Why This Matters

Racism damages health, weakens civic trust, and fractures communities. The Center's facilitated dialogues build shared language and listening skills, helping people examine racial conditioning, heal harm, and take collaborative action across lines of difference.

Frientimacy: The 3 Requirements of All Healthy Friendships” by Shasta Nelson
TEDx Talk | 16 min video
A powerful and funny talk by our very own Chief Friendship Officer that breaks down what makes friendships meaningful and how to strengthen the ones you have.

Generational divisions are deepening just when collaboration is needed most. CoGenerate addresses this by building intergenerational bridges that spark innovation, expand belonging, and nurture mutual understanding—offering a replicable model of age-integrated social progress.

Contempt-driven language erodes trust, escalates division, and fuels extremism. The Dignity Index offers a practical, measurable approach to create a new standard in public dialogue—centered on mutual respect and possibility.

Good Good Good offers more than a break from the bad news—it’s a compass for building civic resilience. Their radical transparency, editorial integrity, and community-first values create a roadmap for how media can heal rather than harm.

Leadership Houston is one of the city’s premier civic leadership programs, dedicated to educating and connecting leaders who are passionate about making a difference. Since 1982, it has brought together professionals from every sector to explore Houston’s most pressing issues, engage with decision-makers, and build lasting relationships across industries and ideologies. The goal? To create a more informed, inspired, and civically active Houston.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit think tank and leadership organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute convenes leaders across sectors to tackle the world’s most complex challenges through dialogue, research, and action. With a strong belief in values-based leadership, the Aspen Institute creates space for bold ideas, civil discourse, and meaningful impact.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with locations across the U.S. and abroad, Aspen serves as a neutral ground where changemakers collaborate on solutions across lines of difference.

Ben McBride’s Troubling the Water is both a personal testimony and a public call to action—a deeply spiritual, emotionally honest, and politically relevant work that challenges the reader to live differently.

Braver Angels eCourses

These free, self-paced online courses are designed to help individuals navigate political and personal divides with empathy, clarity, and courage. Each course takes approximately 40 minutes to complete and can be taken independently or in conjunction with Braver Angels worksho

Braver Angels of Houston is working in our local communities by holding workshops, debates and public presentations designed to bridge the polarizing political divide we experience in our country. These events allow conservatives and liberals to get past the destructive stereotypes so we can have civil conversations about real issues that lead to productive problem-solving. 

It all begins with an idea.