Announcements
Have an announcement relevant to field leaders you'd like to share with the field?
Email the Office of Field Operations to submit your announcement.
May 2024
AMAZING 12-minute news story of Idaho Braver Angels
Idaho Braver Angels got some phenomenal news coverage during a recent Red/Blue Workshop.
Check out the news story on YouTube:
March 2024
EVENTBRITE CHANGE
Due to a dramatic increase in spam registrations to our events using Eventbrite, we have CHANGED the protocol of event registration.
All events using publicly-visible Eventbrite links will use a promo code to minimize spam. If the participant finds the event via our webpage, the promo code will be hidden in the link to the specific event.
THERE SHOULD BE NO VISIBLE CHANGE IN REGISTRATION to the 95% of users who find events via our website. For the 5% who find us via generic eventbrite search, there will be the requirement to use a promo code to register for free.
The document here and video here explains the rationale for the change and what was done in more detail. The video is a segment of the Support Team meeting (the national leadership team) on 4Mar24.
Organizers will be informed and trained in more depth in the near future.
December 2023
New Alliance: Southeast Idaho Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Idaho. Welcome to Kathie Affa (R) and Blake Isaacs (B), co-chairs of the new Southeast Idaho Alliance.
New Alliance: Monterey Bay Area Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in California. Welcome to Mike Gibbs (R) and Deanna Ross (B), co-chairs of the new Monterey Bay Area Alliance.
New Alliance: Braver Angels Alliance of the Sandhills
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in North Carolina. Welcome to Josh Lowery (R) and Lisa Wells (B), co-chairs of the new Braver Angels Alliance of the Sandhills.
New Alliance: Chicagoland Braver Angels Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Chicago, Illinois. Welcome to Brian Padden (R) and Svetlana Bekman (B), co-chairs of the new Chicagoland Braver Angels Alliance.
New Alliance: Tupelo Braver Angels Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Tupelo, Mississippi. Welcome to Buddy Stubbs (R) and Richard Babb (B), co-chairs of the new Tupelo Braver Angels Alliance.
November 2023
Gift donations to Braver Angels
The Support Us page has been updated to allow people to donate as a gift or in honor of someone. Now you can make birthday gifts, holiday gifts, memorial gifts, or any other donation gifts in honor of somebody else. This has been requested for a while and our amazing Tech Team put it together in time for holiday season!
September 2023
Divvy is now known as BILL Spend & Expense!
We wanted to share this announcement that Divvy has changed it's name to BILL Spend & Expense. You will need to update the Divvy app on your phone to see this change. Also, when logging in, you will use the same email and password as before. The only thing that has changed is the name and logo. All the same functions that were in Divvy are in BILL Spend & Expense. We have updated the Field Leaders Portal as needed.
August 2023
New Alliance: Braver Angels Alliance of Coastal North Carolina
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in North Carolina. Welcome to John Rebholz (R) and Robin Warfield (B), co-chairs of the new Braver Angels Alliance of Coastal North Carolina.
New Alliance: Twin Cities East Metro
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Minnesota. Welcome to Karl Sandberg (R) and Melinda Voss (B), co-chairs of the new Twin Cities East Metro Alliance.
New Alliance: Inland Empire
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in California. Welcome to Marc Ang (R), Sarah Kattus (B) and Holly Highfield (O), co-chairs of the new Inland Empire Alliance.
New Alliance: Braver Angels of Tarrant County
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Tarrant County, Texas. Welcome to Don Krause (R) and Gary Foran (B), co-chairs of the new Braver Angels of Tarrant County Alliance.
July 2023
New Alliance: Columbia Gorge Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Columbia Gorge in Oregon. Welcome to Doug Roof (R) and Tom Aspitarte (B), co-chairs of the new Columbia Gorge Alliance.
New Alliance: Chittenden County VT Braver Angels Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Chittenden County VT Braver Angels Alliance in Vermont. Welcome to Robert Etter (R) and Mary K. Dennison (B) , co-chairs of the new Chittenden County VT Braver Angels Alliance.
Convention: Field Plenary Slides & Information
The slides used in the BA Convention Plenary #4 - What are we doing in communities? - is now available - HERE. Field leaders are free to use the quotes and slides where appropriate. The photo mosaic video used in the introduction of Plenary #4 is also available as a standalone video - suitable for inclusion in field presentations. Many thanks to LINDA BECK for driving this deliverable. File is HERE.
June 2023
Convention Meet-Ups and Poster Session
To help those of us who are attending the upcoming Braver Angels convention to intentionally meet each other, the convention planners have created an app for your phone called “whova”. (Convention attendees should have gotten a message about how to download this on their phones.)
Once you download that app, we would love for you to go to the “community” button on the bottom of the home page of the app. Once there, you can find a pinned announcement that is entitled, “Meet-ups and virtual meets”.
If you click on that, you will find a bunch of groups who are meeting up at specific times. The two that are specifically related to the National Field Call are:
Field leaders (alliance co-chairs, state coordinators, and regional leads) AND
Workshop delivery volunteers (moderators, organizers, dev team, and ZEMs)
Both of those groups have a specific meet-up time where you can RSVP and meet each other on Thursday and Friday afternoons respectively after the last afternoon breakout session (approximately from 4:30-6:15 p.m.).
