity, & Comprehension: How Do We Address Affordable Housing?
What forms of dialogue increase our “fluency” on an issue carrying so many meanings, from shelter to wealth? This workshop identifies approaches to a prevailing critical issue, with takeaways applicable to other complex topics. Presenters and participants will share methods for representing all stakeholders, exploring prevailing assumptions, fact-finding for local conditions, and building momentum for long-haul changes in the housing system. We will demonstrate conversation methods grounded in arts and design, and exercise techniques for sustaining attention on an issue that won’t go away.(Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Arts, Hot Topics)
Donna Schenck-Hamlin
Program Associate/Projects Coordinator, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, Kansas State University
Katie Kingery-Page
Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional and Community Planning, Kansas State University
Briana Carillo
Graduate Assistant, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, Kansas State University
What forms of dialogue increase our “fluency” on an issue carrying so many meanings, from shelter to wealth? This workshop identifies approaches to a prevailing critical issue, with takeaways applicable to other complex topics. Presenters and participants will share methods for representing all stakeholders, exploring prevailing assumptions, fact-finding for local conditions, and building momentum for long-haul changes in the housing system. We will demonstrate conversation methods grounded in arts and design, and exercise techniques for sustaining attention on an issue that won’t go away.(Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Arts, Hot Topics)
Donna Schenck-Hamlin
Program Associate/Projects Coordinator, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, Kansas State University
Katie Kingery-Page
Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional and Community Planning, Kansas State University
Briana Carillo
Graduate Assistant, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, Kansas State University
Introducing K12 Students as to How to Think Critically About Dialogue and Deliberation
This workshop will detail how various individuals are working to empower students by bringing deliberative practices into secondary schools and higher education. Amy Nocton and Eleiza Braun will explain how they joined forces with the University of Connecticut to create the E.O. Smith Democratic Dialogue Project, which provides opportunities for student leadership and voice, develops student and teacher civic discourse skills, improves school climate and community, and models the use of dialogue and deliberation for addressing issues of critical concern to the broader community. Logan Steppan from Creek Consulting will also present, showing how the private sector is working alongside students to promote deliberative civic engagement. By empowering students and enhancing their civic knowledge, we can see direct action and results. Learn how here. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Amy Louise Nocton
Spanish teacher, Edwin O. Smith High School, Initiative on Campus Dialogues Fellow (UCONN Humility and Conviction in Public Life)
Eleiza Braun
Community Organizer, Initiative on Campus Dialogues Fellow (UCONN Humility and Conviction in Public Life)
Logan Steppan
Founder, Creek Consulting LLC
This workshop will detail how various individuals are working to empower students by bringing deliberative practices into secondary schools and higher education. Amy Nocton and Eleiza Braun will explain how they joined forces with the University of Connecticut to create the E.O. Smith Democratic Dialogue Project, which provides opportunities for student leadership and voice, develops student and teacher civic discourse skills, improves school climate and community, and models the use of dialogue and deliberation for addressing issues of critical concern to the broader community. Logan Steppan from Creek Consulting will also present, showing how the private sector is working alongside students to promote deliberative civic engagement. By empowering students and enhancing their civic knowledge, we can see direct action and results. Learn how here. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Amy Louise Nocton
Spanish teacher, Edwin O. Smith High School, Initiative on Campus Dialogues Fellow (UCONN Humility and Conviction in Public Life)
Eleiza Braun
Community Organizer, Initiative on Campus Dialogues Fellow (UCONN Humility and Conviction in Public Life)
Logan Steppan
Founder, Creek Consulting LLC
Measuring Civic Infrastructure and Building A Culture of Engagement
How do communities move from occasional public participation to a robust culture of engagement? Participants will learn about the National Civic League’s Civic Index and engage in small group activities using the index. The Civic Index is a tool for measuring the capacity of a community for effective decision-making and problem-solving. Doug Linkhart, President of the National Civic League, will present the newest version of the index, a tool originally created in 1987. Carla Kimbrough, Racial Equity Director for the League, will present examples of how cities achieve the equity and inclusiveness aspects of the index. Carmen Ramirez, Community & Neighborhood Resources Manager for the City of Longmont, Colorado, will talk about the benefits to her city of a cultural of engagement. (Governor’s Square 11 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Carla Kimbrough
Racial Equity Director, National Civic League
Doug Linkhart
President, National Civic League
Carmen Ramirez
Community & Neighborhood Resources Manager, City of Longmont
How do communities move from occasional public participation to a robust culture of engagement? Participants will learn about the National Civic League’s Civic Index and engage in small group activities using the index. The Civic Index is a tool for measuring the capacity of a community for effective decision-making and problem-solving. Doug Linkhart, President of the National Civic League, will present the newest version of the index, a tool originally created in 1987. Carla Kimbrough, Racial Equity Director for the League, will present examples of how cities achieve the equity and inclusiveness aspects of the index. Carmen Ramirez, Community & Neighborhood Resources Manager for the City of Longmont, Colorado, will talk about the benefits to her city of a cultural of engagement. (Governor’s Square 11 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Carla Kimbrough
Racial Equity Director, National Civic League
Doug Linkhart
President, National Civic League
Carmen Ramirez
Community & Neighborhood Resources Manager, City of Longmont
Ben Franklin Circles: Small Conversation about Big Ideas
Ben Franklin Circles ““ from the 92nd Street Y ““ are a nationwide initiative to bring together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to discuss how they can improve themselves and the larger community. At monthly meetings, Circles use Franklin’s 13 virtues (moderation, humility, silence, etc.) as discussion prompts and personal growth commitments. In this presentation/workshop, Julie Mashack and Patty Morrissey from 92Y will provide a general overview of the project and then lead a Ben Franklin Circle-style meeting for people to experience the model. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Models)
Julie Mashack
Director of Global Programs, Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact, 92nd Street Y
Patty Morrissey
Outreach Consultant, 92nd Street Y
Ben Franklin Circles ““ from the 92nd Street Y ““ are a nationwide initiative to bring together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to discuss how they can improve themselves and the larger community. At monthly meetings, Circles use Franklin’s 13 virtues (moderation, humility, silence, etc.) as discussion prompts and personal growth commitments. In this presentation/workshop, Julie Mashack and Patty Morrissey from 92Y will provide a general overview of the project and then lead a Ben Franklin Circle-style meeting for people to experience the model. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Models)
Julie Mashack
Director of Global Programs, Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact, 92nd Street Y
Patty Morrissey
Outreach Consultant, 92nd Street Y
When the Conversation Gets Tough, Get Visual!
Visualizing ideas, feelings, and experiences can profoundly aid in the process of having tough conversations and making difficult group decisions. In this session, participants will learn about why visuals are so effective given what we know about the human brain. They will then get to practice using different visual tools and techniques to better design group processes and facilitate conversations that matter. (Governor’s Square 14 – Beginner – Arts)
Cassandra O’Neill
CEO, Leadership Alchemy LLC
Lydia Hooper
Consultant, Fountain Visual Communications
Visualizing ideas, feelings, and experiences can profoundly aid in the process of having tough conversations and making difficult group decisions. In this session, participants will learn about why visuals are so effective given what we know about the human brain. They will then get to practice using different visual tools and techniques to better design group processes and facilitate conversations that matter. (Governor’s Square 14 – Beginner – Arts)
Cassandra O’Neill
CEO, Leadership Alchemy LLC
Lydia Hooper
Consultant, Fountain Visual Communications
Campus Approaches to Dialogue, Deliberation, and Civic Engagement
In this session, several professors from different universities, combine efforts to highlight various campus-based approaches to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement. This session introduces different approaches and examples that focus on how both dialogue and deliberation work to foster civic innovation on campuses. All share the belief that engaged students lead to engaged citizens. Participants will get to dive into both theory and practice of these approaches.(Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Higher Ed)
Allissa Aardema
Undergraduate Student, Moderator and Notetaker, Voices for Democracy and Civility, Indiana University
Maria Hamilton Abegunde
Director, Graduate Mentoring Center and Visiting Lecturer in African American and African Diaspora Studies, Indiana University
Lauren Swayne Barthold
Philosophy Professor, Endicott College and Research Fellow, Essential Partners
Jill DeTemple
Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University
Harriett E. Hayes
Division Head of Humanities & Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Sociology, Bridgewater College
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director of the Political and Civic Engagement Program, Indiana University
Director, Voices for Democracy and Civility
John Sarrouf
Director of Program Development and Strategic Partnerships, Essential Partners; Peace and Conflict Resolution Professor, Gordon College
In this session, several professors from different universities, combine efforts to highlight various campus-based approaches to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement. This session introduces different approaches and examples that focus on how both dialogue and deliberation work to foster civic innovation on campuses. All share the belief that engaged students lead to engaged citizens. Participants will get to dive into both theory and practice of these approaches.(Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Higher Ed)
Allissa Aardema
Undergraduate Student, Moderator and Notetaker, Voices for Democracy and Civility, Indiana University
Maria Hamilton Abegunde
Director, Graduate Mentoring Center and Visiting Lecturer in African American and African Diaspora Studies, Indiana University
Lauren Swayne Barthold
Philosophy Professor, Endicott College and Research Fellow, Essential Partners
Jill DeTemple
Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University
Harriett E. Hayes
Division Head of Humanities & Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Sociology, Bridgewater College
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director of the Political and Civic Engagement Program, Indiana University
Director, Voices for Democracy and Civility
John Sarrouf
Director of Program Development and Strategic Partnerships, Essential Partners; Peace and Conflict Resolution Professor, Gordon College
Bridging Divides through Dialogue and Digital Narratives
We all know how digital media too often distracts/detracts from constructive dialogue. How can digital narrative production be used instead to promote individual self-awareness, empowerment of underrepresented voices, and dialogue across difference? This workshop highlights a multi-step, dialogic process for just that, as utilized by the national Story Center in recent collaborations with groups at the University of Colorado. Students and staff together will share sample narratives and lead participants in exercises and discussion around lessons learned and methods for productive dialogue. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Ashmi Desai
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Colorado – Boulder
Jim Walker
Norlin Teaching Faculty, University of Colorado – Boulder
