Bridging Differences

In a time of growing polarization and social fragmentation, how can we stay connected across our differences? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Joan Blades, founder of Living Room Conversations, as we explore what it takes to build relationships across divides and strengthen the fabric of our communities.

Free

This session marks the launch of Connectors: The Essential Toolkit, a brand new series offered exclusively as part of our brand new Connectors Program. These expert-led talks are designed to give you practical tools to bring compassion deeper into your own life and the lives of those around you.

Together, we’ll explore questions such as:

• What allows people who see the world differently to stay connected?
• How do we cultivate a sense of belonging without demanding conformity?
• What internal capacities help us navigate tension and conflict constructively?
• How can ordinary people actively help heal social fragmentation?

What to expect: The event will feature a one-hour moderated conversation followed by a 30-minute live Q&A, giving you the opportunity to engage directly with Joan.

Whether you’re deeply involved in community-building or simply looking for ways to navigate daily differences with greater curiosity and compassion, we hope you’ll join us.

Meet Our Speaker

Joan Blades is a co-founder of LivingRoomConversations.org, an open-source effort to rebuild respectful civil discourse across ideological, cultural, and party lines while embracing core-shared values. She is also a co-founder of MomsRising.org and MoveOn.org, and co-author of The Custom-Fit Workplace (2011 Nautilus Book Award winner) and The Motherhood Manifesto (2007 Ernesta Drinker Ballard Book Prize winner). Previously, she was a software entrepreneur and co-founder of Berkeley Systems, known for the Flying Toaster and the game “You Don’t Know Jack.” A mediator and attorney by training, she is a nature lover, artist, and advocate for rebuilding respectful civil discourse.