Also listed under the “meet-ups and virtual meets,” is a poster session.
During the Friday afternoon special interest group meeting time, there will also be a poster session where you can learn from BA members and volunteers who have made a difference in their local communities in specific ways. Posters will be up for the duration of the convention, but you can drop in and talk to poster presenters between 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Friday, if you’re attending the convention.
After the convention, we will post all posters in a section of the Field Leaders Portal for visibility to those who could not attend.
New Alliance: San Luis Obispo Alliance
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in San Luis Obispo in California. Welcome to Gordon Mullin (R) and Calvin Stevens (B), co-chairs of the new San Luis Obispo Alliance.
May 2023
Braver Angels annual report - pageable PDF
The Annual Report has now been modified into a PAGEABLE PDF. This is the best way to present the report. Please SHARE the following links with anyone who wants to access the report in the most readable format. Many thanks to Sabrina Pedersen for her magic in creating these!
Welcome to our new alliance in Oregon
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in the NW Willamette Valley of Oregon. Welcome to Elizabeth Christensen (R) and Sue Staehli (B), co-chairs of the new NW Willamette Valley Braver Angels Alliance.
Welcome to our new alliance in North Carolina!
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Wilmington, NC in Arizona. Welcome to Eddie Jones (R) and Nancy Cunningham (B), co-chairs of the new Braver Angels Alliance of Wilmington, NC.
April 2023
Welcome to our reactivated and renamed alliance in Pennsylvania!
Welcome back! Thanks to Betsy Hower (R) and Lex McMillan (B), the Braver Angels Gettysburg Alliance has been re-activated as the Adams County Alliance.
BA meeting opener & rules of engagement
We recommend that you set up clear ground rules for Braver Angels events. Here's a possible template you can use as a BA meeting opener for that purpose. You can also use these rules of engagement for that purpose.
March 2023
Welcome to our new alliance in Arizona!
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Maricopa County in Arizona. Welcome to Cylee Gutting (R) and Joy Lubeck (B), co-chairs of this new alliance.
February 2023
First faith-sponsored workshop pilot ready to go
Braver Angels welcome all who wish to progress our mission: to bridge the political divide and strengthen our democratic republic. By definition, this means that a multitude of perspectives will be presented in our offerings.
As part of our goal of inspiring a social movement, we want to partner with a wide range of organizations to host workshops that can bring depolarizing skills and experiences to their organizations. Inspiring a social movement is about giving a whole range of organizations a vehicle for bringing the BA Way to their constituents.
What is being created within Braver Angels is a way for a range of organizations to host workshops, knowing that these workshops will be effective in addressing polarization amongst their constituents because they have been designed and tested by Braver Angels. But Braver Angels itself is not endorsing those organizations. Instead, we are collaborating with them to ensure the integrity of our brand as it intersects with the particular frames of a given type of organization.
Faith-sponsored workshops is just one way Braver Angels is doing this. Some of our members find faith at the core of their identity. We welcome such members. Some members do not find faith at the core of their identity. We welcome such members. Some members reject faith completely. We welcome such members. The goal of Braver Angels is the strengthening of our democracy which occurs when ALL such members interact and find common ground.
Faith-sponsored workshops are offered in the Braver Angel Way. We therefore use the Braver Angel Way to guide our communications:
We state our views freely and fully, without fear.
We welcome opportunities to engage with those with whom we disagree.
We treat people who disagree with us with honesty and respect.
We seek to disagree accurately, avoiding exaggeration and stereotypes.
We look for common ground where it exists, and if possible, find ways to work together.
We believe that all of us have blind spots and none of us are not worth talking to.
We believe that, in disagreements, both sides share and learn. In Braver Angels, neither side is teaching the other or giving feedback on how to think or say things differently.
The first faith-sponsored version of BA workshops, focused on the Christian faith, is now being piloted for several workshops. Other faith tradition workshops are in the process of also being developed. These workshops will include a “wrapper” that involves the faith host wanting this workshop being actively involved. The Host will lead both the opening and closing of a Faith-Sponsored Workshop (FSW).
For the opening of the workshop, it can include a faith-based rationale and prayer. John Schwenkler is leading the effort for the Dev Team to create these faith-sponsored wrappers around each of BA workshops. There is a Core Team that is supporting his effort. The closing would also be handled by the host and could include a prayer as well.
The first pilot - a Christian Faith-Sponsored workshop for Depolarizing Within (DW) - will be held as a national event on March 25 (from 2-5 p.m. EST) with Mark Beckwith serving as the faith host.
We are ready for our BA volunteers, in key roles, to attend and participate if they want to experience what a faith-sponsored workshop will be like.
If interested, feel free to register and participate in the March 25 pilot of the DW workshop. To sign up for the March 25 workshop, go to this link.
In the future - once we are through the pilot phase - a faith-based organization that is experiencing polarization can come to the Braver Angels' Braver Partners team or a local alliance and ask for support in hosting a faith-sponsored workshop amongst their organization's members. The host organization is the faith-based organization, not the local alliance, although local alliances can choose to co-sponsor an event with the faith-based organization, if desired, as long as they make it clear that they are not endorsing one particular organization or faith tradition in doing so.
