Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Full frame shot of pins that say “vote” with red, white, and blue American flag theme.

Spirit of 1776 – Rejected by Project 2025, Embraced by NPVIC

Eisenhower’s D‑Day Leadership Shows What America Has Lost

Eisenhower’s D‑Day Leadership Shows What America Has Lost

Rioters breach Capitol security Jan. 6

Trump’s 1776 Slush Fund Shows a New Level of Executive Abuse

Young group of people standing in circle using mobile phones outside. Unrecognizable teen friends watching social media content on smartphone app. Technology lifestyle concept.

Teens Are Confiding in AI. Instead, They Should Help Shape It.

Fulcrum Democracy Forum: Maxine Rich

Opinion

Fulcrum Democracy Forum: Maxine Rich

Maxine Rich, Program Manager with Common Ground USA at Search for Common Ground

Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaFeb 16, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

Maxine Rich is the Program Manager with Common Ground USA at Search for Common Ground.

Rich applies proven methods from international peacebuilding to shore up social cohesion in the United States. She oversees efforts to reduce online polarization and build grassroots resilience to extremism.

I spoke with Maxine on a recent episode of Fulcrum Democracy Forum (FDF). The program engages citizens in evolving government to better meet all people's needs. Consistent with the Fulcrum's mission, FDF strives to share many perspectives to widen our readers' viewpoints.


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Maxine and I know each other through Common Ground: Journalism, an initiative where students explore strategies and challenges to reporting on-campus conflicts. I am an instructor.

Previously, Maxine led the design of global programs on religious freedom and women's empowerment, researched violent extremism in Morocco, and strengthened peacebuilding partnerships with the US Government, UN, and peer organizations.

She has also served as the Maryland Director of Urban Rural Action and as a dialogue facilitator with Soliya and First Year Connect, a virtual exchange program supporting college students to understand and communicate across differences.

Here are other Change Leaders who I had the opportunity to interview as part of the Fulcrum Democracy Forum series:

    I am the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. I am also the publisher of the Latino News Network and an accredited solutions journalism trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.


    Latest news

    Youth Are More Stressed Than Ever: “Well-Being Infrastructure” Can Help
    Health

    Youth Are More Stressed Than Ever: “Well-Being Infrastructure” Can Help

    The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule
    Electoral Reforms

    The American Experiment at the Brink Due To Minority Rule

    Read More

    Rear view of teenage boy walking with arm around friends

    Why many young men feel politically and socially adrift, how changing gender roles affect masculinity, self-esteem, relationships, and the future of society.

    Maskot / Getty Images

    Lost Boys - What Is the Role of a Man in Today's Society?

    A recent New York Times article stated that young males who provided an important swing vote for Trump in 2024 are discouraged by what Trump has done and not done while in office. But they are nevertheless not particularly inclined to vote Democratic because they don't see the Party as welcoming their view of masculinity and they don't know where they fit in this society.

    These young men assume that because the Party supports equality for women in the workplace and because many young women no longer have marriage and having children at the top of their agenda, the Party would not be a welcoming home for them. They see themselves as striving for the masculinity of their fathers' or grandfathers' day, where the man was the breadwinner in the family and had respect and authority. Not the weaker half in relationships with women.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    Showing Up and Staying: Disaster Relief in an Age of Distrust

    NECHAMA volunteers in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

    Showing Up and Staying: Disaster Relief in an Age of Distrust

    As the Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, disaster response organizations across the country are preparing for the next storm. That preparation includes coordinating logistics, purchasing supplies, training volunteers, and strengthening partnerships. It now also requires planning for an environment shaped by misinformation, distrust, and competing narratives.

    A recent 60 Minutes segment examining extremist groups in disaster zones highlighted how quickly public perceptions can form after a disaster. Recovery efforts are now followed by outside groups and online networks attempting to influence how events are understood while communities are still in crisis.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    The USMNT’s World Cup Win Is a Reminder of the America We Still Can Be

    Folarin Balogun #20 of the United States celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Chris Richards #3 during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

    (Photo by John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)

    The USMNT’s World Cup Win Is a Reminder of the America We Still Can Be

    LOS ANGELES, CA — The United States Men’s National Team opened its 2026 World Cup campaign with a commanding 4–1 victory over Paraguay, a performance that electrified fans across the country and reminded us — if only for a night — of the power of coming together. Folarin Balogun, and Gio Reyna delivered the goals, but the real story was the team itself: a roster whose roots stretch across Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The USMNT is more than a soccer team. It is a living portrait of the multicultural nation we are, and the nation we still aspire to be.

    That matters now more than ever. We are living through one of the most politically polarized moments in modern American history. The Trump administration has been widely criticized by civil rights groups and international organizations for policies that restrict entry into the United States for certain foreign nationals — policies that have even affected fans and FIFA referees attempting to enter the country for the World Cup. When a global celebration of unity is taking place on our soil, it is painful to see barriers erected that keep some of the world’s people out.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    8 Keys to Working Across Differences

    Around 600 leaders from across the country gathered in Seattle for the Building Together 2026 conference.

    8 Keys to Working Across Differences

    Recently, close to 600 leaders from across the country — representing some of the nation’s largest grant makers, community foundations, and grassroots groups — gathered in Seattle. They joined forces to strategize on how to do the difficult work of bringing Americans together in an era of intense polarization that threatens to pull us apart.

    The charitable sector has always played this role in American life, fueled by the belief that the country’s diversity of identities, priorities, and worldviews is a resource, not an obstacle. It mobilizes people from all walks of life when floods, wildfires, and other crises strike. It builds powerful coalitions for the common good, whether for a local park, job creation, or new affordable housing. And it connects people across seemingly insurmountable divides born of our differences in politics, class, race, faith, and more.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    © Copyright 2026