Michael Bailey: As we continue to highlight examples of individuals and organizations who are putting pluralism into practice across their communities in this country, I’m thrilled to feature one of those individuals: Karissa Raskin, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Listen First Project, which is a non-partisan coalition of over 500 organizations that are seeking to amplify diverse perspectives and bridge divides in their communities. So, Karissa, I just want to thank you for the work that you do, and I want to thank you for joining us. And I’d love to just start by having you tell us a little bit about the work of the Listen First Project.
Karissa Raskin: Well, first of all, thank you so much Michael and the team for inviting me to be here, and I’m extremely excited to share about Listen First Project because it actually allows me to lift up those 500 organizations that are part of our broader coalition. So, Listen First has somewhat of a unique role in what we call this broader, bridging divides movement, in that we get to serve as the backbone organization.
We have the privilege and pleasure of being a resource and really a servant to those organizations based all across the country, some working at a national level, some working at a very local place-based level, some working within particular sectors of society, be it higher education or faith or veteran communities or service organizations; all of whom, though, share the mission, goal and perspective: that we need to be working together across differences in order to address the complex problems of today. And even more than that, more than the need; we as Americans, that’s in our blood. That’s what we deserve to be doing. We are inherently – as our colleague over at Interfaith America likes to call it – a “potluck nation.”
So Listen First Coalition really thrives on bringing organizations together who are inspiring trust, understanding, curiosity and collaboration so that the divisions that do exist in our country, and are particularly relevant in our media today, we’re able to set those things aside and see the dignity and humanity in each other so we can be better neighbors, we can be better stewards of civic engagement. And I’m delighted to know the thousands upon thousands of people who do this every day because it’s what they believe is most important.
Michael Bailey: Karissa, as you mentioned, your partners are running really tailored dialogue programs across the country and those can range in scope and scale, and you all serve as that grounding center point of support for each of these initiatives.
But I’d be curious for those who are listening and thinking “how can I put this into practice in my own community. What are some ways that I can practice pluralism?” Are there any specific, inspirational examples of organizations that have done adaptations of this work in their communities that you’ve worked with in the past that you might want to share?
Karissa Raskin: Certainly. Absolutely. And the range of organizations is really great because listener, no matter who you are or where you’re experiencing polarization that you may want to address, we have an organization that has done that work.
And so, for example, if you’re interested in bringing neighbors together – even into your own home, into your own living room – to have a conversation to just better understand differences of perspectives around a particular topic, I’d highly recommend checking out Living Room Conversations. They have over a hundred conversation guides that offer a facilitated model and really create a space of – a container for – those conversations; not to debate with each other, not to try to persuade anybody coming over to your house, feeding them a nice meal, and then getting them to change their mind. But, really to deeply understand where these people are coming from so that you can foster empathy and have greater understanding for one another.
If you’re interested in working on a place-based challenge in your community, something that may feel like a climate related issue or an economic inequality issue even, our friends over at UR Action, Urban Rural Action, do a phenomenal job at really facilitating a process of creating environments where community members can come together, [share their own perspectives, and then get beyond the “how we’re going to do this?” and really focus on the shared values of the “what is it that we want to accomplish? We all want better thriving in our neighborhood.” Okay, great. We can agree on that. So, let’s move forward in our collaborative processes to set actions forward to make that happen.
And Michael, if we had an entire day. I couldn’t even list all of the initiatives. But people are welcome to check out our website, and we have all the logos listed, so hopefully that was a good taste of them.
Michael Bailey: Wonderful. No, that’s perfect. I have a question that’s a little bit unique to you all compared to others that we’ve featured and talked to and that is: you all do serve as this coalition of so many organizations that are united in this common passion for promoting pluralism, but of course are inherently different and unique in their own ways. And so I’d be curious, from your vantage point in leading this coalition, how do you think about practicing pluralism with groups that practice pluralism?
Karissa Raskin: Yeah, that’s a good question. And it’s interesting because we really need to be the model for what it is that we’re asking the broader America to do, but we also need to do it in a way that’s relatable, in a way that – you know, there have been articles written and things said like, “oh, bridge building, pluralism, that’s all Kumbaya, froufrou, sitting around the campfire.” So, what we really need to do, and what I do see our organizations doing, coming together through the meetings that we facilitate, particularly the round tables for different sectors is we all show up with different perspectives. We have to grapple with them. We as a bridging field, and my job really as a leader of this coalition, is to ensure that as we have representation from a broad audience of people and that we are not being exclusive and we are not gatekeeping and we are not saying “everyone’s perspective is welcome except those perspectives. That’s across the line.”