If you would like more information, contact John Schwenkler or Bev Horstman.
January 2023
Check out our recent Tech Tips!
Please click on the links below to view the Tech Tips:
How to automatically track Google Form responses in a Google Sheet
How to make a copy of a BA Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide Deck to make your own edits
How to schedule a meeting with Google Meet or Zoom for Field Leaders
For a full list, please visit Tech Tip Tuesdays on the Tech Resources Site to view the slide deck.
Welcome to our new and reactivated alliances in January!
Congratulations to the new alliance recently formed in Birmingham, Alabama. Welcome to Steve Whitaker (R) and Barbara Eiland (B), co-chairs of this new alliance.
Welcome back to three reactivated alliances.
Thanks to the work of Jordan Haegerich (R) and Cindy Hirshberg (B), the Carroll County, Maryland Alliance has been re-activated. The San Diego alliance has also been reactivated, with Kelly Simmons (R) and Brady Young (B) as co-chairs. So has the Phoenix alliance, with Parker Faries (R) and Nedra Eldridge (B) as co-chairs.
December 2022
Braver Partners - Organization Referrals
Many of our field leaders are working with partners in their community or an area of interest—like high schools or religious congregations—or are fielding incoming requests from organizations to partner with Braver Angels. We would like these organizations to be included in our new initiative, Braver Partners.
This initiative carries benefits like 100 free BA memberships for their members, regular events geared towards partners, and even priority registration for next year’s convention. And all we ask from them is to designate a liaison or two to the program.
If you have a partner organization to refer to the program, please share the program page (https://braverangels.org/braver-partners/) with them and either you or the partner should fill out the sign-up form, also accessible on the page. You’ll also have an opportunity to register as the Partner Representative who manages the relationship.
To sign up as a Partner Rep or to submit any questions to the Braver Partners team, please email Michelle Schroer at mschroer@braverangels.org.
"The Abortion Talks" film discussion
In Boston, a man killed two people and wounded five others at two abortion clinics in 1994. In the aftermath of this tragedy, three prolife and three prochoice leaders agreed to meet a few times. They ended up meeting in secret for almost six years, then jointly published a letter about their experience in The Boston Globe. None of the participants changed their minds about the issue of abortion, but during the course of their discussions, they found themselves stretched spiritually and intellectually, and they became good friends. Their friendship helped change the tone of the abortion debate in Boston. A film entitled "The Abortion Talks" was created to tell their story. Here's the film trailer, and the film website.
The Abortion Talks absolutely embodies the spirit of Braver Angels! The co-directors, a husband/wife team, joined a group of Braver Angels earlier this Fall. They were amazing, and it was great to be able to discuss the film with them.
We now have an edited film discussion and, just as importantly, a podcast with the film's co-director plus pro-choice and pro-life Braver Angels members.
The new podcast is titled Abortion Talks: Talking with the Enemy, and features Randy Freeman moderating a discussion with film co-director Sarah Perkins and Braver Angels members Wynette Sills, Molly Zeff and Donna Murphy.
Here is the recording of the Film Club discussion of The Abortion Talks.
For those interested in showing The Abortion Talks to local groups, please visit www.abortiontalks.com and fill out the form. Someone will get back to you with more information.
Welcome to our new alliances in December!
Welcome to the new Laramie County Alliance (#1118) in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The leaders of this new alliance are Tom Brantley (Red) and Peter Newell (Blue).
November 2022
Tech Tip: Field Leaders can request a Braver Angels Google Workspace account for volunteers
Alliance Co-Chairs, State Coordinators, and Regional Leads can request a Braver Angels Google Workspace account for volunteers who provide substantial support for their local Alliance or State leadership. To learn more, please visit Tech Tip Tuesdays on the Tech Resources Site.
Informal Question and Answer session about "Walk a Mile in My News" experience
Meet with folks from several teams who have presented Walk a Mile in My News if you are considering presenting this experience, or are in the early planning stages for it, and have questions they can help you with. This exciting experience pairs Blue-leaning and Red-leaning individuals for a three-week journey to share news sources and information about mutually agreed-upon subjects. You can find more information here.
When? Thursday, November 17 at 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern time. Contact Liz Wise at lwise@braverangels.org if interested in attending.
This exciting experience pairs Blue-leaning and Red-leaning individuals for a three-week journey to share news sources and information about mutually agreed-upon subjects. You can find more information here.
Check out Braver Politics happenings
Braver Politics is the political application of Braver Angels' individual work in three specific ways:
Through the Citizen Action Program, they provide Braver Angels members and other depolarized people across the country training to effectively advocate in local, state, and federal government for the cause of depolarization.
They organize skills workshops to help elected officials and candidates communicate effectively and respectfully across divides, teaching them how to hear and understand the concerns of polarized voters, which depolarizes both the voters themselves and the public officials practicing these skills. See this spreadsheet for more details.
They have restructured events that are usually polarizing to promote clear and accurate conversation between elected officials, candidates, and their voters across political divides. These events include Candidate Debates that promote discussion of issues in which voters have expressed interest instead of a clash of personalities over topics driven by the media and town halls. This helps voters find common ground, accurately understand differences between candidates, and have thoughtful conversations about common ground and differences with their elected officials or candidates.
