Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
Congress Bill Spotlight: constitutional amendment letting Trump be elected to a third term

Congress Bill Spotlight: constitutional amendment letting Trump be elected to a third term

Musk budget cuts will leave millions uninsured

Musk budget cuts will leave millions uninsured

Will Trump’s immigration crackdown be good or bad for the economy?

Will Trump’s immigration crackdown be good or bad for the economy?

Support for Mass Deportation Drops Well Below Half as People Consider Other Options

Support for Mass Deportation Drops Well Below Half as People Consider Other Options

Will Trump and Musk ultimately clash?

Will Trump and Musk ultimately clash?

Five Significant Changes to Immigration Policies Under Trump (so far)

Five Significant Changes to Immigration Policies Under Trump (so far)

Meet the change leaders: Steven Olikara, storyteller

Steven Olikara
Courtesy Future Caucus
David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsFeb 19, 2024
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as co-publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
See More Writings by author

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

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Steven Olikara on Jan. 18 for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series.

Olikara is a nationally recognized change-maker, entrepreneur, political commentator and executive. He serves as president of Bridge Entertainment Labs, dedicated to activating entertainment media to elevate new stories of “us.” He also founded Millennial Action Project (now the Future Caucus), the largest nonpartisan organization of young elected leaders in the United States. Olikara’s commentary has been featured in numerous national media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, NBC, The Washington Post and USA Today. He recently made history as the first South Asian candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin.

His journey is featured in the documentary “The Reunited States,” available on Amazon Prime and PBS. Olikara also hosted the podcast series “Meeting in Middle America,” which featured guests such as Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley, former Sen. Russ Feingold and Emmy-winning comedian Charlie Berens. He is a frequent speaker on civic leadership at venues such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard’s Institute of Politics, SXSW, the National Press Club, the White House, the United Nations and more. In 2018, he was invited to testify before Congress on issues facing millennial entrepreneurs and gig economy workers. An avid musician, Olikara is a former radio DJ in his hometown of Milwaukee and co-author of the book “JFK: The Last Speech,” on the role of artists in democracy.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Previously, Olikara advised two multiplatinum recording artists on youth empowerment and sustainable energy initiatives, including Akon Lighting Africa, which electrified over 1 million homes in Africa with solar power. He serves on numerous boards focused on causes close to his heart: human rights, democracy, national service and the performing arts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Truman scholar. Olikara was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017 and a global shaper by the World Economic Forum.

Watch the interview to learn the full extent of Olikara’s remarkable work and perhaps you’ll become more civically engaged as well.

Steven Olikara: president of Bridge Entertainment Labsyoutu.be

Latest news

Loyalty, Democracy, and the Future of American Politics
Ethics & Leadership

Loyalty, Democracy, and the Future of American Politics

African American Literature Matters
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

African American Literature Matters

Natural Disasters Reveal the Truth About Our Shared Humanity
Bridging & Common Ground

Natural Disasters Reveal the Truth About Our Shared Humanity

Just the Facts: Trade Deficits
Governance & Legislation

Just the Facts: Trade Deficits

Read More

Trump’s Executive Orders: Bold Governance or Dangerous Precedent?

President Donald Trump signs two executive orders and speaks to the press in the Oval Office of the White House on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images / The Washington Post

Trump’s Executive Orders: Bold Governance or Dangerous Precedent?

No sooner did President Donald Trump resume his occupancy of the White House than he signed more than 200 executive orders in rapid succession. These directives radically shifted federal policies on issues ranging from immigration enforcement to energy production. While their full impact remains to be seen, many of these will face inevitable legal challenges, leading to prolonged court battles that will likely shape their outcomes and determine their long-term viability.

Executive orders instruct federal agencies on how to act or refrain from acting in specific ways. They do not grant new powers to the president—only Congress can do that—but instead rely on authority already granted by the Constitution or Congress. Importantly, these orders apply only to federal agencies and employees, meaning they do not directly govern private citizens or state governments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two Minutes . . . For This and Future Generations

Sunset over cracked soil in the desert. Global warming concept

Getty Images//Anton Petrus

Two Minutes . . . For This and Future Generations

I want to offer you a different lens through which to better understand the climatological and environmental crises that we—indeed all of humanity—are facing. I would like you to view these crises through the long lens of our planet’s geologic and evolutionary history.

From the beginning of our planet’s formation, some 4.6 billion years ago, to the present there have been five major extinction events which destroyed anywhere from70% (during the Devonian Period) to 95% (at the end of the Permian Period) of all living things on earth. These extinctions were natural events: caused by some combination of rapid and dramatic changes in climate, combined with significant changes in the composition of environments on land or in the ocean brought on by plate tectonics, volcanic activity, climate change (including the super cooling or super heating of earth), decreases in oxygen levels in the deep ocean, changes in atmospheric chemistry (acid rain), changes in oceanic chemistry and circulation, and in at least one instance, a cosmological event—the massive asteroid strike inChicxulub, near what is now the Yucatan peninsula.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Power of Outrage and Keeping Everyone Guessing

Question marks on a stack of small blocks.

Getty Images / Sakchai Vongsasiripat

The Power of Outrage and Keeping Everyone Guessing

Donald Trump loves to keep us guessing. This is exactly what we’re all doing as his second term in the White House begins. It’s one way he controls the narrative.

Trump’s off the cuff, unfiltered, controversial statements infuriate opponents and delight his supporters. The rest of us are left trying to figure out the difference between the shenanigans and when he’s actually serious.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trump’s executive orders can make change – but are limited and can be undone by the courts

The inauguration of Donald Trump.

Getty Images / The Washington Post

Trump’s executive orders can make change – but are limited and can be undone by the courts

Before his inauguration, Donald Trump promised to issue a total of 100 or so executive orders once he regained the presidency. These orders reset government policy on everything from immigration enforcement to diversity initiatives to environmental regulation. They also aim to undo much of Joe Biden’s presidential legacy.

Trump is not the first U.S. president to issue an executive order, and he certainly won’t be the last. My own research shows executive orders have been a mainstay in American politics – with limitations.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025