Daniel Weinshenker
Director, Midwest Region, Story Center
Fletcher Friday
Student, University of Colorado – Boulder
Brenda Ortiz Torres
Teacher, STEM Launch
We all know how digital media too often distracts/detracts from constructive dialogue. How can digital narrative production be used instead to promote individual self-awareness, empowerment of underrepresented voices, and dialogue across difference? This workshop highlights a multi-step, dialogic process for just that, as utilized by the national Story Center in recent collaborations with groups at the University of Colorado. Students and staff together will share sample narratives and lead participants in exercises and discussion around lessons learned and methods for productive dialogue. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Ashmi Desai
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Colorado – Boulder
Jim Walker
Norlin Teaching Faculty, University of Colorado – Boulder
Daniel Weinshenker
Director, Midwest Region, Story Center
Fletcher Friday
Student, University of Colorado – Boulder
Brenda Ortiz Torres
Teacher, STEM Launch
Engaged Journalism for Community Connection
Fake news. Decreasing trust. Declining audience. What’s a news organization to do? One antidote is “engaged journalism” – news organizations listening and connecting with their communities in new ways, leading to more nuanced stories, stronger relationships with audiences, and greater civic engagement. Newsrooms are collaborating with more D&D practitioners to bring the unique skills engagement into journalism. In this session, we’ll share stories of how news organizations are engaging with their communities, and we’ll host a conversation, guided by your questions, about what that could mean for D&D practitioners. Come explore what the D&D – journalism matchup could look like! (Governor’s Square 17 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Peggy Holman
Co-Founder and Principal, Journalism That Matters
Fiona Morgan
Consultant, Branchhead Consulting
Andrew Rockway
ProgramDirector, Jefferson Center
Eve Pearlman
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Spaceship Media
Lori Shontz
Journalism instructor, University of Oregon
Board Member, Journalism That Matters
Fake news. Decreasing trust. Declining audience. What’s a news organization to do? One antidote is “engaged journalism” – news organizations listening and connecting with their communities in new ways, leading to more nuanced stories, stronger relationships with audiences, and greater civic engagement. Newsrooms are collaborating with more D&D practitioners to bring the unique skills engagement into journalism. In this session, we’ll share stories of how news organizations are engaging with their communities, and we’ll host a conversation, guided by your questions, about what that could mean for D&D practitioners. Come explore what the D&D – journalism matchup could look like! (Governor’s Square 17 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Peggy Holman
Co-Founder and Principal, Journalism That Matters
Fiona Morgan
Consultant, Branchhead Consulting
Andrew Rockway
ProgramDirector, Jefferson Center
Eve Pearlman
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Spaceship Media
Lori Shontz
Journalism instructor, University of Oregon
Board Member, Journalism That Matters
FRIDAY 3:00 – 4:30 PM
People’s Movement Assembly for Envisioning an Inclusive Democracy Movement
Democracy begins at the community level, and it requires intentionality to create inclusive spaces that bring together as many voices to the conversation. Since 2010, Move to Amend has facilitated Peoples’ Movement Assemblies as a mechanism to promote democratic dialogue and deliberative problem solving for democratizing the US Constitution. PMAs will help participants to develop a shared analysis of the current crises we face, create a shared vision of the world we want to build, and collaborate strategically across social movements and fronts of struggle towards coordinated action. (Plaza Court 6 – Beginner – Models, Hot Topics)
Keyan Bliss
Grassroots Volunteer Coordinator, Move to Amend
Jessica Munger
Program Director, Move to Amend
Democracy begins at the community level, and it requires intentionality to create inclusive spaces that bring together as many voices to the conversation. Since 2010, Move to Amend has facilitated Peoples’ Movement Assemblies as a mechanism to promote democratic dialogue and deliberative problem solving for democratizing the US Constitution. PMAs will help participants to develop a shared analysis of the current crises we face, create a shared vision of the world we want to build, and collaborate strategically across social movements and fronts of struggle towards coordinated action. (Plaza Court 6 – Beginner – Models, Hot Topics)
Keyan Bliss
Grassroots Volunteer Coordinator, Move to Amend
Jessica Munger
Program Director, Move to Amend
Enriching Journalism and D&D through Collaboration
This interactive session highlights multiple approaches to collaboration between journalists and D&D. The presenters will draw on their experience leading efforts connecting journalists and the communities they serve through dialogue and deliberation-based engagement efforts. We’ll highlight three of our projects and reference others, to surface best practices for building D&D approaches into journalism and ensuring D&D efforts resonate with media organizations to support meaningful community change. We’ll then move into interactive, small group discussions to identify and critique ideas for incorporating these practices into the efforts and projects of session attendees, developing ideas from the perspectives of both D&D practitioners and journalists. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Elizabeth Dunbar
Reporter, Minnesota Public Radio
Leslie Graves
President & CEO, Ballotpedia
Adolf Gundersen
Research Director, Interactivity Foundation
Andrew Rockway
Program Director, Jefferson Center
This interactive session highlights multiple approaches to collaboration between journalists and D&D. The presenters will draw on their experience leading efforts connecting journalists and the communities they serve through dialogue and deliberation-based engagement efforts. We’ll highlight three of our projects and reference others, to surface best practices for building D&D approaches into journalism and ensuring D&D efforts resonate with media organizations to support meaningful community change. We’ll then move into interactive, small group discussions to identify and critique ideas for incorporating these practices into the efforts and projects of session attendees, developing ideas from the perspectives of both D&D practitioners and journalists. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Elizabeth Dunbar
Reporter, Minnesota Public Radio
Leslie Graves
President & CEO, Ballotpedia
Adolf Gundersen
Research Director, Interactivity Foundation
Andrew Rockway
Program Director, Jefferson Center
Participatory Systems Change – Engagement for Big Impact
Addressing many of today’s societal, economic and environmental problems requires a systems lens that takes into account the values of citizens and stakeholders, identifies leverage points for intervention, and builds collaboration among multiple actors. Through hands-on activities, participants will explore how dialogue-based engagement and systems approaches can be connected to create Participatory Systems Change, by rethinking key aspects of engagement, i.e.: ownership; issue framing; sequencing; the nature of democratic exchange; the method of analysis; and communications strategies. (Plaza Court 8 – Advanced – Models)
Robin Prest
Program Director, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Martín Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Addressing many of today’s societal, economic and environmental problems requires a systems lens that takes into account the values of citizens and stakeholders, identifies leverage points for intervention, and builds collaboration among multiple actors. Through hands-on activities, participants will explore how dialogue-based engagement and systems approaches can be connected to create Participatory Systems Change, by rethinking key aspects of engagement, i.e.: ownership; issue framing; sequencing; the nature of democratic exchange; the method of analysis; and communications strategies. (Plaza Court 8 – Advanced – Models)
Robin Prest
Program Director, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Martín Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
We Are Human First: Creating Safe Spaces for Group Dialogue
Every person has a voice. Participants will learn how the use of visual art and music, mindfulness, psychodrama, and storytelling can stimulate authentic conversation along with more empathic understanding within diverse groups and communities. These interactional and experiential techniques have been tested and found to be a powerful way to open people up to explore who they are in non-defensive ways, regardless of prior group experiences. These techniques have not only been used with individuals, groups, couples and families in conflictual situations, but also with businesses, non-profits and faith-based organizations, and in secondary schools and university settings. Join our dialogue! (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Arts)
Dr. Paula Christian Kliger. PhD, ABPP
President, PsychAssets
Lori Blumenstein-Bott LMSW
VP, PsychAssets
Sara Kliger, MA, RDT, LCAT-P
Director of Experiential Services, PsychAssets
Every person has a voice. Participants will learn how the use of visual art and music, mindfulness, psychodrama, and storytelling can stimulate authentic conversation along with more empathic understanding within diverse groups and communities. These interactional and experiential techniques have been tested and found to be a powerful way to open people up to explore who they are in non-defensive ways, regardless of prior group experiences. These techniques have not only been used with individuals, groups, couples and families in conflictual situations, but also with businesses, non-profits and faith-based organizations, and in secondary schools and university settings. Join our dialogue! (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Arts)
Dr. Paula Christian Kliger. PhD, ABPP
President, PsychAssets
Lori Blumenstein-Bott LMSW
VP, PsychAssets
Sara Kliger, MA, RDT, LCAT-P
Director of Experiential Services, PsychAssets
Storytelling, Embodied Cognition and Climate Activism: A Faster Learning Process
Climate campaign organizations typically don’t have time to invest in face-to-face storytelling training for their activists, and climate activists sometimes view storytelling as a gimmick. Former academic and philosopher Maria Talero develops communication interventions based on embodied cognition, a revolutionary area in the scientific study of consciousness. This interactive session will spotlight key practices in speeding up the storytelling learning process for Citizen’s Climate Lobby advocates and lobbyists who work to bridge the partisan climate gap in Congress and around the country.(Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Skill-building)
Maria Talero
Principal, Climate Courage, LLC
Thaddeus Cummins
Area Coordinator, Citizens Climate Lobby and Managing Researcher, Economic GPS
Climate campaign organizations typically don’t have time to invest in face-to-face storytelling training for their activists, and climate activists sometimes view storytelling as a gimmick. Former academic and philosopher Maria Talero develops communication interventions based on embodied cognition, a revolutionary area in the scientific study of consciousness. This interactive session will spotlight key practices in speeding up the storytelling learning process for Citizen’s Climate Lobby advocates and lobbyists who work to bridge the partisan climate gap in Congress and around the country.(Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Skill-building)
Maria Talero
Principal, Climate Courage, LLC
Thaddeus Cummins
Area Coordinator, Citizens Climate Lobby and Managing Researcher, Economic GPS
ELEVATE: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Develop a New Strategic Plan
How do you develop a community-driven strategic plan with a large, diverse group of people? Adams 12 Five Star Schools, north of Denver, spent a year using the Appreciative Inquiry process to bring together over 7,000 parents, community members, students and staff from 49 different schools to develop a five-year strategic plan to elevate student success. Learn about the Appreciative Inquiry process and how it can be used to mobilize and motivate diverse groups of stakeholders to achieve a collective effort in developing organizational goals. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Mark Poshak
Culture and Engagement Coordinator, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Barbara Lewis
Principal, Rocky Mountain Center for Positive Change
How do you develop a community-driven strategic plan with a large, diverse group of people? Adams 12 Five Star Schools, north of Denver, spent a year using the Appreciative Inquiry process to bring together over 7,000 parents, community members, students and staff from 49 different schools to develop a five-year strategic plan to elevate student success. Learn about the Appreciative Inquiry process and how it can be used to mobilize and motivate diverse groups of stakeholders to achieve a collective effort in developing organizational goals. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Mark Poshak