Braver Politics' leaders are Elizabeth Doll, Dan Carnese, April Kornfield, Justin Eckstein, Andrew Stillman, and David Blankenhorn.
They currently have a presence in multiple states, as seen in the number of workshops and events for public officials they have been organizing at this link. They also have agreements to provide the Managing Difficult Conversations with Constituents workshops to elected officials via partnerships with the public officials' professional organizations in California, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington. Washington State has been at the forefront in organizing debates for candidates. If you'd like to know more, contact Elizabeth Doll at edoll@braverangels.org or visit their website at braverangels.org/politics.
October 2022
Welcome to our new alliances in October!
Our first new alliance in October is in New Mexico, the North Central New Mexico alliance. The two leaders of that alliance are Marty Gerber (Blue) and Barbara Regan (Red).
Our second one is in Iowa, the South Central Iowa Alliance, with leaders Richard Tucker (Red) and Anne Murr (Blue).
Our third one is the South Central Kansas Alliance. Mike Morton (Blue) and Michael Barrett (Red) are the alliance co-chairs for this new alliance.
Welcome to these new alliances!
September 2022
Tech Tip: How to schedule a 1-to-1 or small meeting with Google Meet or Zoom for Field Leaders
Field Leaders can use Google Meet or Zoom to schedule meetings. Examples may include Alliance steering committee or board meetings, connecting with individual members and volunteers, or a planning meeting to discuss an upcoming Braver Angels event. To learn more, please check out the Tech Site's Video Conferencing section.
Welcome to our new alliances in September!
We have several new alliances this month, which we are announcing.
The first one, in El Sobrante, Califonia is called the "El Sobrante Alliance for Action on Homelessness & Fire Safety" and is our first alliance coming out of a working action group. Pam Morris (Red) and Eileen Johnson (Blue) are this new alliance's co-chairs.
The second one, is an alliance for US Citizens who live abroad, and is called "Braver Angels Abroad - Europe." We have a large group of Braver Angels supporters with US connections who are very excited about this new group, led by Sabrina Garland (Red) and Laura Pascal (Blue).
In addition, there are three new alliances in Minnesota labeled by their congressional district numbers. (1) Congressional Districts 1, 2, & 7, with John Stewart (Red) and Roger Warehime (Blue) as co-chairs; (2) Congressional Districts 4 & 8, with Tim Gustafson (Red) and John Wolforth (Blue) as co-chairs; and (3) Congressional Districts 3 & 6, with Tim Gustafson (Red) and Steven Gartland (Blue) as co-chairs.
Red Interview Project - Call for Volunteers
We are currently interviewing ‘lean Red’ members of BA to establish ideas and hypotheses for increasing Red membership and engagement.
Each interview slot is one hour, conducted by a pair of interviewers, one Red and one Blue. There may be up to four individuals in any one slot. The slots are arranged for maximum flexibility - Tuesday evenings, Thursday mornings, and Friday afternoons. The slots begin on September 19 and run through October.
To learn more, go to this document.
August 2022
Reaching Republican Voters upcoming webinar - August 23, 2022
Check out this upcoming webinar on reaching Republican voters, which includes our own Steve Saltwick. Please register in advance at this link.
Zoom backgrounds for your use
Check out the zoom backgrounds you can use at this link, also under resources --> promotional materials on this site.
Welcome to our new alliances in August!
We have five new alliances this month, one in Washington, two in Idaho, one in Oregon, and one in Arizona.
Snohomish County's new alliance in Washington state is led by Janelle Burke (Red), Miles Thornton (Blue), and Brea Nixon (Independent/Other).
The Treasure Valley alliance in Boise, Idaho, is led by Linda Brugger (Blue) and Mike Tilrico (Red).
The Idaho State alliance is led by Damien Preinitz (Red) and Rob Hansen (Blue).
Braver Angels of Klamath County in Oregon is led by Chuck Edson (Blue) and Kristen Clark (Red).
The Phoenix, Arizona alliance is led by Joseph Prewitt (Red) and Nedra Eldridge (Blue).
We are excited to have these new alliances joining us and look forward to seeing how they work to further the mission of Braver Angels and depolarization in their local areas.
New moderator resources available through members' portal
The Moderator Resources page on the BA website's member portal has been updated. You reach this page by logging into the Member Portal, scrolling down to the Volunteer Resources area and clicking the Moderator button. On the Moderator Resources page you will find the following options:
Moderator Training Site (access to all of the moderator training resources)
Workshop Materials (Google Drive with folders for each BA workshop)
List of Members with Braver Angels Qualifications
Map of Members with Braver Angels Qualifications
Event Request Form
Workshop Information Dashboard (*new* tool that summarizes all BA workshops that are released for general use. There is a link to a "how to use this tool" Training Video link in the bottom left corner of the dashboard.)
Next moderator forum - August 11, 2022
NOTE: To avoid conflicts with national BA Debates, the regular schedule for Moderator Forums has moved to the 2nd Thursday of the month.
Thursday, August 11, 2022 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Eastern (register HERE)
August’s topic: Getting Back to In-Person Moderating
I used to moderate BA workshops fairly often but I had no interest in moderating online. Now that workshops are being scheduled in-person again, I'd like to re-engage with Braver Angels. What has changed and how can I get myself up to speed?
