National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation Thanks Lori Britt for Board Leadership and Welcomes Christian Ohonba, Logan Steppan, and Peter Schutz as incoming Interim Board Chairs

The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation announces the conclusion of Lori Britt's tenure as Board Chair and welcomes Christian Ohonba, Logan Steppan, and Peter Schutz as incoming Interim Board Chairs, marking a significant moment of leadership transition for the organization. Britt, Associate Professor and Director of the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue at James Madison University, brought deep scholarly and practitioner expertise to her board leadership, contributing to NCDD's credibility and capacity across her tenure. The three incoming chairs bring complementary strengths in systems-centered equity work, community and policy facilitation, and grassroots civic engagement — together reflecting the diversity of practice and perspective that NCDD's network represents. This transition reinforces NCDD's commitment to distributed, values-driven leadership in service of a stronger dialogue and deliberation field.

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The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation extends its deepest gratitude to Lori Britt for her dedicated service as Board Chair. Lori L. Britt, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue (ICAD) at James Madison University, brought both scholarly rigor and practitioner depth to her leadership of the NCDD Board. Through ICAD, Britt has trained students as public process facilitators, partnered with the Kettering Foundation on applied research in public deliberation, and developed pedagogical resources for dialogue with the Interactivity Foundation. A published scholar and Associate Editor for the Journal of Deliberative Democracy, she has embodied the integration of research and practice that defines NCDD's work at its best. Her contributions to the board have strengthened the organization's capacity, credibility, and connection to the broader field — and her continued presence in the dialogue and deliberation community remains a valuable resource for the entire network.

NCDD is pleased to announce that Christian Ohonba, Logan Steppan, and Peter Schutz have stepped into interim Board Chair roles, bringing a rich and complementary set of experiences to organizational leadership at a consequential moment for the field. Christian Ohonba is a PMP-certified project manager and macro-focused MSW candidate at the University of Houston whose work bridges technology, equity, and human-centered systems design across social impact and SaaS sectors — with a particular focus on expanding access to macro career pathways for social workers and building sustainable, people-centered structures. Logan Steppan is the founder and CEO of Creek Consulting, a master facilitator with roots in the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University whose practice has engaged government, community, and policy conversations at local, state, and national levels. Peter Schutz brings more than three decades of experience leading small discussion and study groups in New Jersey, grounded in a conviction that energized democracy can be built from the ground up through sustained civic conversation — alongside a professional background spanning engineering consulting, mediation, adjunct instruction, and expert witness work.

​This leadership transition reflects something central to NCDD's identity: that the dialogue and deliberation field is strengthened when leadership itself is diverse, distributed, and rooted in practice. Ohonba, Steppan, and Schutz each bring distinct vantage points — spanning systems design, community facilitation, and grassroots civic engagement — that together represent the breadth of the NCDD membership and the many forms that this work takes across communities and contexts. NCDD is grateful to all three for their willingness to serve and looks forward to the directions their collective leadership will open for the organization and the field. Members are encouraged to reach out, get involved, and continue building the network that makes this work possible. Learn more about NCDD's leadership and how to get involved at https://www.ncdd.org/board.html​