Culture and Engagement Coordinator, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Barbara Lewis
Principal, Rocky Mountain Center for Positive Change
Don’t Avoid, Don’t Confront; Instead… Engage!: Dialogue Skills for Anti-racism Allies
How does a white person who aspires to be an ally against racism talk to their friends and family who are in denial about racism against people of color? The Ally Conversation Toolkit (ACT) gives people concrete guidance about how to respond to a wide variety of statements that racism-denying white folks make every day. The ACT project teaches the R.A.C.E method for managing conversation – standing for Reflect, Ask, Connect, Expand – that involves shifting interpersonal conversations from battles of opinion to a dialogue involving listening, empathy, and personal storytelling. The 90-minute conference workshop will be a distillation of half day and full day community workshops that have engaged thousands of people in venues across the country over the past two years. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Dr. David Campt
Founder, Ally Conversation Toolkit
Dayne Linford
Leader, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – Salt Lake City, UT
How does a white person who aspires to be an ally against racism talk to their friends and family who are in denial about racism against people of color? The Ally Conversation Toolkit (ACT) gives people concrete guidance about how to respond to a wide variety of statements that racism-denying white folks make every day. The ACT project teaches the R.A.C.E method for managing conversation – standing for Reflect, Ask, Connect, Expand – that involves shifting interpersonal conversations from battles of opinion to a dialogue involving listening, empathy, and personal storytelling. The 90-minute conference workshop will be a distillation of half day and full day community workshops that have engaged thousands of people in venues across the country over the past two years. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Dr. David Campt
Founder, Ally Conversation Toolkit
Dayne Linford
Leader, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – Salt Lake City, UT
Flavors of Free Speech on Campus
Campuses across the country are grappling with the tensions between two core values: free speech, as protected by the first amendment, and inclusion of diverse people in the campus community. Explore the boundaries of free expression and inclusion by asking questions such as: Should universities try to establish “safe spaces”? Are provocative speakers allowed to speak on public campuses? Is dialogue a realistic option to address some of these free speech challenges? Come discuss these questions and raise your own in an interactive discussion with representatives from Rutgers and UC Davis.(Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Carolyn Penny
Director, Campus Dialogue & Deliberation, University of California – Davis
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Campuses across the country are grappling with the tensions between two core values: free speech, as protected by the first amendment, and inclusion of diverse people in the campus community. Explore the boundaries of free expression and inclusion by asking questions such as: Should universities try to establish “safe spaces”? Are provocative speakers allowed to speak on public campuses? Is dialogue a realistic option to address some of these free speech challenges? Come discuss these questions and raise your own in an interactive discussion with representatives from Rutgers and UC Davis.(Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Carolyn Penny
Director, Campus Dialogue & Deliberation, University of California – Davis
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Talking about Guns in America: Two Approaches for Shifting the Conversation
Americans are sharply divided over how to deal with gun violence. Many gun-owning Americans strongly oppose new gun regulations, and some want to expand gun rights with a national “right to carry” reciprocity law. Meanwhile, gun control advocates are ramping up campaigns for laws such as a federal ban on the popular AR15 and other assault-style weapons. How can civil dialogue build bridges of understanding between people on both sides of this highly charged debate? Two models will be discussed: a national effort in collaboration with TIME and the Advance Local family of community media groups; and a grassroots project from rural California. This workshop will emphasize problem-solving and creative thinking about how to moderate face-to-face and online discussions of this controversial subject. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Hot Topics)
John Sarrouf
Director of Program Development and Strategic Partnerships, Essential Partners
Eve Pearlman
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Spaceship Media
Jim Hight
Independent journalist and facilitator
Americans are sharply divided over how to deal with gun violence. Many gun-owning Americans strongly oppose new gun regulations, and some want to expand gun rights with a national “right to carry” reciprocity law. Meanwhile, gun control advocates are ramping up campaigns for laws such as a federal ban on the popular AR15 and other assault-style weapons. How can civil dialogue build bridges of understanding between people on both sides of this highly charged debate? Two models will be discussed: a national effort in collaboration with TIME and the Advance Local family of community media groups; and a grassroots project from rural California. This workshop will emphasize problem-solving and creative thinking about how to moderate face-to-face and online discussions of this controversial subject. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Hot Topics)
John Sarrouf
Director of Program Development and Strategic Partnerships, Essential Partners
Eve Pearlman
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Spaceship Media
Jim Hight
Independent journalist and facilitator
Putting Dialogue Before Deliberation within Polarized Communities
The connection between theory and application of Dialogue and Deliberation becomes clear in this session. Lauren Barthold, a PhD philosopher will share theory from a book she is writing on the best way to weave Dialogue together with Deliberation in highly polarized settings. Robin Teater will cover a real life project she oversaw at Healthy Democracy in which people on both sides of the political isle had a chance to Dialogue with each other on challenging issues. Participants will learn a fishbowl form of Dialogue they can use in similar settings. (Governor’s Square 16 – Intermediate – Skill-building, Models)
Linda Ellinor
Founder and Senior Consultant, Action Dialogue Group
Lauren Barthold
Professor, Endicott College
Senior Research Fellow, Essential Partners
Robin Teater
Executive Director, Healthy Democracy
The connection between theory and application of Dialogue and Deliberation becomes clear in this session. Lauren Barthold, a PhD philosopher will share theory from a book she is writing on the best way to weave Dialogue together with Deliberation in highly polarized settings. Robin Teater will cover a real life project she oversaw at Healthy Democracy in which people on both sides of the political isle had a chance to Dialogue with each other on challenging issues. Participants will learn a fishbowl form of Dialogue they can use in similar settings. (Governor’s Square 16 – Intermediate – Skill-building, Models)
Linda Ellinor
Founder and Senior Consultant, Action Dialogue Group
Lauren Barthold
Professor, Endicott College
Senior Research Fellow, Essential Partners
Robin Teater
Executive Director, Healthy Democracy
Communicating Civilly with Voters You Disagree with during the Election Cycle
Through both Civil Dialogue and blogging, workshop participants will engage in modeling civility through civil communication and civil listening. Participants will take part in a Civil Dialogue on a provocative topic relevant to the upcoming election by choosing to occupy a range of positions. Then, the developer of the website Clamoring For Change will discuss ways to best express extreme positions with the objective of promoting mutual understanding (not necessarily agreement) rather than persuasion. When understanding is the goal, civility rather than polarization is a likely outcome. (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data, Hot Topics)
Clark D Olson
President/Professor, Institute for Civil Dialogue and Arizona State University
Guy Nave
Founder, Clamoring For Change
Professor, Luther College
Russ Charvonia
Past Grand Master, Masonic Grand Lodge of CA, Masonic Family Civility Project
Jennifer Linde
Senior Lecturer and Artistic Director of Empty Space Theater, Arizona State University
Carl Luna
Institute for Civil and Civic Engagement, University of San Diego
Through both Civil Dialogue and blogging, workshop participants will engage in modeling civility through civil communication and civil listening. Participants will take part in a Civil Dialogue on a provocative topic relevant to the upcoming election by choosing to occupy a range of positions. Then, the developer of the website Clamoring For Change will discuss ways to best express extreme positions with the objective of promoting mutual understanding (not necessarily agreement) rather than persuasion. When understanding is the goal, civility rather than polarization is a likely outcome. (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data, Hot Topics)
Clark D Olson
President/Professor, Institute for Civil Dialogue and Arizona State University
Guy Nave
Founder, Clamoring For Change
Professor, Luther College
Russ Charvonia
Past Grand Master, Masonic Grand Lodge of CA, Masonic Family Civility Project
Jennifer Linde
Senior Lecturer and Artistic Director of Empty Space Theater, Arizona State University
Carl Luna
Institute for Civil and Civic Engagement, University of San Diego
SATURDAY 9:00 – 10:30 AM
Collective Leadership for Community Change
In an era when community organizations can no longer succeed on their own, shared leadership has ascended as the logical next step toward successful collective action. The co-creators of this session offer a helpful starting point for turning outward toward our communities, explaining how we can harness the collective capacity within and across our organizations to achieve significant and lasting impact. This interactive session will provide an overview of collective leadership and then some case studies how it helps move communities forward by creating sustainable and systemic social change. (Plaza Court 6 – Intermediate – Models)
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer and Special Projects Librarian, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Cassandra O’Neill
CEO, Leadership Alchemy LLC
Amanda Buberger
Assistant Director, Academic Community Engagement Partnerships, Tulane University’s Center for Public Service
Marla Crockett
Certified Harwood Coach, The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation
In an era when community organizations can no longer succeed on their own, shared leadership has ascended as the logical next step toward successful collective action. The co-creators of this session offer a helpful starting point for turning outward toward our communities, explaining how we can harness the collective capacity within and across our organizations to achieve significant and lasting impact. This interactive session will provide an overview of collective leadership and then some case studies how it helps move communities forward by creating sustainable and systemic social change. (Plaza Court 6 – Intermediate – Models)
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer and Special Projects Librarian, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Cassandra O’Neill
CEO, Leadership Alchemy LLC
Amanda Buberger
Assistant Director, Academic Community Engagement Partnerships, Tulane University’s Center for Public Service
Marla Crockett
Certified Harwood Coach, The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation
Partner for Engagement: From Crises to Cohesion in Communities
Workshop leaders will facilitate three interactive cases in which participants will have to make management decisions that successfully engage multiple stakeholders and sectors in building sustainable solutions to community crisis situations: (1) integration of Puerto Rican migrants displaced by Hurricane Maria, (2) response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, and (3) economic development in impoverished neighborhood. Participants will learn how to negotiate partnerships, brand processes, and leverage resources within a D&D context, based on workshop leader experiences in these issues.(Plaza Court 7 – Advanced – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Thomas Bryer
Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida
Board President, Atvirum, Inc.
Sofia Prysmakova
PhD Candidate, Doctoral Program in Public Affairs, University of Central Florida
Board Vice-President, Atvirum, Inc.