I became qualified to be a BA moderator when online workshops were the only option. Now that in-person workshops are happening again, I'm wondering what's different about in-person moderating and how I can prepare?
In designing the August forum, the moderator training team has been especially focused on the two groups of moderators who've been asking us the questions above. Of course, all BA moderators and moderators-in-training are welcome and encouraged to attend--the information shared will be useful to all!
Join us on August 11 to explore:
What's new and different for returning moderators?
Where can I find the information needed to moderate in-person?
What are some tips for moderating in-person vs. online?
We'll be trying something new in the August Forum--giving participants the chance to choose their breakout room based on the topic that most interests them. And we'll be offering an optional post-forum Q&A session to make sure we answer as many of your questions as possible. We hope you will join us!
Training video for returning in-person moderators
Cindy Heck is a BA moderator who was leading lots of workshops back in 2019 but got involved with other BA activities and hadn't moderated over the past couple of years. When her local library reached out to ask if she would lead a workshop, Cindy was happy to say yes -- and then was confused and concerned when she couldn't find the materials she needed on the BA website. She reached out to John Schwenkler, head of the BA Dev Team, for help and got the information she needed. Cindy and John's conversation has been recreated in this video and slide deck, designed to help any moderator who is re-engaging with BA after some time away and is wondering "what's different and where do I get the information and materials I need?"
July 2022
Welcome to our new alliances in July!
We welcome a new alliance in Houston, Texas this month! It will be led by two alliance co-chairs, Alex McDonald (Blue) and G. Leigh Anderson (Red). Good work to all of those who helped get this new alliance up and running, including Texas state coordinator and regional lead, Mike Seay.
Online Skills for Social Media - national field test
Online Skills for Social Media Workshop (Field Test)
Open to the Public
Saturday, July 30, 2022
9 AM-12 PM PDT
Description:
An online workshop focusing on BA skills for those who engage in conversation about politics on social media.
Online Skills for Social Media is a new workshop designed to improve the nature of posts and conversations in social media to provide a constructive alternative to the polarized and judgmental exchanges dominating the current online discourse. This can lead to more productive conversations and joint action with people of all political leanings.
Workshop Goals:
By completing this workshop, you will:
Develop new skills to avoid contributing to polarization in your social media use.
Develop new skills to address difficult situations on social media.
Engage others in a constructive, depolarizing manner on social media.
BEFORE the Workshop YOU MUST:
Complete the 40-minute Online Skills E-course.
Print the Participant Guide.
Contact Jeff Spitzer (Organizer) with any questions: jspitzer@braverangels.org
REGISTRATION LINK: Online Skills for Social Media
Thank you to Steve Saltwick for his service to the Office of Field Operations!
As we look back on the work of the Office of Field Operations, we want to officially thank Steve Saltwick for the amazing work he has done over the past few years for the office and field. We are where we are today because of the amazing work that Steve Saltwick, Lynn Heady, and Riley Hart all put into establishing this office.
As you may have heard on the June 20 national field call (see link here for his announcement at 55:39), Steve is transitioning into a Senior Fellow role for Braver Angels at the national level, doing special projects.
Several folks who are familiar with Steve's work over the years put together a tribute video in honor of his work in Field Operations. Check it out here. If you didn't participate in this tribute, feel free to send your own note of thanks to Steve directly to his email at ssaltwick@braverangels.org.
Thank you, Steve!
Barbara Thomas & April Chatham-Carpenter, Co-chairs of the Office of Field Operations
June 2022
Learn More: Walk a Mile in my News
You are invited to an informal Zoom about presenting Walk a Mile in My News for people considering or in early planning stages for this program. Several veterans of the program will be available to answer questions. If you are just getting started, we recommend that you watch this introductory video before the meeting: July, 2021 presentation about WMMN by the Sacramento Alliance.
The meeting will be on Wednesday, June 29, starting at 10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, noon Central, and 1pm Eastern time. Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89111165549?pwd=ZEhjZUR0bE5rSDBnYXBpQUwxbVhCQT09
Meeting ID: 891 1116 5549
Passcode: 631967
Openings for Community Collaborations Team Members
Join the national Braver Angels Community Partners Team as we implement a new program for civic clubs & religious congregations!
Openings for up to 3 volunteers. Roles will include some combination of the tasks below, depending on your interests, skills, & availability. Minimum time commitment 3-4 hours per week. Training provided.
Collect, curate, post, & archive stories & photos shared by our collaborators.
Monitor our email inbox, respond to or route inquiries and requests.
Join in outreach efforts to promote the new program internally and externally.
Engage with collaborators on our social media platform to model the BA way.
Help maintain our webpage, calendar, files, and tracking sheets.
Tech Onboarding Session - feedback needed
The Tech Team is in the process of revamping the onboarding experience for new Field Leaders to include a tech onboarding session. We are seeking feedback from Alliance Co-chairs, State Coordinators, and Regional Leads to learn about which activities (where technology can assist) would be most helpful to receive training on. For example: how to send mass emails, creating events/meetings in Google Calendar, ways to improve team collaboration online, etc. Please send your feedback via email or request a Zoom meeting by contacting Sabrina Pedersen at field-tech-support@braverangels.org.
