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Meet the change leaders: Ken Powley

Ken Powley
Team Democracy

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Ken Powley and Chris Newlon founded Team Democracy in early 2021. Its signature initiative is the nonpartisan Safe and Fair Election Pledge. The pledge is designed to create an important piece of common ground where Americans — including their elected representatives — can join together from opposite sides of the aisle in committing themselves to protecting the most essential guardrails of American democracy: safe and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power.


One of Team Democracy’s newer projects is the RAFT for America Challenge. Outfitters across the country offered pairs of participants, no matter what their differences, the opportunity to demonstrate that there is much more that unites us than divides us, and that we always do better by pulling together than by pulling apart. RAFT for America participants were treated to a transformative personal adventure in one of the most exciting and pristine places on earth!

Powley retired from a 46-year career at the helm of his whitewater rafting company to found Team Democracy. Powley brings a love of entrepreneurship and team building to his work in the nonprofit world, where, as he says, “I’ve come to think of democracy as being mainly a verb.” He and his wife, Penny, are proud parents of three. Of their six grandchildren, three called Kyiv, Ukraine, home until they were evacuated in the face of the Russian invasion. T

Powley, who lives in Mountain Top, Pa., prefers smaller government, reasonably limited regulation and lower taxes.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Powley for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of his democracy reform work:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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Michael Chippendale: Realistic, Not Idealistic Government

Michael Chippendale, Minority Leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives

Credit: Hugo Balta

Michael Chippendale: Realistic, Not Idealistic Government

Michael Chippendale is a seasoned Republican legislator and the current Minority Leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Representing District 40—which includes Coventry, Foster, and Glocester—Chippendale has served in the General Assembly since 2010, steadily rising through the ranks of GOP leadership.

Chippendale was unanimously elected House Minority Leader in June 2022 and re-elected in December 2024. Prior to this, he served as Minority Whip from 2018 to 2022. His leadership style is marked by a focus on government efficiency, tax reform, and regulatory relief for small businesses.

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Where Is the Democratic Party’s Clarion Voice?

Democratic Donkey with megaphone

Where Is the Democratic Party’s Clarion Voice?

Editor's Notes: below is a new version of the article published earlier today (2:13 pm EST, 8/9/25)

The Democratic Party is in disarray, trying to determine how best to defeat Trump and the MAGA movement in the next midterm and presidential elections.

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Are Community Partnership Visas the Solution To Boost Local Economies in the United States?

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences gave a presentation on their findings on their idea for Community Partnership Visas to a crowd at the American Enterprise Institute on May 29, 2025.

Angeles Ponpa/Medill News Service

Are Community Partnership Visas the Solution To Boost Local Economies in the United States?

Immigration has taken center stage in political discourse across the United States for more than a decade. A politically divided two-party system continues to claim it holds the solution to a deeply complex system. Meanwhile, immigration raids have increased since President Donald Trump took office. Yet some believe the issue remains worth tackling because the country has not fully recognized the power of immigrant labor.

One group believes it has found a bipartisan solution by proposing the Community Partnership Visa. The place-based visa aims to boost local economic growth and allow counties across the country to benefit from immigration, if it proves successful.

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Changing Conversations Around Immigration

At FrameWorks, we consider it our personal and moral mission to support those working to build a more humane immigration system. While we certainly don’t have all the answers, we join in the shared outrage over current injustices and harms and want to offer support where we can.

One thing we know is that the language we use to demand that change affects how people think about immigration. And if we aren’t intentional, the language we use to highlight protections for immigrants can inadvertently lead people towards thinking about the need to protect “us” from immigrants.

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