Workshop leaders will facilitate three interactive cases in which participants will have to make management decisions that successfully engage multiple stakeholders and sectors in building sustainable solutions to community crisis situations: (1) integration of Puerto Rican migrants displaced by Hurricane Maria, (2) response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, and (3) economic development in impoverished neighborhood. Participants will learn how to negotiate partnerships, brand processes, and leverage resources within a D&D context, based on workshop leader experiences in these issues.(Plaza Court 7 – Advanced – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Thomas Bryer
Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida
Board President, Atvirum, Inc.
Sofia Prysmakova
PhD Candidate, Doctoral Program in Public Affairs, University of Central Florida
Board Vice-President, Atvirum, Inc.
Respect & Rebellion: Fighting to Preserve a Civic Ecosystem on American Campuses
When a natural ecosystem is under threat, enormous resources help preserve and protect it. Given the unmistakable threats to our civic ecosystem, it’s time for complementary “species” to spark something bigger than any of our organizations could do alone. In addition to introducing technological and conversational innovations and the premiere student and faculty organizations spanning the sociopolitical divide, we will solicit feedback on our campaign to get “divergent speaker pairs” to model trustworthy rivalry on campuses while inviting students to complete a “treasonous friendship” dare. (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Jacob Hess
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Village Square Utah
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Liz Joyner
National Director, Village Square
Mannie Ajayi
CEO & Co-Founder, Pnyka
Kyle Emile
Founder, Free Intelligent Conversations
Ross Irwin
Chief Development Officer, Bridge U.S.A., UC-Berkeley
When a natural ecosystem is under threat, enormous resources help preserve and protect it. Given the unmistakable threats to our civic ecosystem, it’s time for complementary “species” to spark something bigger than any of our organizations could do alone. In addition to introducing technological and conversational innovations and the premiere student and faculty organizations spanning the sociopolitical divide, we will solicit feedback on our campaign to get “divergent speaker pairs” to model trustworthy rivalry on campuses while inviting students to complete a “treasonous friendship” dare. (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Jacob Hess
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Village Square Utah
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Liz Joyner
National Director, Village Square
Mannie Ajayi
CEO & Co-Founder, Pnyka
Kyle Emile
Founder, Free Intelligent Conversations
Ross Irwin
Chief Development Officer, Bridge U.S.A., UC-Berkeley
Don’t Engage the Public… Before You’ve Answered These Six Questions
Public participation is increasingly becoming the norm for government decision-making. More engagement, however, doesn’t necessarily mean higher satisfaction with the process and outcomes among communities and decision-makers. Using case studies and scenario exercises the session will provide an opportunity to road-test six strategic questions that help set dialogue and deliberation practitioners up for success, by clarifying key elements of an engagement process, including the topic, desired outcomes, impact on communities, depth and reach of engagement, as well as plans for follow-through. (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Skill-building)
Robin Prest
Program Director, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Kareen Wong
Communications Manager, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Public participation is increasingly becoming the norm for government decision-making. More engagement, however, doesn’t necessarily mean higher satisfaction with the process and outcomes among communities and decision-makers. Using case studies and scenario exercises the session will provide an opportunity to road-test six strategic questions that help set dialogue and deliberation practitioners up for success, by clarifying key elements of an engagement process, including the topic, desired outcomes, impact on communities, depth and reach of engagement, as well as plans for follow-through. (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Skill-building)
Robin Prest
Program Director, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Kareen Wong
Communications Manager, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Saying “Yes, and” in a Polarized World
In a polarized world improv has emerged as a tool for bringing people together and transforming conversation. With a focus on ‘yes and’ and ensemble-building, improv helps people create together using everything including disagreements. Participants will be introduced to an approach to development and community building that uses improv to create ensembles with some of the most contentious groups including police/youth, refugees/locals and people across the political spectrum. Participants will perform and lead conversations that embrace differences, encourage risk-taking and meaning making. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Arts)
Carrie Lobman
Chair, Department of Learning and Teaching, Rutgers University
Lainie Hodges
Development Specialist, Improv Alchemy
In a polarized world improv has emerged as a tool for bringing people together and transforming conversation. With a focus on ‘yes and’ and ensemble-building, improv helps people create together using everything including disagreements. Participants will be introduced to an approach to development and community building that uses improv to create ensembles with some of the most contentious groups including police/youth, refugees/locals and people across the political spectrum. Participants will perform and lead conversations that embrace differences, encourage risk-taking and meaning making. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Arts)
Carrie Lobman
Chair, Department of Learning and Teaching, Rutgers University
Lainie Hodges
Development Specialist, Improv Alchemy
Amplify Impact, Build Bridges, and Connect Communities through Civil Discourse
How can public dialogue and discourse revive our democracy and citizen institutions? In the current climate of polarization and turbulence, how can we open opportunities to foster relationships, incubate emergent engagement ideas, and build new bridges of trust? Building on a hunger to build a civic culture grounded in listening and dialogue, this interactive session will explore how we can take this churning moment in our democracy to amplify, expand, and embed dialogue and discourse practices in our communities and civic infrastructure. Drawing on examples from the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD)’s work through Revive Civility, Next Generation, and the Civility Network, the session will be an opportunity to learn about how we have scaled efforts through strategic partnerships and network building. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships, Models)
Tim Shaffer
Principal Research Specialist, National Institute for Civil Discourse
Cheryl Graeve
National Community Organizer, National Institute for Civil Discourse
How can public dialogue and discourse revive our democracy and citizen institutions? In the current climate of polarization and turbulence, how can we open opportunities to foster relationships, incubate emergent engagement ideas, and build new bridges of trust? Building on a hunger to build a civic culture grounded in listening and dialogue, this interactive session will explore how we can take this churning moment in our democracy to amplify, expand, and embed dialogue and discourse practices in our communities and civic infrastructure. Drawing on examples from the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD)’s work through Revive Civility, Next Generation, and the Civility Network, the session will be an opportunity to learn about how we have scaled efforts through strategic partnerships and network building. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships, Models)
Tim Shaffer
Principal Research Specialist, National Institute for Civil Discourse
Cheryl Graeve
National Community Organizer, National Institute for Civil Discourse
Confronting the White Supremacy Culture of D&D
This session will pose the question: how does the field of D & D encounter the culture of white supremacy? Using a combination of individual reflection, small group, and whole group discussion, participants will be asked to reflect on questions about how white supremacy manifests itself within the thinking and practices of dialogue and deliberation as well as how d&d has confronted the challenges of white supremacy. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Frank Dukes, PhD
Distinguished Institute Fellow, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
Tanya Denckla Cobb
Director, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
Selena Cozart, PhD
Community Facilitator, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
This session will pose the question: how does the field of D & D encounter the culture of white supremacy? Using a combination of individual reflection, small group, and whole group discussion, participants will be asked to reflect on questions about how white supremacy manifests itself within the thinking and practices of dialogue and deliberation as well as how d&d has confronted the challenges of white supremacy. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Frank Dukes, PhD
Distinguished Institute Fellow, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
Tanya Denckla Cobb
Director, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
Selena Cozart, PhD
Community Facilitator, Institute for Environmental Negotiation
Civic Initiators at Work!
Across the nation, community-based coalitions of “civic initiators” are forming with this goal in mind: to catalyze productive, democratic ways for community members to talk and work together on public issues over time. They are building broad, cross-sector networks of public discussions that reflect the complex, interconnected nature of issues that impact their communities. And they are creating opportunities for people to learn from each other’s work””within communities and across the country. Join us in this highly interactive session to explore these practices and to share your insights! (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Betty Knighton
Senior Associate, Kettering Foundation
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director, Political and Civic Engagement Program
Director, Voices for Democracy and Civility, Indiana University Bloomington
Cristin F. Brawner
Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Across the nation, community-based coalitions of “civic initiators” are forming with this goal in mind: to catalyze productive, democratic ways for community members to talk and work together on public issues over time. They are building broad, cross-sector networks of public discussions that reflect the complex, interconnected nature of issues that impact their communities. And they are creating opportunities for people to learn from each other’s work””within communities and across the country. Join us in this highly interactive session to explore these practices and to share your insights! (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Betty Knighton
Senior Associate, Kettering Foundation
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director, Political and Civic Engagement Program
Director, Voices for Democracy and Civility, Indiana University Bloomington
Cristin F. Brawner
Executive Director, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
Using Deliberation to Tackle Substance Abuse in Local High Schools
Engaging students can be difficult, especially when they’re not interested or don’t know enough about a topic. Come hear from students who got involved in engaging hundreds of high school students in conversations about substance abuse. This session will cover the barriers and opportunities related to partnering with students and school districts. (Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Kaia Heer
Student Associate, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Sabrina Duey
Student Associate, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Elaine Holmes
Teacher, Fort Collins High School
Engaging students can be difficult, especially when they’re not interested or don’t know enough about a topic. Come hear from students who got involved in engaging hundreds of high school students in conversations about substance abuse. This session will cover the barriers and opportunities related to partnering with students and school districts. (Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Kaia Heer
Student Associate, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Sabrina Duey
Student Associate, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Elaine Holmes
Teacher, Fort Collins High School
Designing Community Deliberation in College Courses
The design of public deliberation and dialogue varies depending on community needs, goals, context, and audience. Presenters will provide deliberative pedagogy models and syllabi for involving students in research, design, facilitation, assessment, and reporting of different community dialogues and deliberations. Through examples of integrating deliberation into college curricula and the accompanying student learning outcomes and community results, participants will develop strategies for bringing college curricula and deliberation theory into effective, sustainable community-based practice. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Higher Ed)
Leila R. Brammer
Director Parrhesia Program, University of Chicago
Pamela Conners
Associate Professor/Co-Director of Public Deliberation and Dialogue, Gustavus Adolphus College
Brandon Anderson
Visiting Assistant Professor, Gustavus Adolphus College
Kristi Manning
Student, Gustavus Adolphus College
Rachel Larson
Student, Gustavus Adolphus College
The design of public deliberation and dialogue varies depending on community needs, goals, context, and audience. Presenters will provide deliberative pedagogy models and syllabi for involving students in research, design, facilitation, assessment, and reporting of different community dialogues and deliberations. Through examples of integrating deliberation into college curricula and the accompanying student learning outcomes and community results, participants will develop strategies for bringing college curricula and deliberation theory into effective, sustainable community-based practice. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Higher Ed)
Leila R. Brammer
Director Parrhesia Program, University of Chicago
Pamela Conners
Associate Professor/Co-Director of Public Deliberation and Dialogue, Gustavus Adolphus College
Brandon Anderson
Visiting Assistant Professor, Gustavus Adolphus College
Kristi Manning
Student, Gustavus Adolphus College
Rachel Larson
Student, Gustavus Adolphus College
A Journalist & A Deliberative Democrat Walk Into a Bar: A Collaboration Story
Healthy Democracy’s Robin Teater will moderate a conversation between Paula Ellis and Wendy Willis, the co-founders of Two Women & a Republic, a weekly correspondence exploring the culture surrounding citizen-centered democracy. Paula is a journalist from South Carolina; Wendy is a democracy practitioner from Oregon; together they have created what they fondly refer to as a Brainpickings for Democracy. They will share what they are learning and then turn to you for a discussion of the issues and trends affecting your work. You never know, you might find yourself showing up in the pages of 2W1R! (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Wendy Willis
Executive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Paula Ellis
Senior Associate, Kettering Foundation
Robin Teater
Executive Director, Healthy Democracy
Healthy Democracy’s Robin Teater will moderate a conversation between Paula Ellis and Wendy Willis, the co-founders of Two Women & a Republic, a weekly correspondence exploring the culture surrounding citizen-centered democracy. Paula is a journalist from South Carolina; Wendy is a democracy practitioner from Oregon; together they have created what they fondly refer to as a Brainpickings for Democracy. They will share what they are learning and then turn to you for a discussion of the issues and trends affecting your work. You never know, you might find yourself showing up in the pages of 2W1R! (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Wendy Willis
Executive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Paula Ellis
Senior Associate, Kettering Foundation
Robin Teater
Executive Director, Healthy Democracy
SATURDAY 11:00 – 12:30 PM
Blueprint of We: A Dynamic Document for Increasing Collaboration and Trust
Blueprint of We (BoW) is a dynamic framework that increases the capacity to collaborate in any environment: public engagement, workplaces, families. The results are more trust & creativity for two people, a group, an entire organization or community. Participants learn 5 components for a BoW and how it links to neuroscience to calm and connect, hear stories of BoW’s impact in various settings, & begin the process of writing and sharing their own BoW. The session will be lively, experiential, deep and useful to take forward into today’s challenges. (Plaza Court 6 – Intermediate – Models)
Rachel Eryn Kalish M.C.
