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The People's Virginia leaders, Cindi Copeland (left) and Kim Collins (right), join Katie Fahey at the First National Assembly of The People.
The Fahey Q&A: How Cindi Copeland is searching for political humanity in Virginia
Having organized last year's grassroots movement ending Michigan's politicized gerrymandering, Fahey is now executive director of The People, which is forming statewide networks to promote government accountability. She interviews a colleague in the world of democracy reform each month for our Opinion section.
Cindi Z.S. Copeland has gone from someone who never voted to someone who spends her free time meeting in libraries, coffee shops and at dinner tables to unite Virginians of all political stripes around improving civic life.
Her life is inspiring and resonates with me on many levels. Neither of us share the same beliefs as some family members, both of us have lost relationships because of such differences and each have stayed involved in politics because we think all people have the right to make their voices heard. We find inspiration from connecting with people from different backgrounds, because you never know if your next conversation is going to transform your life.
Our recent phone conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
"The challenge is to define an elevated vision and purpose that everyone can rally around, setting personal agendas aside," says Kristin Hansen, executive director of the Civic Health Project.
Meet the reformer: Kristin Hansen, moving from Silicon Valley to civic ed
After earning a bachelor's and two master's degrees from Stanford, Kristin Hansen spent nearly two decades at Silicon Valley software startups and in executive roles at both IBM and Intel. While teaching at Stanford's business school, she gave up the corporate life last year to become the founding executive director of the Civic Health Project. Her answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
What's the tweet-length description of your organization?
We aim to reduce polarization and create healthier civic discourse in our citizenry, politics and media. We partner with academics and practitioners to design and execute projects that deliver improvements in rationality, empathy and decision outcomes for a healthier democracy.
Describe your very first civic engagement.
As a high school senior, I represented my local Rotary chapter at California Girls' State. After serving as the Whig Party leader there I was elected as one of two senators to represent California at Girls Nation in Washington. These back-to-back, immersive experiences of civic learning set me on a lifelong path of political study, inquiry and action.
"A few years ago, as I was watching our societal divisions widen, I explored the idea of having Sheriff Andy meet Captain Picard of Star Trek: the Next Generation," writes Debilyn Molineaux.
In our reruns, an amalgam of a more civil society
Molineaux is the co-founder and executive director of Bridge Alliance, a coalition of more than 90 civic reform groups. (Disclosure: The Bridge Alliance Education Fund is a funder of The Fulcrum.)
I grew up watching reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show" in the late 1970s. It always felt to me a little nostalgic for its lessons that simple living was best. I enjoyed the show and still appreciate the values the show exemplifies.
A few years ago, as I was watching our societal divisions widen, I explored the idea of having Sheriff Andy meet Captain Picard of "Star Trek: the Next Generation." I researched and talked with people about how to help these two fictional characters meet and converse. Eventually I abandoned the idea as a fun thought experiment without a conclusion.
Maybe I was pursuing the wrong goal — and seeking something else could help improve our civil discourse.
The And Campaign's Justin Giboney, at a Georgetown University forum in October on the intersection of faith, race and politics in the coming campaign.
Meet the reformer: Justin Giboney, who wants to put more Gospel into politics
In the 13 years since earning his law degree at Vanderbilt, where he played football as an undergraduate, Justin Giboney has been an attorney and political strategist in Atlanta. Two years ago he founded the And Campaign, which uses the logo (&) and describes itself as a coalition of urban Christians seeking to infuse American political culture with the Gospel. His answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
What's the tweet-length description of your organization?
A Christian civic organization that helps believers engage politics more faithfully through a framework that emphasizes the compassion and conviction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Describe your very first civic engagement.
My father took me up to the Colorado state Capitol to watch the legislative process.