If we are truly striving to understand where people are coming from, then, as a coalition, we have to be able to represent the various ideologies, perspectives, geographies that represent the true nature of America. And so, one of the things that I think our work entails is making sure that we’re not just talking the talk, but when we hold conferences, we have broad representation, racial diversity, political ideology diversity, religious diversity, because that is the truest essence of pluralism.
And I am very proud when people walk away from a meeting and, “whew, that was heated. Whew. That made me think differently.” Good. We should be thinking differently. Disagreement is not bad, as long as we can constructively do it and still see the dignity in people. That is what Listen First Project needs to be promoting.
Michael Bailey: That’s amazing. And, and you’ve already talked to what success looks like for you all naturally in your previous response. And so I’d be curious, how do you think about measuring success? How do you all, for the various work you’re doing and as a toolkit for those organizations that are part of your coalition, how do you measure success when it comes to practicing pluralism?
Karissa Raskin: Yeah, that’s another phenomenal question. And success- we know that our different partners have slightly different objectives with the goals and programs that they run. So, what we’ve been able to build as a collective of organizations is a tool called the Social Cohesion Impact Measurement Tool.
It’s part of our broader goals and measures program and it’s a pre/post- survey that any organization in our coalition is able to utilize and actually customize to the goals of their organization. And the idea is, they can then measure the impact that their program has on participants. So, people come into the program, they take the pre-survey, they sit through, participate, engage, reflect, and at the end of the program, take that post-survey, and then we get data that tells us, well, did their effective polarization decrease? Did their respect and understanding for people who are “other” increase. Did they gain self-efficacy? That feeling of “I can do this. I know how to bridge, and I feel empowered to be able to go out and do it.” And we have about, I think, 22 constructs that we can measure. And so, our partners get to choose which ones are most relevant and, over time, they build this robust database to say, “yeah, our programs are actually working.”
And, teaser, their programs are actually working. We have evidence briefs on that. But also, when they’re not, that’s really important for us to know. We shouldn’t be promoting things that aren’t the highest efficacy, and we shouldn’t be asking for funding for programs that don’t work. So, it’s a really important check for our organizations as well.
What we would like to be able to do, and what my organization and collaboration with others are pursuing funding for, is to build out further tools. We would love to be able to measure the expanse of reach that our organizations have. It’s one thing to have an amazing program. It’s one thing to have really powerful data. But if it’s reaching such a small sample of the population, and we know that toxic polarization in the media is reaching the masses, is it really effective? So, we need to be able to measure how many people are being made aware of the bridging movement, of the tools that are available, of the resources they can implement right now, today. Which, Michael, is one of the reasons I’m so grateful for you all inviting us on so that we can share these resources with your audience. Really, word of mouth and passing the message along, I think is work that we all can do collectively together.
Michael Bailey: Absolutely. Well, Karissa, this has been incredibly insightful. I thank you again for your time. My last question is how can folks either join your coalition or learn more about the work of Listen First Project?
Karissa Raskin: Sure. Well, we do have our website. It’s pretty easy to remember. It’s, listenfirstproject.org. And if folks are interested, we have a pledge on there. Signing that pledge will get you onto our list serve so we can send you updates and information about what we are up to. And so please do check that out.
And then also, if you’re looking for very tangible, “What can I do today?” examples of books you might read or films you might watch, or skills you might want to learn, I would highly recommend a website called “Conversation.US” that will bring you to a menu of options. And we believe that there’s something there for everyone and it continues to grow. But hopefully that can serve as an on-ramp if you’re feeling a little bit lost in “what do I do first?” Go there and, and you’ll find something.
Michael Bailey: Wonderful. Well, Karissa Raskin, thank you so much again for joining us. This has been incredibly helpful and wonderful for those who are wanting to learn more about how they can practice pluralism no matter the scope and scale. Thank you for all you do and the work that Listen First Project does to strengthen our democracy.
Karissa Raskin: Thank you, Michael. I really appreciate it.
