Join Us for the NCDD Webinar on April 21st: Bridging and Advocating in Divided Times

Navigating the tension between dialogue and advocacy is more critical than ever in today’s polarized climate. Join us for the NCDD webinar, Bridging and Advocating in Divided Times: Navigating the Tension for Stronger Civic Practice, for an insightful webinar exploring how these approaches can work together to strengthen civic practice. Happening Monday, April 21, from 4 - 5:30 pm Eastern, 1 - 2:30 pm Pacific. 

​Dr. Martin Carcasson of the Center for Public Deliberation and long-standing NCDD member and former board chair, along with Julia Roig and Jarvis Williams of The Horizons Project, will guide participants through the lens of polarity management—a framework for balancing competing values to advance democratic change. Whether you're a facilitator, organizer, or civic leader, this session will offer practical tools to help you engage with care, clarity, and courage.​ Don’t miss this opportunity to gain fresh insights and practical tools--register now!

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​In today’s polarized climate, it can feel harder than ever to engage in meaningful dialogue and public engagement without being perceived as taking sides. This work is clearly needed, yet many of us are navigating the challenge of holding space for diverse perspectives while responding to calls for action and clarity of values. As we engage with social change issues, we often walk a delicate line between remaining trustworthy facilitators and acknowledging concerns about the direction of our shared civic life.

This webinar invites the NCDD community and our friends from across the civic landscape to explore these complexities through the lens of polarity management—a framework that helps navigate tensions when essential values and approaches seem in conflict.

Presenters Julia Roig and Jarvis Williams of The Horizons Project and Dr. Martin Carcasson of the Center for Public Deliberation will guide us in examining the relationship between dialogue and advocacy—not as opposing forces, but as complementary approaches that strengthen civic practice. Together, we’ll explore how dialogue and deliberation professionals can support changemakers without compromising their integrity, and how the energy of advocacy can, in turn, enrich the democratic potential of engagement work. Whether you're a facilitator, organizer, public servant, or community leader, this session will offer practical tools and fresh insights to help you navigate these complexities with care, clarity, and courage.

About the Presenters

Dr. Martin Carcasson

Martín Carcasson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Communication Studies department of Colorado State University, the founder and director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD), and faculty in CSU’s new Masters in Public Policy and Administration program. He also works closely with International City/County Managers Association (ICMA) and the National Civic League, running workshops on public engagement, and is currently serving as a faculty resource for the ICMA Leadership Institute on Race, Equity, and Inclusion. His research focuses on helping local communities address “wicked problems” more productively through improved public communication, community problem solving, and collaborative decision-making. The CPD is a practical, applied extension of his work, and functions as an impartial resource dedicated to enhancing local democracy in northern Colorado. Dr. Carcasson and the CPD staff train students to serve as impartial facilitators, who then work with local governments, school boards, and community organizations to design, facilitate, and report on innovative projects and events on key community issues.

Julia Roig

Julia has more than 30 years of experience working for democratic change and conflict transformation around the world, is best known for her ability to convene diverse coalitions and her facilitative leadership of global networks. An organizer at heart, in her role as Chief Network Weaver at The Horizons Project, Julia is committed to bridge-building across sectors, disciplines, and cultures.
Throughout her career she has been called upon to translate between theory and practice, while seeding new approaches, organizing principles, and mindset shifts for social change. After serving for almost 14 years as the President and CEO of PartnersGlobal, one of the preeminent international democracy and peacebuilding organizations, in 2022 Julia launched The Horizons Project to focus on the intersection of peacebuilding, social justice, and democracy in the United States.
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She is a renowned public speaker, facilitator, and trainer able to connect deeply with different constituencies within civil society, social movements, governments, and corporations. Julia is the main architect of ground-breaking new research and approaches for more effective Narratives for Peace, working with front-line peacebuilders, social scientists, filmmakers, advertising industry leaders, and other creatives to bring peacebuilding into the mainstream. She works with philanthropists, non-profits, and movement leaders to incorporate narrative competency as an essential tool for restoring societal relationships and democratic values.
Julia was licensed as an attorney in the state of Maryland and brings to Horizons her many years of diverse international experience and practical field work in more than 30 countries. Prior to joining PartnersGlobal, Julia spent two years as the Country Director for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative in Belgrade, Serbia. She is also a recognized expert in community justice and dispute resolution in Colombia having spent five years living and working from Bogota, promoting a national expansion of the Equity Conciliation and Justice Houses programs. 

She is currently the Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. She also serves on several Advisory Boards including: Nsquare, the Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program at Tufts University, and Scripps College Laspa Center for Women’s Leadership. Julia’s roots growing up in the Pacific Northwest are an important part of her identity, and you can always count on her to lead a group in song around the piano or a campfire. Her biggest passions include baking and decorating cookies for her loved ones, and amateur filmmaking to capture special gatherings of friends and family.

A frequent author and public speaker, you can watch Julia’s TedXTalk “We Are All Peacebuilders” here and you can read more about her approach to Narratives for Peace here.

Jarvis Williams

​Jarvis Williams has more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of religious, academic, policy, and non-profit institutions. As Director for Race and Democracy, Jarvis leads the development and implementation of a cross-cutting portfolio of work within the Horizons Project to embed a racial justice and equity lens into all areas of our ecosystem organizing. Jarvis provides both external and internal thought leadership on the inextricable linkages between racial justice and pro-democracy organizing as well as serves as a network weaver between leaders and organizations working on different aspects of this work. As an integral member of the team, Jarvis helps drive internal strategy and represents Horizons in the ecosystem.

Jarvis is an established leader within organizations and communities advocating for racial justice, equity, and accountability. He has served in several consequential positions all designed to strategically advance racial justice and equity within US democracy. Prior to joining The Horizons Project, Jarvis worked as a Senior Pastor, public issue campaign strategist, adjunct professor, racial equity and accountability strategist, policy analyst, research director, and policy consultant. In every role, Jarvis has been consequential in the organization’s strategic planning, prioritization, and execution of racial justice and equity agendas.

He has been invited to speak around the country on strategies for advancing racial justice and enriching our democratic culture in academic institutions, religious institutions, Fortune 500 corporations, and with policymakers at the state and local level. Jarvis has also published articles, developed data training and workshops, supported research analyses grounded in racial equity considerations, and mentored emerging voices working to embed racial justice and equity into their respective areas of expertise. He was awarded a racial equity fellowship at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management and is currently working to support and create content for their Racial Justice and Technology Policy program. He is also a racial equity consultant with Enterprising Ventures of Color. Jarvis holds a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies from Mississippi State University, a Master of Divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center, a Master of Social Policy degree from Brandeis University, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Social Policy at Brandeis University in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.