Skills for Disagreeing Better

This workshop is in-person at PRC. This workshop will be held on Zoom in the event of bad weather and registrants will be notified via email.

Political differences can often feel insurmountable and exhausting, especially when they are between friends and relatives. This workshop builds on our Relationships and Politics workshop, and will cover the essential skills for communicating across differences, sharing viewpoints, how to listen so other people feel heard, and finding common ground. It will be led by Braver Angels, one of the nation’s largest, cross-partisan, volunteer-led movements that are working to bridge the partisan divide. 

Melissa Gizzi is the “Red” co-chair of the Braver Angels Lower Susquehanna Alliance and also serves as an ambassador and event organizer. Prior to retirement in December 2021, she spent 21 years working in the PA state senate and another 21 working in government and public affairs. She experienced firsthand the widening divide between conservatives and liberals. She was drawn to Braver Angels’ mission of bringing “Americans together to bridge the partisan divide” and finding ways to reduce rancor so that we can work together to solve today’s problems. She believes the best long-lasting decisions are made when everyone’s perspective is heard.

Nita Landis is the “Blue” co-chair of the Braver Angels Lower Susquehanna Alliance and a trained moderator for Braver Angels workshops. She is a spiritual director and retreat leader with a strong desire for her grandchildren to inherit a functional democracy. After reading Parker Palmer’s book Healing the Heart of Democracy, she began looking for a way to take action and joined Braver Angels in October 2020. She believes that curiosity and respect lead to far better outcomes than dismissing and demonizing those with whom we disagree.