Partner, Blueprint of We California
Sheella Mierson, Ph.D.
Partner, Blueprint of We California
Blueprint of We (BoW) is a dynamic framework that increases the capacity to collaborate in any environment: public engagement, workplaces, families. The results are more trust & creativity for two people, a group, an entire organization or community. Participants learn 5 components for a BoW and how it links to neuroscience to calm and connect, hear stories of BoW’s impact in various settings, & begin the process of writing and sharing their own BoW. The session will be lively, experiential, deep and useful to take forward into today’s challenges. (Plaza Court 6 – Intermediate – Models)
Rachel Eryn Kalish M.C.
Partner, Blueprint of We California
Sheella Mierson, Ph.D.
Partner, Blueprint of We California
Emerging Roles of Academic Libraries in Dialogue and Deliberation
Academic libraries, like their public cousins, are positioned uniquely within their communities to further dialogue and deliberation. In addition to the commonalities, such as being safe and brave spaces, academic libraries have institutional connections, particularly with campus partners already engaging in dialogue, that allow them to scale beyond their current abilities. The session leaders invite you to an interactive discussion about the ways academic libraries can further the goals of dialogue and deliberation at their institutions and in the broader community. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
George J Fowler
University Librarian, Old Dominion University
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Academic libraries, like their public cousins, are positioned uniquely within their communities to further dialogue and deliberation. In addition to the commonalities, such as being safe and brave spaces, academic libraries have institutional connections, particularly with campus partners already engaging in dialogue, that allow them to scale beyond their current abilities. The session leaders invite you to an interactive discussion about the ways academic libraries can further the goals of dialogue and deliberation at their institutions and in the broader community. (Plaza Court 7 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
George J Fowler
University Librarian, Old Dominion University
Nancy Kranich
Lecturer, Rutgers University School of Communication and Information
Difficult Facilitation Experiences: Working through Challenges
Dialogue and deliberation are participatory processes, designed to promote diverse voices and encourage communities to work through differences. Despite laying out productive communication guidelines, sometimes difficulties arise. This session will focus on recognizing and addressing struggles in facilitation, particularly around diversity and identity. Staff and students from Colorado State University and Wabash College will share experiences, and the second half of the session will focus on developing collaborative strategies for addressing such challenges. (Plaza Court 8 – Advanced – Skill-building)
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse; Associate Professor, Wabash College
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Katie Knobloch
Associate Director, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Dialogue and deliberation are participatory processes, designed to promote diverse voices and encourage communities to work through differences. Despite laying out productive communication guidelines, sometimes difficulties arise. This session will focus on recognizing and addressing struggles in facilitation, particularly around diversity and identity. Staff and students from Colorado State University and Wabash College will share experiences, and the second half of the session will focus on developing collaborative strategies for addressing such challenges. (Plaza Court 8 – Advanced – Skill-building)
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse; Associate Professor, Wabash College
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Katie Knobloch
Associate Director, Center for Public Deliberation, Colorado State University
Engaging & Healing Differences – Holding tension in life-giving ways!
Come enjoy a live encounter with one of the five habits, “An Ability to Hold Tensions in Life-Giving Ways.” A framework of Touchstones and Honest & Open Questions holds a brave & trustworthy space. Afterwards you will hear stories of using and adapting this material for different ages (middle school, college and adults) and conversational focus. Heart felt self-reflection and fresh, meaningful communal conversation is supported in this interactive civic dialogue curriculum (Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy 5 Habits of the Heart & Empathetic Presence. Come play with Tension! (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Models)
Susan Kaplan, M.S.W., M.P.A., R.Y.T.
Facilitator and Trainer, Colorado Courage & Renewal Collaboration & Rocky Mountain Compassionate Communication Network
Sheila Davis, MD, MS
Healthcare Leadership Program, University College, University Of Denver
Director of Research and Evaluation, GlobalMinded
Sarah Leach
Urban Farmer, Celebration Gardens and Three Sisters
Come enjoy a live encounter with one of the five habits, “An Ability to Hold Tensions in Life-Giving Ways.” A framework of Touchstones and Honest & Open Questions holds a brave & trustworthy space. Afterwards you will hear stories of using and adapting this material for different ages (middle school, college and adults) and conversational focus. Heart felt self-reflection and fresh, meaningful communal conversation is supported in this interactive civic dialogue curriculum (Parker Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy 5 Habits of the Heart & Empathetic Presence. Come play with Tension! (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Models)
Susan Kaplan, M.S.W., M.P.A., R.Y.T.
Facilitator and Trainer, Colorado Courage & Renewal Collaboration & Rocky Mountain Compassionate Communication Network
Sheila Davis, MD, MS
Healthcare Leadership Program, University College, University Of Denver
Director of Research and Evaluation, GlobalMinded
Sarah Leach
Urban Farmer, Celebration Gardens and Three Sisters
Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education
Faculty and students from three universities share how they are building capacity for D&D in their classes. You’ll learn how students have been given power over aspects of course content and instructional strategies; how we can ‘stack’ pedagogical practices during dialogue in classes across disciplines; and how undergraduates can learn about global best practices by contributing to Participedia. We’ll also ask what you’re doing in your classes and seek ideas for other activities that can be used in all learning situations, no matter where it occurs or the age of the students. (Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Higher Ed, Youth & Students)
Dr. Denny Frey
Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of the Core, Lasell College
Kiel Harrel
Assistant Professor of Education, University of Minnesota – Morris
Cassandra Hemphill
Adjunct Faculty, University of Montana, Missoula College
Sara G. Lam
Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, University of Minnesota – Morris
Sharyn Lowenstein
Director, Center for Community-Based Learning
Associate Professor, Lasell College
Faculty and students from three universities share how they are building capacity for D&D in their classes. You’ll learn how students have been given power over aspects of course content and instructional strategies; how we can ‘stack’ pedagogical practices during dialogue in classes across disciplines; and how undergraduates can learn about global best practices by contributing to Participedia. We’ll also ask what you’re doing in your classes and seek ideas for other activities that can be used in all learning situations, no matter where it occurs or the age of the students. (Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Higher Ed, Youth & Students)
Dr. Denny Frey
Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of the Core, Lasell College
Kiel Harrel
Assistant Professor of Education, University of Minnesota – Morris
Cassandra Hemphill
Adjunct Faculty, University of Montana, Missoula College
Sara G. Lam
Assistant Professor of Elementary Education, University of Minnesota – Morris
Sharyn Lowenstein
Director, Center for Community-Based Learning
Associate Professor, Lasell College
Voting, Art, and Dialogue: Building Democratic Capacity through Voting Stories
Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy, yet is often shrouded in secrecy. While ballots themselves should remain private, the process of voting can and should be a social activity. This session will share an event that infused art and dialogue to encourage university students and community members to come together and share their stories of democratic participation. Multimedia products of the event will serve as inspiration to attendees as they have the chance to explore their own voting story and plan how to create a dialogue around voting in their own communities. (Governor’s Square 12 – Intermediate – Arts)
Marsha Olson
Instructor of Communication, University of Alaska Anchorage
Donna Aguiniga
Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Alaska Anchorage
Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy, yet is often shrouded in secrecy. While ballots themselves should remain private, the process of voting can and should be a social activity. This session will share an event that infused art and dialogue to encourage university students and community members to come together and share their stories of democratic participation. Multimedia products of the event will serve as inspiration to attendees as they have the chance to explore their own voting story and plan how to create a dialogue around voting in their own communities. (Governor’s Square 12 – Intermediate – Arts)
Marsha Olson
Instructor of Communication, University of Alaska Anchorage
Donna Aguiniga
Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Alaska Anchorage
Democracy’s Hubs: The Role of Local Centers in Building Capacity for D&D
Directors from a variety of centers and institutes dedicated to building capacity for local dialogue and deliberation will share their models and stories. The session will be particularly useful for academics and civic leaders either involved with local organizations or considering developing an organization. Key networks and resources will be discussed, such as the Kettering Foundation’s Centers for Public Life training program and the University Network for Collaborative Governance. (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Martin Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Lori Britt
Director, Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue, James Madison University
Windy Lawrence
Director, Downtown Center for Public Deliberation, University of Houston
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director, Political and Civic Engagement Program, Indiana University Bloomington
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Directors from a variety of centers and institutes dedicated to building capacity for local dialogue and deliberation will share their models and stories. The session will be particularly useful for academics and civic leaders either involved with local organizations or considering developing an organization. Key networks and resources will be discussed, such as the Kettering Foundation’s Centers for Public Life training program and the University Network for Collaborative Governance. (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Martin Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Lori Britt
Director, Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue, James Madison University
Windy Lawrence
Director, Downtown Center for Public Deliberation, University of Houston
Lisa-Marie Napoli
Associate Director, Political and Civic Engagement Program, Indiana University Bloomington
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Social Media and Online Dialogue and Deliberation: experiences, challenges, and solutions
This workshop will start with a brief review of a few specific and recent instances of online discussion on social media gone bad. In smaller group discussions thereafter, participants will be encouraged to share, discuss and explore their ideas about more general online challenges, including, for example: challenges arising from the for-profit or commercial side of social media, the increasing polarization & decreasing participation online generally, and the often “drive-by” commentary fostered online and other incivilities that discourage deeper citizen engagement–among other online challenges. The workshop will culminate with a discussion focused on identifying and developing some ideas and strategies for addressing these challenges. (Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Todd Davies
Associate Director and Lecturer, Symbolic Systems Program at Stanford University
David Fridley
Founder & CEO, Synaccord, LLC
Natalie Hopkinson
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Sue Goodney Lea
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Guy D. Nave, Jr., Ph.D.
