At just 17 years of age, Sophie Kim was motivated to start her organization, Bipartisan Bridges, to bring together people from both ends of the political spectrum. What started as just an idea during her freshman year of high school took off after Sophie placed in the Civics Unplugged pitch contest, hosted for alumni in Spring 2024. Since then, Sophie has continued to expand Bipartisan Bridges' impact, creating spaces that foster civil dialogue and facilitate meaningful connections across party lines.
Sophie, a graduate of the Spring 2024 Civic Innovators Fellowship and the Summer 2025 Civic Innovation Academy at UCLA, serves as the founder and executive director of Bipartisan Bridges. In this role, Sophie has forged a partnership with the organization Braver Angels to host depolarization workshops and has led the coordination and capture of conversations on climate change, abortion, gun control, foreign aid, and the 100 Men vs. a Gorilla debate. In addition, this year, Sophie planned and oversaw Bipartisan Bridges’ flagship Politics and Polarization Fellowship, an eight-week, in-person program involving youth from Tustin, Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Huntington Beach, California. A recent Bipartisan Bridges session featuring youth from both Los Angeles and Orange County will be featured in Bridging the Gap, an upcoming documentary.
The Case for Compromise and Connection
When asked what motivated her to start Bipartisan Bridges, Sophie shared that she believes bridging the bipartisan divide is not just necessary for strengthening our communities and relationships with one another, but also so that compromise can be reached to solve some of the most pressing problems in the United States today.
“In the face of the climate emergency, homelessness epidemic, opioid crisis, and so many other critically urgent issues facing our nation, the lack of Congress's ability to come together, collaborate effectively, and make needed compromises to reach agreement on legislation to address these issues means that critical problems continue to worsen while the American people suffer the consequences of government inaction,” Sophie said.
“It’s hard to pinpoint who exactly is the most affected by this issue, but what’s clear is that every American citizen is being affected by a dysfunctional government lacking legislative collaboration.”
Sophie also shared that there is something more personal behind her decision to start Bipartisan Bridges.
“I was inspired to start the organization after I met and became lifelong friends with the founder and president of my high school's Turning Point USA chapter,” Sophie said.
“Before we met, I'd heard soundbites and snippets of who he was, and all I knew was that almost everything he stood for was diametrically opposed to my own beliefs. Before we happened to end up in a class together, I made so many assumptions about him, all of which turned out to be false.”
Sophie says that she now considers this peer a friend, and that they’re one of the “most genuine human beings” she knows.
Navigating What’s Next
Sophie and the Bipartisan Bridges team recently wrapped up their first cohort and are now entering a phase to assess the program's impact and determine programmatic adjustments to continue improving. Sophie shared that a possible direction could include transitioning to a 1-1 format,
but continuing to host civil discussions focused on nationwide issues. The group also plans to become more involved in advocating for systemic change, such as ranked-choice voting.
This is the first in an ongoing monthly series highlighting the inspiring work of high school-aged civic innovators. Through the mentorship and guidance provided by Civics Unplugged, young people are provided the skills, mentorship, and community needed to create impactful solutions to the problems that matter most. Since Civic Unplugged’s founding in 2020, they have graduated more than 5,000 Fellows worldwide from our tuition-free programs and provided $1.5 million in direct funding to Fellows’ initiatives. To learn more, please visit civicsunplugged.org.
David Nevins is the publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