New Event Team Support (ETS) tool
The Event Team Support (ETS) tool consolidates all information needed to organize a workshop or alliance event on a single website. The tool also helps putting together the event team and simplifies communicating with team members. Organizers receive a link to this app as part of the confirmation email sent to them when filling out the Event Request Form (ERF).
To learn more, contact Martin Hunke at mhunke@braverangels.org.
New Workshop: Being Blue in a Red Environment (BBRE)
The online Being Blue in a Red Environment (BBRE) has been piloted and field tested and is now available.
Check out the flyer for this new workshop at this link.
May 2022
Welcome to our new alliances in May!
We welcome one new alliance this month.
The Soda City Alliance in Columbia, South Carolina
Thank you to Karen Brown, the new "blue" co-chair and Daniel Morales, the "red" co-chair, for their work in getting this new alliance started. Daniel is also the new State Coordinator for South Carolina.
News from the ZEM team
As a Participant Manager, you can do a short additional training to add Breakout Room Manager to your Braver Angels qualifications. This is a self-paced training module on our ZEM training website. No need to re-enroll, just go to the website.
You can also use the Braver Angels Qualifications Tool to:
Tell us if you want to be inactive for one of your qualifications such as moderator or ZEM. You can mark yourself as inactive for a period of a few months or indefinitely.
Check which qualifications we have on file for you and advise us of any errors.
Discontinue a training that you previously enrolled in.
Note: If you get an error message, open the link above in a private browser window (incognito window). This is a Google bug that occurs if you have multiple google accounts.
Online Skills for Social Media Workshop (PILOT #2, for BA members only)
Saturday, June 4, 2022
2-5 PM EDT
Description:
An online workshop focusing on BA skills for those who engage in conversation about politics on social media.
Online Skills for Social Media is a new workshop designed to improve the nature of posts and conversations in social media to provide a constructive alternative to the polarized and judgmental exchanges dominating the current online discourse. This can lead to more productive conversations and joint action with people of all political leanings.
Workshop Goals:
By completing this workshop, you will:
Develop new skills to avoid contributing to polarization in your social media use.
Develop new skills to address difficult situations on social media.
Engage others in a constructive, depolarizing manner on social media.
BEFORE the Workshop YOU MUST:
Complete the Online Skills E-course.
Print the Participant Guide.
Contact Julianne O'Neil (Organizer) with any questions: joneil@braverangels.org
REGISTRATION LINK: Online Skills for Social Media
New Alliance Tech Infrastructure training
Do you ever wish you didn't have to go to Action Network to find all of the people who might could be involved in your alliance, and their past involvement levels with Braver Angels, and could have an easier way to do so? That way is now available, through the diligent work of folks on the Braver Angels tech team on the Alliance Infrastructure pilot project.
Thanks to the noble efforts of Louis Tsien -- a volunteer on the BA National Tech Team -- we now have available, in elegant eCourse format, a guide that efficiently onboards any new Alliance leader (co-chair, tech liaison, etc.) to the various parts of the cohesive whole that is the Alliance Tech Infrastructure Project. And thanks to Sabrina Pedersen for her continued work bringing our online help resources and 1-to-1 onboarding process up to par.
Please take a moment to check it out, and to make the rest of your Alliance leadership team aware of it. The guide enables a great view into the ways these tools directly support the goals of strengthening your Alliance and accelerating your impact.
Note that the guide is also conveniently accessible from within the Braver Angels Technology support website, (tech.braverangels.org) and from the Field Leader Sidebar from your Braver Angels google mail interface.
If your Alliance hasn't joined the Tech Infrastructure Project, an Alliance co-chair can do so by making an email request to ltsien@braverangels.org.
In-person BA workshops are back!
In person BA workshops are happening again and online workshops aren't going away! It's exciting to have both options available so that organizers can decide what format will best serve a particular audience. If you are a moderator who has been taking a break during the "Zoom era," now is the time to polish up your BA moderating skills and get back in the game!
The BA Dev Team has been working hard to update workshop materials, including developing in-person materials for workshops that were originally developed exclusively for online delivery. The most current workshop updates include:
SBD-OL Skills for Bridging the Divide Standard Online (no e-learning)
RB1-IP Red/Blue Session 1 In-Person
RB2-IP Red/Blue Session 2 In-Person
DCAR-IP Depolarizing Conversations About Race In-Person
CGSI-IP Common Ground Single Issue In-Person
The most current versions of workshop materials are automatically generated through the ERF (Event Request Form) process, so go ahead and schedule these updated workshops with confidence! [NOTE: We are also working on a way to access these materials outside of the ERF process for those who just want to review and/or practice - stay tuned!]
April 2022
Braver Politics Launch
The Braver Politics website is officially live at braverangels.org/politics. This URL also works: braverpolitics.org.
The VIDEO — "Are You Ready to Brave the Divide? Join Braver Politics" — is live on the landing page. It can also be accessed directly at this youtube link: https://youtu.be/8GqnNP7QUR0
Below is some sample language for posts.
