Diverse communities can address problems and generate new possibilities for action without people compromising their values or identities to make it happen. They just need the right support. 

Martín Carcasson knows that college students can play a key role in providing that support. That’s why he and his colleagues at Colorado State University’s Center for Public Deliberation (CPD) train students to serve as impartial facilitators, working alongside local governments, school boards, and community organizations, to help the people of northern Colorado arrive at better decisions together.  

In this interactive skill-sharing session, Prof. Carcasson and his former student Willow Paul shared what they’ve learned as they’ve helped local communities address problems more productively through improved public communication and collaborative decision-making. Then, character scientist, Elise Dykhuis, showed how this work doesn’t just change how we collaborate, but can also cultivate the intellectual humility needed to engage across differences. 

Hosted by Juliana Tafur, GGSC’s Bridging Differences Program Director.

  • Juliana Tafur directs the Bridging Differences program at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, advancing skills and strategies to connect across geography, race, religion, politics, and more. She’s spent more than a decade designing experiences that foster understanding and belonging, both as a social entrepreneur/workshop creator, and as an Emmy-nominated storyteller. A TEDx speaker, she leads science-based trainings for campuses, organizations, and communities, and makes bridge-building practical and accessible through partnerships, multimedia content, speaking engagements, and workshops. Juliana is an honors graduate of Northwestern University and a 2021–22 Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University.

  • Martín Carcasson, is a professor in the Communication Studies department of Colorado State University, the founder and director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD), and faculty in CSU’s new Masters in Public Policy and Administration program. His research focuses on helping local communities address “wicked problems” more productively through improved public communication, community problem solving, and collaborative decision-making. Dr. Carcasson and the CPD staff train students to serve as impartial facilitators, who then work with local governments, school boards, and community organizations to design, facilitate, and report on innovative projects and events on key community issues. 

  • Willow Paul is a Colorado State University alum whose work with the Center for Public Deliberation shaped her passion for bridging divides and bringing communities together through dialogue and deliberation. Now serving as Director of Deliberation at Unify America, she designs civic assemblies that foster dialogue, connection, and belonging by empowering people to tackle community challenges together. She believes bridging isn't just something we do, but a set of principles we can embrace every day to build a better future.

  • Elise Dykhuis, Ph.D., is a character scientist and member of the Greater Good Science Center’s Character Advisory Committee. Her research focuses broadly on individual pathways for character development and her work integrates the concept of character virtues with developmental theory and metatheory. Her current work focuses on character measurement and how assessment of character development can be improved, as well as how developmental modeling of character can be more situation- and person-sensitive. Given her interest and work in intellectual humility, she has also consulted on various other character intervention projects in higher education, especially in the space of promoting civil discourse strategies on college campuses.