Kenny McGuane, Michael Steinback, and Timothy J. Shaffer Join National Issues Forums Institute Board of Directors

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) has elected three new members to its Board of Directors: digital strategist Kenny McGuane, Detroit CARES executive director Michael Steinback, and Timothy J. Shaffer, inaugural Stavros Niarchos Foundation Chair of Civil Discourse at the University of Delaware. Together they bring long-standing expertise in digital communications, community mentorship, and deliberative democracy scholarship to an organization built on helping communities talk, decide, and act together on shared challenges. Their appointments arrive as NIFI expands its K-12 resources and issue guides and launches its nationwide "What's Next, America?" initiative ahead of the country's 250th anniversary. The addition of a recognized deliberative democracy scholar alongside practitioners rooted in community organizing and digital outreach signals NIFI's intent to deepen both the rigor and reach of its public deliberation work. This leadership expansion reflects the broader dialogue and deliberation field's ongoing effort to connect scholarship, community practice, and public communication in service of a more participatory democracy.

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The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) has announced the election of three new members to its Board of Directors: Kenny McGuane, Michael Steinback, and Timothy J. Shaffer. The appointments bring decades of combined experience in digital communications, community organizing, and deliberative democracy scholarship to an organization dedicated to building a more participatory, deliberative democracy. Board Chair Hollie Cost described the incoming members as bringing genuine commitment and thoughtful leadership that will help NIFI deepen its impact and broaden its reach, a signal of the organization's intent to strengthen its work at a consequential moment for American civic life.

The significance of these appointments lies less in individual biography than in what the combination represents for the field. Timothy J. Shaffer, a nationally recognized scholar of civil discourse who directs the SNF Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware and co-directs the international Deliberative Pedagogy Lab, brings rigorous academic grounding in how deliberation transforms institutions and communities. Michael Steinback, executive director of Detroit CARES, contributes years of direct community organizing and mentorship experience, including deliberative dialogue work extending internationally to Nairobi, Kenya. Kenny McGuane, who spent 15 years supporting NIFI's digital communications alongside a long partnership with the Kettering Foundation, adds deep expertise in translating deliberative democracy's mission for broader public audiences. Together, this combination of scholarly rigor, grassroots community practice, and communications strategy reflects a model increasingly common across the dialogue and deliberation field, where lasting impact depends on connecting theory, practice, and public reach.

These board additions arrive as NIFI expands its K-12 resources, develops new issue guides, and launches "What's Next, America?", a nationwide initiative helping communities talk, decide, and act on pressing issues as the country approaches its 250th anniversary. For NCDD's network and the broader dialogue and deliberation field, this leadership expansion underscores a shared recognition that strengthening democratic participation requires sustained investment in both the scholarship and the practical infrastructure that makes public deliberation possible. Readers can learn more about NIFI's board and ongoing initiatives at https://nifi.org/national-issues-forums-institute-new-board-of-directors/.