Join Braver Politics to help fix our broken politics. www.braverpolitics.org
To volunteer to fix our broken politics, I recommend Braver Politics. We need you! www.braverpolitics.org
Our democracy is hanging by a thread. Braver Politics is here to build a house united. www.braverpolitics.org
Are you curious enough to brave the divide? Check out Braver Politics: www.braverpolitics.org
Are you patriotic enough to brave the divide? Check out Braver Politics: www.braverpolitics.org
Braver Politics is an effort to remake our political culture from the ground up -- and challenge our politicians to work together. Join the movement: www.braverpolitics.org
Are you tired of the endless name-calling, grandstanding, and partisan rancor? Join Braver Politics to fix our broken politics. www.braverpolitics.org
Opportunity for Public Speaking Training
The Ambassador community is moving forward with their next Ambassador Toastmaster's Speechcraft training.
The course will meet for six weeks starting Monday, April 18 at 8 PM Eastern via Zoom.
Registration and a $10 non-refundable fee are required.
Interested individuals can contact Will Robinson at KWRobinson4@gmail.com or 770-375-1763.
National Week of Conversation
America Talks will take place this year on April 21 and 23. During certain hours on those two days, people who have pre-registered and answered a short series of questions can log in and be immediately paired for a conversation with someone who answered one or more of those questions differently.
Braver Angels will advertise America Talks in our newsletter, and we're a hosting partner, which means that we're committed to holding one or more events during the follow-up National Week of Conversation (NWOC), April 24-30, in which America Talks participants can take part. This is, of course, no problem for us! We already have events listed for April 23 and 30. However, we hope you encourage Field Leaders to schedule other events (workshops, debates, discussions, etc.) during April 24-30 that can be listed as part of the National Week of Conversation. It's a great opportunity for folks to learn more about Braver Angels!
Welcome to our New Alliances
We welcome four new alliances this month.
The Jackson, Mississippi alliance
Kudos to Paul Buckley, the new "blue" co-chair and Nic Lott, the "red" co-chair, as well as Theo Brown, for their work in getting this new alliance started.
The Memphis Area alliance
Thanks to Kali Kucera (the new "blue" co-chair) and Curt Cowan (the new "red" co-chair), as well as Ron and Lynn Heady, for helping get this off the ground.
The Northwoods, Wisconsin alliance
Kudos to Clare Seguin, the new "red" co-chair and Karen Kaufman, the "blue" co-chair, for their work in getting this new alliance started.
The Colorado Southern Front Range alliance
Thanks to John Hoskinson (the new "red" co-chair) and Jennifer Barnes (the new "other" co-chair) for helping get this new alliance started.
These alliances have been in the works for awhile, and we are excited to welcome them to the field!
Zoom Updates Affecting Workshops
The tech team working on workshops & zoom capabilities sent this to us for you this month.
1. Allow host or co-hosts to rename participants in Waiting Rooms.
This has some value when folks have a name that we recognize but may confuse later (two folks with the same name, etc.).
It needs to be enabled in the web settings for the account - settings, In Meeting (Advanced) and scroll up a little (or search rename).
Once enabled, the option shows for Participants in the Waiting Room much like for folks in the main room. The participants in the Waiting Room are notified of the pending change and can reject or accept it.
We recommend enabling it.
[NOTE: The "we" in this post here are members of the tech team working on workshops.]
2. Share audio with content to all breakout rooms.
Host and co-hosts can share audio, along with shared content (including Share Video) to all breakout (BO) rooms. A checkbox in the share window can be checked before starting the share if breakout rooms are open; else, if sharing before BO rooms are open, then once opened, select share again and check the box and re-select the same share (or a different one) and share it. Stopping the share stops it everywhere. Ending share to BO rooms (only) can be done by starting a new share with the checkbox unchecked.
Sharing video should only be done by starting the share AFTER BO rooms are open since a New Share will restart the video from the beginning.
This has potential where there is a need to have a persistent message in BO rooms where Chat is insufficient. Sharing the same Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide to all rooms might also have benefits for folks who are more creative.
3. Optional include co-host when automatically assigning breakout rooms.
This is an enhancement the Braver Angels team asked for from zoom, so we're enthusiastic about it.
When creating breakout rooms and assigning participants automatically, co-hosts will now not automatically be included in the assignments, but the host can choose to include them. It's a check box when creating the rooms.
In workshops where there are a lot of participants to be assigned randomly, this makes it really easy.
4. Save Breakout rooms for future use.
This has no value for workshops that we can think of, but it might be valuable for team meetings.
For recurring meetings only, the current configuration and participant assignment can be saved for future sessions. Up to 10 configurations can be saved per user.
5. Avatars
Zoom detects where a face is on the screen and applies a selected avatar (Video settings, Background & Effects, Avatar). It only detects one face, thus there is only one avatar. It's really well done, and backgrounds can be used as well.
It's cute, and I imagine creative folks can find value in this. Since it's done at the client level, I imagine some participants will use it and it will be distracting. It is enabled by default but can be disabled in the web settings for the account - settings, In Meeting (Advanced), a little below virtual background pictures (or search avatar).
We recommend disabling it.
6. Whiteboards
Zoom meetings now have a whiteboard and anybody can potentially disrupt the workshop presentation by doodling on the screen. The event team will rely on you to know how to turn this off.