Founder, Clamoring For Change
Professor, Luther College
Peter Shively
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
This workshop will start with a brief review of a few specific and recent instances of online discussion on social media gone bad. In smaller group discussions thereafter, participants will be encouraged to share, discuss and explore their ideas about more general online challenges, including, for example: challenges arising from the for-profit or commercial side of social media, the increasing polarization & decreasing participation online generally, and the often “drive-by” commentary fostered online and other incivilities that discourage deeper citizen engagement–among other online challenges. The workshop will culminate with a discussion focused on identifying and developing some ideas and strategies for addressing these challenges. (Governor’s Square 15 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Todd Davies
Associate Director and Lecturer, Symbolic Systems Program at Stanford University
David Fridley
Founder & CEO, Synaccord, LLC
Natalie Hopkinson
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Sue Goodney Lea
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Guy D. Nave, Jr., Ph.D.
Founder, Clamoring For Change
Professor, Luther College
Peter Shively
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Deconstructing empathy: Listening beyond differences to catalyze transformation
Those who facilitate group conversations know deep listening is essential to mutual growth and progress. We also are often the ones “keeping the peace” at any cost, even to ourselves. Join us in exploring and experiencing what it means to develop empathy, first for ourselves, then for others. Only when we can personally embrace the change we wish to foster in others, can we help groups find the common ground that we never imagined possible. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Skill-building)
Megan Devenport
Executive Director, Building Bridges
Salomeh Diaz
Director, Sacred Minds Consulting
Lydia Hooper
Consultant, Fountain Visual Communications
Those who facilitate group conversations know deep listening is essential to mutual growth and progress. We also are often the ones “keeping the peace” at any cost, even to ourselves. Join us in exploring and experiencing what it means to develop empathy, first for ourselves, then for others. Only when we can personally embrace the change we wish to foster in others, can we help groups find the common ground that we never imagined possible. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – Skill-building)
Megan Devenport
Executive Director, Building Bridges
Salomeh Diaz
Director, Sacred Minds Consulting
Lydia Hooper
Consultant, Fountain Visual Communications
Growing the Next Generation of D&D Leaders through Campus Dialogues
How might we grow the next generation of D&D leaders? In this session we’ll share different co-curricular approaches to student-facilitated campus dialogues that could play a role. We represent 5 different schools of various sizes (UC Davis, Oklahoma State, Emory, University of Tampa, and Wesleyan College) and different non-profits (Sustained Dialogue Institute and the Interactivity Foundation). Together with workshop attendees, we’ll explore what it takes to create and sustain the ecosystem for co-curricular D&D programs, the challenges and promises for this work, and lessons learned so far. (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Melanie Doherty
Associate Professor of English, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaison, Wesleyan College
Ed Lee
Senior Director, Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, & Dialogue
Emory University
Tami Moore
Associate Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Oklahoma State University
Tonya Parker
Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Wesleyan College
Carolyn Penny
Director of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation, University of California Davis
Jeff Prudhomme
Vice President, Interactivity Foundation
Mike Stout
Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University
George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Family and Community Policy
Elizabeth Wuerz
Program Consultant, Sustained Dialogue Institute
Wei-Wei Chen
Student Assistant, UC Davis Campus Dialogue & Deliberation
How might we grow the next generation of D&D leaders? In this session we’ll share different co-curricular approaches to student-facilitated campus dialogues that could play a role. We represent 5 different schools of various sizes (UC Davis, Oklahoma State, Emory, University of Tampa, and Wesleyan College) and different non-profits (Sustained Dialogue Institute and the Interactivity Foundation). Together with workshop attendees, we’ll explore what it takes to create and sustain the ecosystem for co-curricular D&D programs, the challenges and promises for this work, and lessons learned so far. (Governor’s Square 17 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Melanie Doherty
Associate Professor of English, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaison, Wesleyan College
Ed Lee
Senior Director, Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, & Dialogue
Emory University
Tami Moore
Associate Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Oklahoma State University
Tonya Parker
Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Wesleyan College
Carolyn Penny
Director of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation, University of California Davis
Jeff Prudhomme
Vice President, Interactivity Foundation
Mike Stout
Associate Professor, Oklahoma State University
George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Family and Community Policy
Elizabeth Wuerz
Program Consultant, Sustained Dialogue Institute
Wei-Wei Chen
Student Assistant, UC Davis Campus Dialogue & Deliberation
SUNDAY 9:00 – 10:30 AM
Faith Groups as Civic Actors: Exploring Deliberative Work in Context of Faith
In “American Grace,” Robert Putnam and David Campbell show the existence of strong correlations between church attendance and involvement in other civic initiatives. They emphasize that “religious Americans are generally better neighbors and more active citizens”; however, they make a very important caveat – Americans who attend church regularly tend to be less tolerant of dissent and less supportive of civil liberties. What does it mean for fostering a deliberative culture, when 53% of Americans say that religion is very important to them, while 36% attend church services at least once a week? In this session, we will present several ongoing cases when faith-based groups have engaged in the work of dialogue and deliberation. We will discuss the direction of their experiments, particularly focusing on their use of issue framings and various formats of deliberation. We hope that these presentations will open up space for a discussion of how faith-based civic work is seen by people in faith-based organizations as well as by people whose work has been set up within the secular framework. What connections exist between these lines of deliberative efforts? How may such connections be potentially beneficial or desirable? How may we work to foster them? (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Ekaterina Lukianova
Program Officer, Kettering Foundation
Erin Payseur Oeth
Associate Director of Civic Learning Initiatives, City of Boulder
Simone Talma-Flowers
Executive Director, Interfaith Action of Central Texas
In “American Grace,” Robert Putnam and David Campbell show the existence of strong correlations between church attendance and involvement in other civic initiatives. They emphasize that “religious Americans are generally better neighbors and more active citizens”; however, they make a very important caveat – Americans who attend church regularly tend to be less tolerant of dissent and less supportive of civil liberties. What does it mean for fostering a deliberative culture, when 53% of Americans say that religion is very important to them, while 36% attend church services at least once a week? In this session, we will present several ongoing cases when faith-based groups have engaged in the work of dialogue and deliberation. We will discuss the direction of their experiments, particularly focusing on their use of issue framings and various formats of deliberation. We hope that these presentations will open up space for a discussion of how faith-based civic work is seen by people in faith-based organizations as well as by people whose work has been set up within the secular framework. What connections exist between these lines of deliberative efforts? How may such connections be potentially beneficial or desirable? How may we work to foster them? (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Ekaterina Lukianova
Program Officer, Kettering Foundation
Erin Payseur Oeth
Associate Director of Civic Learning Initiatives, City of Boulder
Simone Talma-Flowers
Executive Director, Interfaith Action of Central Texas
Facilitating Effective Dialogue on Challenging Community Issues
Recently, Elkhart County, Indiana needed to hear from community members on a proposed rezoning to build an immigration detention center which would house up to 1,400 immigrants facing possible deportation. This case study will demonstrate how Elkhart County Commissioners used PlaceSpeak to engage with residents, and how they facilitated respectful online dialogue on this controversial and potentially explosive issue without trolls or bots. Session participants will be asked to share challenging issues in their own communities and how they can apply the best practices to their local context. (Governor’s Square 9 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data, Hot Topics)
Colleen Hardwick
Founder/CEO, PlaceSpeak Inc.
Mike Yoder
County Commissioner, Elkhart County, Indiana
Recently, Elkhart County, Indiana needed to hear from community members on a proposed rezoning to build an immigration detention center which would house up to 1,400 immigrants facing possible deportation. This case study will demonstrate how Elkhart County Commissioners used PlaceSpeak to engage with residents, and how they facilitated respectful online dialogue on this controversial and potentially explosive issue without trolls or bots. Session participants will be asked to share challenging issues in their own communities and how they can apply the best practices to their local context. (Governor’s Square 9 – Beginner – Civic Tech & Data, Hot Topics)
Colleen Hardwick
Founder/CEO, PlaceSpeak Inc.
