• Home
  • Independent Voter News
  • Quizzes
  • Election Dissection
  • Sections
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us
  • Glossary
  • Opinion
  • Campaign Finance
  • Redistricting
  • Civic Ed
  • Voting
  • Fact Check
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up

Mark Gerzon

Mark Gerzon is president of Mediators Foundation, a nonprofit incubator for projects that bridge social and political divides. He is also co-director with Chris Gates of "Philanthropy Bridging Divides," a project which fosters cross-partisan dialogue among foundation executives. Through his activism and his writing over the past quarter century, Mark has focused on the growing political polarization. In his writing, he addressed it first through A House Divided (1996); then in Leading Through Conflict (2006); and more recently in The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide (2016), which inspired the documentary The Reunited States (available on Amazon Prime.) From his early work designing and facilitating the Congressional Bipartisan Retreats to his current bridging work in philanthropy and media, he has been a dedicated activist in the movement for a diverse, inclusive, respectful civic culture and transpartisan politics.
    FollowUnfollowFollowing
    Leadership

    Building bridges isn't just 'right' — it's practical

    Chris Gates
    Mark Gerzon
    December 13, 2021
    bridging the partisan divide
    timsa/Getty Images

    Gates and Gerzon are co-directors of Philanthropy Bridging Divides, a transpartisan conversation among America's philanthropic leaders.

    After examining “anti-bridgers” and “faux bridging” in our previous two columns, it is clear that genuinely "bridging divides" is challenging, rare and difficult. It is hard work, requires skillful facilitation, an open mind and ongoing care. It means that one has to be open to listening to other perspectives and learning from those with other points of view. It means making oneself vulnerable, recognizing that even our strongest-held beliefs might need to be reexamined.

    Earlier in our careers we were both warriors, sure of our points of view and eager to beat down the other side. But it has become clear to both of us that the victories earned via battle are truly pyrrhic. Little or no real progress endures. Our side wins today; their side wins tomorrow; and the country careens from left to right, slowly but surely losing its way.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    bridge building

    Join an Upcoming Event

    View All Events
    Leveraging big ideas

    The problem with 'false bridging'

    Chris Gates
    Mark Gerzon
    November 03, 2021
    broken bridge
    ZargonDesign/Getty Images

    Gates and Gerzon are co-directors of Philanthropy Bridging Divides, a transpartisan conversation among America's philanthropic leaders.

    Keep ReadingShow less
    bridge building
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Follow
    Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
    Follow
    Contributors

    Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

    Paige Chan

    Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

    David Thornburgh
    John Opdycke

    The U.S. has been seeking the center since the days of Teddy Roosevelt

    Dave Anderson

    Imperfection and perseverance

    Jeff Clements

    We’ve expanded the Supreme Court before. It’s time to do so again.

    Anushka Sarkar

    The ‘great replacement theory’ is nonsense

    Debilyn Molineaux
    latest News

    Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

    David Meyers
    12h

    Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

    Our Staff
    17h

    Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

    David Meyers
    24 May

    Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

    Our Staff
    24 May

    The state of voting: May 23, 2022

    Our Staff
    23 May

    Trump looms large over Tuesday’s primaries

    Richard Perrins
    23 May
    Videos

    Video: Helping loved ones divided by politics

    Our Staff

    Video: What happened in Virginia?

    Our Staff

    Video: Infrastructure past, present, and future

    Our Staff

    Video: Beyond the headlines SCOTUS 2021 - 2022

    Our Staff

    Video: Should we even have a debt limit

    Our Staff

    Video: #ListenFirstFriday Yap Politics

    Our Staff
    Podcasts

    Podcast: Did economists move the Democrats to the right?

    Our Staff
    02 May

    Podcast: The future of depolarization

    Our Staff
    11 February

    Podcast: Sore losers are bad for democracy

    Our Staff
    20 January

    Deconstructed Podcast from IVN

    Our Staff
    08 November 2021
    Recommended
    Shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas

    Americans want action on gun control, but the Senate can’t move forward

    Congress
    Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

    Podcast: Why conspiracy theories thrive in both democracies and autocracies

    Big Picture
    First-ever majority-female New York city council

    Are large donor networks still needed to win in a fairer election system?

    Campaign Finance
    Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

    Independent voters want to be heard. Is anybody listening?

    Voting
    Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg

    Nearly 20 states have restricted private funding of elections

    State
    Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

    Video: Will Trump run in 2024?

    Elections