When you join the event meeting, once you are made co-host, click on Security at the bottom and then:
Check "Enable the Waiting Room"
Uncheck "Whiteboard"
Workshop Development Updates
The Braver Angels workshop development team (DEV team) has been hard at work this past month. Along with making significant formatting enhancements to the on-line versions of Red/Blue and Depolarizing Within workshops, they are in the piloting stage for the following four workshops.
Skills for Bridging the Divide - SBD Standard (no e-learning)
Braver Politics (BP) Town Hall - BPTH Field Test #2 upcoming soon
Being Blue in a Red Environment - BBRE pilot #2 upcoming soon
Online Skills for Social Media - OSSM pilot #1 on April 2
National Debate Summer Internships
The BA national debate team has just opened applications for their Summer 2022 Debate Team Internships. We would greatly appreciate it if you shared this information with any connections you have that could help us find some high quality candidates, especially Reds. See the blurb below you can share. Thank you in advance for the help with the intern application process!
Internship Opportunity
Are you a young person, or do you know a young person, who may be interested in an internship with Braver Angels? The Debate and Public Discourse Team is seeking interns for this summer. These positions are ideally suited for either current college students, or students on a gap year, who are interested in political discourse, debate, nonprofit management, or online event management.
Interested candidates should fill out our application here. For more information, please go to braverangels.org.
Braver Angels Work Mentioned on Tucker Carlson show
On March 28, 2022, Zac Kriegman, a member of the BA Greater Boston Alliance, went on Tucker Carlson Today (Tucker's long form interview show on Fox Nation) to discuss his search for truth in the context of the BLM protests (more on Zac's work on that here).
At about 40 minutes on the show, Zac mentions his Braver Angels work.
Check out these four new Field Funding videos, including how to get postcard funds
Field Funding Program - Overview - (2 minutes, overview & accessing the Field Leaders Portal finance info section)
Field Funding Program - Raising Money - (9 minutes, includes: Eventbrite donations, individual donations, foundation grants & cash donations)
Field Funding Program - Spending Money - (10 minutes, includes: checking how much money you have raised, how to access and spend the money with Divvy, reimbursements)
Field Funding Program - Special Sources of Funding - (2 minutes, money available from Regional Leads & postcard funds)
Braver Angels-Wide Contact Coordination (aka Herding Cats)
Our new Braver Angels-wide Contact Coordination (aka Herding Cats) effort amps up the scale and reach of Braver Angels by making us aware of each others' useful contacts, while keeping us from looking bad if several Braver Angels--unbeknownst to each other--pester the same person. We need you to participate! Please enter here key people you know who are associated with political bodies, educational institutions, the media, non-profits, companies, etc. who are or could be key contacts for Braver Angels or Braver Politics. View the list of contacts here. If you have an @braverangels.org email address, you may see a cat's paw in your email box. Click on it to add a new contact, or on the three vertical dots to view the contact list.
March 2022
Note from Rita Chisum, about HAT photo project
I'm very happy to report that we saw an almost immediate rise in HAT Photo Submissions since our presentation at the recent National Field Call!
But...we did receive notice from the Help Desk that some who visited the link to purchase HAT Signs were encountering a broken link. Upon further investigation and speaking with our Account Rep, we found that Signs.com has, over the stretch of the pandemic, been sold to a private owner. The system switch over that was occurring with new ownership was the cause of the broken link.
I am very happy to report that the issue has been corrected and we're back in business! Apologies to those who encountered the frustration of the broken link. You can now visit our new link with full confidence to get those signs ordered for your own HAT Photo Submission.
https://braverangels.privateprintstore.com/self-registration
March 8, 2022: Introducing Rose Lisk, new Office of Field Operations Administrative Assistant
We are excited to welcome Rose Lisk as our new part-time Office of Field Operations Administrative Assistant. Rose has worked as an Administrative Assistant for many years in both the private sector and higher education. She holds degrees in Philosophy and Student Affairs. Rose lives in Michigan with her husband, two kids, and dog. To contact her, email ofoadmin@braverangels.org or rose@braverangels.org.
March 1, 2022: Money available for sending postcards!
The Office of Field Operations recently raised $7,500 to support sending postcards to people across America about Braver Angels! Would your alliance or state like to use some of these funds to do a mailing? The funds can support expenses such as postcard design & printing, postage, and purchasing mailing lists. If your alliance is interested in utilizing some of these funds, please fill out this request form. UPDATE April 19, 2022: Thank you for your submissions! We will choose four pilot groups from current submissions and keep you updated on the results.
February 2022
Raise Money for Your Field Unit
Individuals can now make donations of any size to a specific Alliance, State, or Region via this link. Eighty percent will then be allocated to that Field Unit. You can see how much money your Field Unit has raised in the Fundraising Ledger. The link to donate is now available on the Alliances page of the Braver Angels website.
New, Easier Procedures for Spending Money - and Get $5 for Coffee
Getting a Divvy debit card is easier than ever, and you'll get $5 to treat yourself to coffee when you sign up. With new updates to the Field Funding Program, your card will automatically be preloaded with up to $250 from your Field Unit's balance for eligible expenses, so you don't have to seek prior approval for small purchases.