Brad Rourke

Brad Rourke’s Blog

  • Interview: Countering Authoritarianism with Maria J. Stephan and V Fixmer-Oraiz

    An interview with Maria J. Stephan, co-director of the Horizons Project, and V Fixmer-Oraiz, county supervisor of Johnson County, Iowa. I interviewed the two after a particularly moving panel today at #NCDD2023 in Atlanta. I have the privilege of serving on the board of NCDD, which is a network of dialogue and civic practitioners. At…

  • Sharon L. Davies at the Emerging Issues Conference: Bending the Moral Arc

    I have the privilege of working closely with the president and CEO of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Sharon L. Davies. In office since April 2022, she has shown herself to be a force of nature. As moderator of our recent Emerging Issues Conference in Washington, DC, I sat with her to ask her a…

  • Promoted at the Kettering Foundation

    I am honored and delighted to report that I have been promoted at the Kettering Foundation, to the newly-created role of Director of External Affairs and DC Operations. This move is part of a larger set of promotions along with good colleagues and friends: Paloma Dallas is Senior Program Officer for International Programs; Joni Doherty…

  • Joining the Board of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation

    I am pleased to share that I have joined the board of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD), joining a group of stellar practitioners and thinkers in the democracy space. I am excited to try to add what I can to help lead NCDD into its next level of development. NCDD is one…

  • Strategy and Tactics

    Often, one will hear someone in the workplace telling someone else to think or act “strategically” — when what they really mean is “be smarter.” Like the term “leadership,” it is a shorthand for a larger idea — but for most people this idea is ill-defined. What is “strategy?” I learned strategic planning from one…

  • My Approach to Annual Review and Reflection, 2021-2022

    As the year ends, and the new one begins, many people reflect upon and review their past year, and think about how they wish to act moving forward. Some call it “making resolutions,” some “setting intentions.” People do it all different ways. Here is the way I have been ending each year since 2015. It…

  • David Mathews on Deliberative Democratic Politics

    David Mathews, longtime president and CEO of the Kettering Foundation, was interviewed recently by AL.com. In a brief passage, he gives perhaps the best and most concentrated description of deliberative democratic politics I have seen. For those who have heard Dr. Mathews describe various aspects of democracy — its origins, how it can be seen…

  • Building a New Life on the Ashes of Collapse: 2,500 Daily Letters

    Some of my friends know that some years ago, in a deep spiritual crisis and in anguish, I began trying a new practice. I wanted to be serious about my inner spiritual life, to see if it would help me. I am not religious, but felt called to do this. Now, each morning, I do the same…