Author Archives: Gina Baleria

Zach Bell & Ron Towns, Camp Common Ground

Zach Bell and Ron Towns are co-founders and co-directors of Camp Common Ground. a summer camp that brings racially and economically diverse middle schoolers together to teach them about leadership, social-emotional, and cultural competencies, and how to develop meaningful relationships with each other. Bell & Towns discuss their work and how kids are taking up the effort to build connection across difference.

Claudia Cohen & Everyday Dignity

Acts of dehumanization and humiliation are tools of war and submission. But, the flip side – the impact of offering dignity and acknowledging humanity, is less well studied. Claudia Cohen has coined the phrase everyday dignity to describe small acts that can restore our humanity. Cohen is adjunct faculty at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia Teachers College, and a founding member of the Summit Interfaith Council Anti-racism Committee and Anti-Racism Community Collaborative in Westfield/Scotch Plains, NJ.

Stuart Chittenden, SquishTalks & The Power of Empathetic Conversation

Stuart Chittenden is a lawyer by training, but he began to see the power of empathetic conversation on relationships and even his own outlook on life. He now focuses on building relationships helping people tell their stories and truly hear the stories of others as founder of Squishtalks.

Islamic Networks Group (ING) & Know Your Neighbor

This is Civity Radio talks with Kate Chance and Ameena Jandali with the Islamic Networks Group (ING). ING works around the country on education geared toward cultural literacy and mutual respect, as well as efforts to counter incidents of bigotry through building relationships and engaging communities. ING has also created the Know Your Neighbor Campaign, of which Civity is a partner.