Today, I want to share a series that the Hidden Brain podcast is doing, called Us 2.0.

The first episode in the series is “What We Have in Common” and explores why we feel the way we do about people with differing political views with psychologist Kurt Gray.

Episode 2 in the series is, “Win Hearts, then Minds.” Sociologist Robb Willer shares the common mistakes we make in trying to persuade others.

This week, the 3rd episode is “Living with Our Differences” and features psychologist Peter Coleman. Dr. Coleman studies conflict and how disagreements become intractable and what we can do about it.

As we are all painfully aware, we are living in a time when conversations with others can be HARD. Impossible even. Seems like the most innocent of conversations can turn political these days.

Are we all just primed to argue?

But I bet you also have experienced the power of a healing conversation. Maybe when you were in an argument with a loved one, but you stayed in the moment. You heard them and they heard you.

You are someone with a huge desire to make a difference and move your coalition to action. Effective meetings will get your community excited about being part of the change.

Here is one activity I often use when I facilitate a community meeting or training.

Focus groups and surveys are often the first thing people think of when they think about evaluation. I want to encourage you to get creative with youth engagement in your community work and evaluation. In this post, I share an alternative to traditional focus groups.

Since last year I failed miserably at my goal to transition to a 4-day work week, I decided to travel more in 2023 and take longer weekends more frequently. This past fall, I traveled to Shenandoah National Park. This is #10 out of 63 NPs for me.

Life teaches us so many lessons if we just open our hearts, minds, and spirit a bit.

I will take these 3 lessons with me as I continue to work in communities. Perhaps they will resonate with you as well.

Reflecting on AEA 2023 and our coalition workshop. No more death by powerpoint.

It’s our birthday!

Don’t try and “fix” a community. They have all the wisdom they need.

What a garden can teach a lesson about systems change.

How do you make connections in your community? Read on….

Dig deeper to get to root causes. Try the 5 Whys excercise.

Four tips for making your (coalition) garden grow.

Sometimes things don’t go as you planned. You loose an important partner, loose funding….you know. Life happens.

Conflict is part of being human. Learning how to manage it effectively is crucial for maintaining healthy relationships. Relationships between siblings, couples, friends, colleagues, or members of coalitions and nonprofit boards will all experience conflict.

What is evaluation? It really is pretty simple. Ask questions. Get answers. Act on those answers.

Logic Models, besides being the recipe behind the work you are trying to do, is your map. They have directionality explained through a series of If- Then statements.

How do you cultivate a culture of collaboration among your community coalition?

Is evaluation passe? Let’s talk about that.