This Is Civity

In this episode, we speak with David Eisner, CEO of the nonprofit bridging organization Convergence [https://convergencepolicy.org/] , about the increasing role of bridging organizations in cultivating relationships across difference, and working to preserve and nurture healthy civic spaces. Convergence convenes people and groups with divergent views to build trust, identify solutions, and form alliances for action on critical national issues.

In this episode, we talk with Josh Schachter - Founder & director of Community Share, a nonprofit that connects community resources, artists, organizations, and people to teachers, students, and schools. The goal is to share wisdom and knowledge across these connections… and create real-world learning experiences for young people. To find out more … or get involved… go to CommunityShare.us [https://www.communityshare.us/].

Welcoming Week is an annual event put on by the organization Welcoming America to support communities seeking to increase belonging among all members of their communities, including immigrants. The theme for 2021event is “Belonging Begins With Us” - reminding all of us that we can do our part to help others feel welcomed. My guests are: Jordyne Krumroy, Senior Regional Manager for Welcoming America -AND- Anthony Salas, Senior Manager of Events & Membership for Welcoming America Welcoming Week 2021 takes place fromSeptember 10-19. Find out more at https://welcomingamerica.org/WelcomingAmerica.org [https://welcomingamerica.org/] or BelongingBeginsWithUs.org [https://belongingbeginswithus.org/]

In this episode, we explore the importance of bridging and relational infrastructure to achieving healthy communities. Our guest is Nang Mo Kham, Eisenhower Fellow & senior health specialist at the World Bank. Based in Myanmar. Nang sees herself as someone who can help establish a system that knits together local services, including education, public health, and others, to improve access for everyone, no matter their social status, background, or ethnicity… and thus improve the overall health of her community. Nang’s work aligns with the civity principles of building relational infrastructure to bridge difference and move from us-vs-them to ‘we all belong.’ We are also joined in this episode by our Civity intern, Maya Fiorella.

In this episode, we explore the role of the public health department, and how civity practices can help local public health officials navigate differences and help residents feel heard and seen. The public health department is involved in anything that can impact the health of populations – from obvious activities, such as educating the public about COVID-19, to activities that may not be immediately clear, such as being involved in transit planning or declaring racism a public health crisis. To be effective and really reach the publics that they serve, public health departments must figure out how to communicate with those who may disagree with government officials and each other. My guest is Andy Wessel, community health planner with the Douglas County Health Department in Omaha, Nebraska.