Mike Yoder
County Commissioner, Elkhart County, Indiana
What Did We Just Talk About? How to Turn Deliberative Talk into Deliverable Data
Deliberative events bring community members together to address public problems, but what happens after the discussion is over? How do we turn participant input into useable information? During this session, we’ll brainstorm ways to build data collection into process design. We’ll think about the different information needs of various partners””community organizations, government officials, practitioners, and academics””and discuss how to generate data that captures the conversation, highlights citizen decisions, and evaluates the process without straining organizational resources. (Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Katie Knobloch
Assistant Professor and Associate Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Sara Drury
Director and Associate Professor, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Deliberative events bring community members together to address public problems, but what happens after the discussion is over? How do we turn participant input into useable information? During this session, we’ll brainstorm ways to build data collection into process design. We’ll think about the different information needs of various partners””community organizations, government officials, practitioners, and academics””and discuss how to generate data that captures the conversation, highlights citizen decisions, and evaluates the process without straining organizational resources. (Governor’s Square 10 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Katie Knobloch
Assistant Professor and Associate Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Sara Drury
Director and Associate Professor, Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse
Kalie McMonagle
Program Coordinator, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Libraries Transforming Communities: Working with Your Local Library to Bridge Divides
Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Models for Change (www.ala.org/ltc) was a two-year initiative of the American Library Association and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation that sought to strengthen communities by giving libraries the tools they need to bring disparate voices together and lead change. In this session, ALA and NCDD will share the experience of training librarians to lead dialogues in their communities, including opportunities and lessons learned from the project. Participants in this session will discuss ideas for continuing this work, collaborating with their local library and building a community of practice for facilitators and library practitioners. (Governor’s Square 11 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Mary Davis Fournier
Deputy Director, American Library Association, Public Programs Office
Courtney Breese
Managing Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Samantha Oakley
Program Officer, American Library Association, Public Programs Office
Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Models for Change (www.ala.org/ltc) was a two-year initiative of the American Library Association and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation that sought to strengthen communities by giving libraries the tools they need to bring disparate voices together and lead change. In this session, ALA and NCDD will share the experience of training librarians to lead dialogues in their communities, including opportunities and lessons learned from the project. Participants in this session will discuss ideas for continuing this work, collaborating with their local library and building a community of practice for facilitators and library practitioners. (Governor’s Square 11 – Intermediate – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Mary Davis Fournier
Deputy Director, American Library Association, Public Programs Office
Courtney Breese
Managing Director, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Samantha Oakley
Program Officer, American Library Association, Public Programs Office
Wakanda Forever: An Intergenerational Equity Framework
Everyday Democracy will share their intergenerational equity framework for community engagement. Using examples from the movie Black Panther, we will demonstrate our principles and vision for equity. Participants will learn how to use an intergenerational equity lens in their own community, and develop action plans to build bridges across age divides. Building intergenerational equity in to your work can lead to deeper dialogue and in turn more sustainable action and change. (Governor’s Square 12 – Intermediate – Social Justice)
Malana Rogers-Bursen
Program Associate, Everyday Democracy
Matthew Sagacity Walker
Community Assistance Associate, Everyday Democracy
Everyday Democracy will share their intergenerational equity framework for community engagement. Using examples from the movie Black Panther, we will demonstrate our principles and vision for equity. Participants will learn how to use an intergenerational equity lens in their own community, and develop action plans to build bridges across age divides. Building intergenerational equity in to your work can lead to deeper dialogue and in turn more sustainable action and change. (Governor’s Square 12 – Intermediate – Social Justice)
Malana Rogers-Bursen
Program Associate, Everyday Democracy
Matthew Sagacity Walker
Community Assistance Associate, Everyday Democracy
Virtual Exchange: Using Technology to Bridge the Divide
By reaching new populations and larger numbers, virtual exchanges connect individuals across geographic, cultural and political divides. Explore the possibilities of using virtual exchange to prepare, deepen and extend the physical exchanges you work within. Practice working with online tools to promote constructive online engagement and communication. Discuss the key differences, opportunities, and skills fundamental to facilitating online dialogues. (Governor’s Square 14- Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Gina Amatangelo
Lecturer, University of Texas at San Antonio
Julie Hawke
Senior Facilitation Officer, Sharing Perspectives Foundation
John Gable
Founder & CEO, Allsides
By reaching new populations and larger numbers, virtual exchanges connect individuals across geographic, cultural and political divides. Explore the possibilities of using virtual exchange to prepare, deepen and extend the physical exchanges you work within. Practice working with online tools to promote constructive online engagement and communication. Discuss the key differences, opportunities, and skills fundamental to facilitating online dialogues. (Governor’s Square 14- Beginner – Civic Tech & Data)
Gina Amatangelo
Lecturer, University of Texas at San Antonio
Julie Hawke
Senior Facilitation Officer, Sharing Perspectives Foundation
John Gable
Founder & CEO, Allsides
The Art of Civic Engagement
What happens when we use artist’s creativity to design engaging civic processes? Join us in this session to learn about an innovative case study about the world’s first civic health club, Warm Cookies of the Revolution. Warm Cookies engages community members in crucial civic issues by creating innovative and fun arts and cultural programs. One such program is The Machine Has a Soul, a project focused in two Denver neighborhoods that combines participatory budgeting with artworks and performances inspired by Rube Goldberg machines. We will discuss how arts affect the quality of participation. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Arts)
Amanda Hudson
Ph.D. Candidate, Portland State University
Evan Weissman
Executive Director, Warm Cookies of the Revolution
What happens when we use artist’s creativity to design engaging civic processes? Join us in this session to learn about an innovative case study about the world’s first civic health club, Warm Cookies of the Revolution. Warm Cookies engages community members in crucial civic issues by creating innovative and fun arts and cultural programs. One such program is The Machine Has a Soul, a project focused in two Denver neighborhoods that combines participatory budgeting with artworks and performances inspired by Rube Goldberg machines. We will discuss how arts affect the quality of participation. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Arts)
Amanda Hudson
Ph.D. Candidate, Portland State University
Evan Weissman
Executive Director, Warm Cookies of the Revolution
Negotiating the Creative Tension between Protest and Deliberation
Utilizing polarity management as a tool to spark productive conversation regarding key tensions, this session will work through the critical tension between social change tactics focuses on protest and those focused on dialogue and deliberation. Participants will work in small groups to complete worksheets mapping the polarity, considering their strengths and limitations, what situations each perspective is best suited or necessary, and how ideally the tension can be transcended to capture the best of both worlds. (Governor’s Square 16 – Intermediate – Hot Topics, Social Justice)
Martin Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Wendy Willis
Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Utilizing polarity management as a tool to spark productive conversation regarding key tensions, this session will work through the critical tension between social change tactics focuses on protest and those focused on dialogue and deliberation. Participants will work in small groups to complete worksheets mapping the polarity, considering their strengths and limitations, what situations each perspective is best suited or necessary, and how ideally the tension can be transcended to capture the best of both worlds. (Governor’s Square 16 – Intermediate – Hot Topics, Social Justice)
Martin Carcasson
Director, CSU Center for Public Deliberation
Board Chair, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Wendy Willis
Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium
Board Member, National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation
Building Bridges: A Community Collaboration for Culture Change
In November 2017, City of Boulder embarked on a two-year experiment working with the community to change the culture of local civic dialogue. In partnership with University of Colorado’s Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement, city staff engaged more than 400 community members in design-thinking workshops, online forums, and multi-generational programs to discover ideas that could lead to more productive communication. In this session, participants will experience elements of the workshop process first-hand as well as learning about the prototypes that were generated in Boulder. (Governor’s Square 17 – Beginner – Community & Government)
Brenda Ritenour
Neighborhood Liaison, City Manager’s Office, City of Boulder
Lydia Reinig
Graduate Research Fellow, Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement, University of Colorado Boulder
In November 2017, City of Boulder embarked on a two-year experiment working with the community to change the culture of local civic dialogue. In partnership with University of Colorado’s Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement, city staff engaged more than 400 community members in design-thinking workshops, online forums, and multi-generational programs to discover ideas that could lead to more productive communication. In this session, participants will experience elements of the workshop process first-hand as well as learning about the prototypes that were generated in Boulder. (Governor’s Square 17 – Beginner – Community & Government)
Brenda Ritenour
Neighborhood Liaison, City Manager’s Office, City of Boulder
Lydia Reinig
Graduate Research Fellow, Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement, University of Colorado Boulder
SUNDAY 11:00 – 12:30 PM
Facilitating Deliberation Online – Reflections and Advice on Tools and Practice
This session will bring together platform designers, consultants, and practitioners from the world of online deliberation for a survey of currently used tools and best practices. Panelists provide a range of experiences from research to nonprofit boards to citizen participation. We will provide a brief overview of research in online deliberation over the past 20 years, and discuss findings of the ParticipateDB 2018 Digital Engagement Census. Tool designers and online deliberation facilitators will share reflections and advice applied to different deliberative contexts. (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Todd Davies
Associate Director and Lecturer, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University
Tim Bonnemann
Interim Director, Center for Applied Community Engagement (CACE)
Deborah Rogers
President, Initiative for Equality
This session will bring together platform designers, consultants, and practitioners from the world of online deliberation for a survey of currently used tools and best practices. Panelists provide a range of experiences from research to nonprofit boards to citizen participation. We will provide a brief overview of research in online deliberation over the past 20 years, and discuss findings of the ParticipateDB 2018 Digital Engagement Census. Tool designers and online deliberation facilitators will share reflections and advice applied to different deliberative contexts. (Plaza Court 8 – Intermediate – Civic Tech & Data)
Todd Davies
Associate Director and Lecturer, Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford University
Tim Bonnemann
Interim Director, Center for Applied Community Engagement (CACE)
Deborah Rogers
President, Initiative for Equality
Talking Past Each Other from Different Ideologies – Analysis and Solutions
We don’t all communicate the same way. Language from critical race theory, anti-racist liberalism, religious tolerance, or traditional individualism can result in talking past each other until every word (even personal stories) feels antagonistic, especially if egos have been injured. Failure to bridge these assumptions about communication leads to extreme sadness, anger, and confusion. In this session, we apply an analysis tool we developed in research to conversations from real reconciliation dialogues in our work and then invite discussion about overcoming these difficulties in dialogues. (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Madeline Maxwell
Professor of Communication Studies & Director of the UT Project on Conflict Resolution, The University of Texas at Austin
JhuCin (Rita) Jhang
Ph.D. Candidate, Assistant Director of UT Global Ethics & Conflict Resolution Summer Symposium, The University of Texas at Austin
We don’t all communicate the same way. Language from critical race theory, anti-racist liberalism, religious tolerance, or traditional individualism can result in talking past each other until every word (even personal stories) feels antagonistic, especially if egos have been injured. Failure to bridge these assumptions about communication leads to extreme sadness, anger, and confusion. In this session, we apply an analysis tool we developed in research to conversations from real reconciliation dialogues in our work and then invite discussion about overcoming these difficulties in dialogues. (Governor’s Square 9 – Intermediate – Higher Ed)
Madeline Maxwell
Professor of Communication Studies & Director of the UT Project on Conflict Resolution, The University of Texas at Austin
JhuCin (Rita) Jhang
Ph.D. Candidate, Assistant Director of UT Global Ethics & Conflict Resolution Summer Symposium, The University of Texas at Austin
Restorative Circle Practice for Transforming Conflict
This workshop will be an interactive introduction to the Restorative Circle model. Circles have been used to navigate and transform conflict across time, culture, and place. The RC model is highly responsive and adaptable to meet the unique needs of diverse communities and individuals. We will work from an anti-oppression framework to practice some of the core components of a circle process. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Rachael K Sharp, MA
Director of Arts & Education, Creative Strategies for Change
Ceema Samimi, MSSW, MPA
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work
This workshop will be an interactive introduction to the Restorative Circle model. Circles have been used to navigate and transform conflict across time, culture, and place. The RC model is highly responsive and adaptable to meet the unique needs of diverse communities and individuals. We will work from an anti-oppression framework to practice some of the core components of a circle process. (Governor’s Square 10 – Beginner – Social Justice)
Rachael K Sharp, MA
Director of Arts & Education, Creative Strategies for Change
Ceema Samimi, MSSW, MPA
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work
Adding Youth Voices to Dialogue and Deliberation
Have you considered what youth perspectives can contribute to your dialogue and deliberative processes? This session will share some guiding principles for engaging youth and creating youth-led dialogue and deliberative processes. Two case studies will be explored that demonstrate the potential of youth stakeholder engagement when these principles are applied and the benefits of incorporating young people into all aspects of the process. Participants will have the ability to brainstorm strategies for including youth and developing more inclusive dialogue and deliberative processes. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Scott Castillo
Manager of Engaging Communities Initiatives, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center
Lemuel Mariano
Program Coordinator, Youth Leadership Institute
Have you considered what youth perspectives can contribute to your dialogue and deliberative processes? This session will share some guiding principles for engaging youth and creating youth-led dialogue and deliberative processes. Two case studies will be explored that demonstrate the potential of youth stakeholder engagement when these principles are applied and the benefits of incorporating young people into all aspects of the process. Participants will have the ability to brainstorm strategies for including youth and developing more inclusive dialogue and deliberative processes. (Governor’s Square 11 – Beginner – Youth & Students)
Scott Castillo
Manager of Engaging Communities Initiatives, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center
Lemuel Mariano
Program Coordinator, Youth Leadership Institute
Developing Materials, Identifying Challenges, and Embracing Opportunities for Dialogue and Deliberation in Rural America
This session will offer an exploration of an effort by the Interactivity Foundation to develop a discussion guide on the future of agriculture and rural communities regarding the effort to share strategies for organizing rural discussions and organizing discussions in urban communities on rural themes. This session will critically examine the so-called urban/rural divide. In addition to this particular resource, presenters will share stories of connecting into rural deliberative systems, highlighting challenges and opportunities for working in rural communities such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Linda Ellinor
Founder and Senior Consultant, Action Dialogue Group
Sarah Giles
Project Manager, Oregon’s Kitchen Table
National Policy Consensus Center, Portland State University
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Timothy Shaffer
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Kansas State University
David Supp-Montgomerie
Director and Lecturer, University of Iowa Program for Public Life
This session will offer an exploration of an effort by the Interactivity Foundation to develop a discussion guide on the future of agriculture and rural communities regarding the effort to share strategies for organizing rural discussions and organizing discussions in urban communities on rural themes. This session will critically examine the so-called urban/rural divide. In addition to this particular resource, presenters will share stories of connecting into rural deliberative systems, highlighting challenges and opportunities for working in rural communities such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona. (Governor’s Square 12 – Beginner – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Sara Drury
Director, Wabash College Democracy and Public Discourse
Linda Ellinor
Founder and Senior Consultant, Action Dialogue Group
Sarah Giles
Project Manager, Oregon’s Kitchen Table
National Policy Consensus Center, Portland State University
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
Fellow, Interactivity Foundation
Timothy Shaffer
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Kansas State University
David Supp-Montgomerie
Director and Lecturer, University of Iowa Program for Public Life
Elevating Voices and Building Bridges: Community Trust and Police Relations
It is important to build relationships between the community and police to improve public safety and increase community trust. We will present specific dialogue methods used to engage the community and police and that has created value and impact for multiple demographics affected by law enforcement in the Chicago and Denver regions. Our methods will also illustrate how to support and amplify community voices and ideas. (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Joe Hoereth, PhD
Director, Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, University of Illinois at Chicago
Gianina Irlando
Community Relations Ombudsman, Denver Office of the Independent Monitor
Paul Pazen
Chief of Police, Denver Police Department
Norma E. Ramos
Director of Engagement and Partnerships, Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, University of Illinois at Chicago
Bria Scudder
Senior Government and Community Liaison, Illinois Attorney General’s Office
It is important to build relationships between the community and police to improve public safety and increase community trust. We will present specific dialogue methods used to engage the community and police and that has created value and impact for multiple demographics affected by law enforcement in the Chicago and Denver regions. Our methods will also illustrate how to support and amplify community voices and ideas. (Governor’s Square 14 – Intermediate – Hot Topics, Community & Government)
Joe Hoereth, PhD
Director, Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, University of Illinois at Chicago
Gianina Irlando
Community Relations Ombudsman, Denver Office of the Independent Monitor
Paul Pazen
Chief of Police, Denver Police Department
Norma E. Ramos
Director of Engagement and Partnerships, Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, University of Illinois at Chicago
Bria Scudder
Senior Government and Community Liaison, Illinois Attorney General’s Office
A Road Map to Washington’s Future
Instead of establishing a typical “blue ribbon task force,” the Washington State Legislature asked the William D. Ruckelshaus Center to articulate a vision for a desired future, and identify needed additions, revisions or clarifications to the state’s growth management framework. The Center conducted 50+ dialogue workshops across the state, engaging local leaders and elected officials, and will present a final report in June 2019. This session will engage participants in an interactive conversation on tools, tips, and lessons learned conducting state-wide engagement processes. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Amanda Murphy
Senior Project Lead, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
Molly Stenovec
Project & Program Manager, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
Michael Kern
Director, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
Instead of establishing a typical “blue ribbon task force,” the Washington State Legislature asked the William D. Ruckelshaus Center to articulate a vision for a desired future, and identify needed additions, revisions or clarifications to the state’s growth management framework. The Center conducted 50+ dialogue workshops across the state, engaging local leaders and elected officials, and will present a final report in June 2019. This session will engage participants in an interactive conversation on tools, tips, and lessons learned conducting state-wide engagement processes. (Governor’s Square 15 – Intermediate – Community & Government)
Amanda Murphy
Senior Project Lead, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
Molly Stenovec
Project & Program Manager, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
Michael Kern
Director, William D. Ruckelshaus Center, University of Washington & Washington State University
The Community Collaboration Project: Igniting Positive Change at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Learn about how the Denver Museum of Nature & Science collaborated with community members to create a culturally-inclusive vision for the Museum’s future. Recognizing that communities of color are not always heard and their ways of knowing are not always taken into account in traditional museum planning and exhibitions, the Museum used an Appreciative Inquiry-based process to empower community members and Museum staff to re-imagine the museum together. In addition to creating a powerful future vision, the Community Collaboration Project built internal capacity for strength-based, inclusive planning that continues to transform the Museum in surprising and impactful ways. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Barbara Lewis
Co-Founder, Rocky Mountain Center for Positive Change
Principal, Catalyst Consulting
Carolyn Love, Ph.D.
Founder, Kebaya Coaching & Consulting
Andrea Girón Mathern
Director, Audience Research & Evaluation, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Learn about how the Denver Museum of Nature & Science collaborated with community members to create a culturally-inclusive vision for the Museum’s future. Recognizing that communities of color are not always heard and their ways of knowing are not always taken into account in traditional museum planning and exhibitions, the Museum used an Appreciative Inquiry-based process to empower community members and Museum staff to re-imagine the museum together. In addition to creating a powerful future vision, the Community Collaboration Project built internal capacity for strength-based, inclusive planning that continues to transform the Museum in surprising and impactful ways. (Governor’s Square 16 – Beginner – New Sectors & Partnerships)
Barbara Lewis
Co-Founder, Rocky Mountain Center for Positive Change
Principal, Catalyst Consulting
Carolyn Love, Ph.D.
Founder, Kebaya Coaching & Consulting
Andrea Girón Mathern
Director, Audience Research & Evaluation, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Addressing Coercive Power in Dialogue and Deliberation
Facilitators may encounter interactions that leave a dialogue participant feeling uncomfortable, silenced, or even feeling their identity is threatened. We call these interactions instances of coercive power. This workshop raises awareness about instances of coercive power in dialogue settings and provides a chance to workshop responses to two cases of coercive interactions. We conclude by sharing the facilitator’s actual responses and analyzing effects of their intervention. You will develop a nuanced understanding of coercive power and build a deeper repertoire of ways to respond. (Governor’s Square 17 – Advanced – Social Justice)
Roudy Hildreth
Associate Director, CU Engage: Center for Community Based Learning and Research, University of Colorado – Boulder
Karen Ramirez
Director, CU Dialogues, University of Colorado – Boulder
Pilar Protsko
Assistant Director for Coordination and Outreach, CU Dialogues, University of Colorado – Boulder
Jennifer Pacheco
Graduate Student, School of Education, University of Colorado – Boulder
Facilitators may encounter interactions that leave a dialogue participant feeling uncomfortable, silenced, or even feeling their identity is threatened. We call these interactions instances of coercive power. This workshop raises awareness about instances of coercive power in dialogue settings and provides a chance to workshop responses to two cases of coercive interactions. We conclude by sharing the facilitator’s actual responses and analyzing effects of their intervention. You will develop a nuanced understanding of coercive power and build a deeper repertoire of ways to respond. (Governor’s Square 17 – Advanced – Social Justice)
Roudy Hildreth
Associate Director, CU Engage: Center for Community Based Learning and Research, University of Colorado – Boulder
Karen Ramirez
Director, CU Dialogues, University of Colorado – Boulder
Pilar Protsko
Assistant Director for Coordination and Outreach, CU Dialogues, University of Colorado – Boulder
Jennifer Pacheco
Graduate Student, School of Education, University of Colorado – Boulder