Program Director

Program Director Application deadline: 11:59PM on April 21, 2024 HD’s Program Directors manage our program development and implementation – and conduct ongoing outreach to cultivate new programs. Who We Are We bring together everyday people, from all walks of life, to tackle our most contentious issues. We are an Oregon-based nonpartisan nonprofit that designs and […]

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Randomly Chosen Panel Should Guide Airport’s Future, Officials Say

JORGE CASUSO “September 25, 2023 — The future of Santa Monica Airport should be hammered out — not by the usual community activists and civic volunteers — but by randomly selected “everyday people,” City officials told the City Council Monday. The information item from top Public Works officials proposes using a democratic lottery to “engage

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Behind the Scenes at HD

Since you haven’t heard from us much lately, we thought we’d share a glimpse of what’s inspiring and delighting us behind the scenes at HD. (Against the backdrop of a long winter in Oregon, we could all use some inspiration!). Between major projects, our amazing little team is still working towards our mission every single

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Reinventing Democracy: How Hometowns Are Strengthening America

Mayors, city councilors, select board members, city and town managers, county executives, and other local government officials from across the country convened in this online conference in December 2022 to discuss how America’s hometowns can help reinvent democracy. Watch Alex, from Healthy Democracy, at the virtual Symposium hosted by the American Academy of Arts &

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What if the People Governed? How Citizens’ Assemblies Can Restore Trust in LA City Government

This introduction to citizens’ assemblies and how they can empower breakthroughs in local democracy was co-hosted by the Berggruen Institute, Healthy Democracy, The American Public Trust, Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, Abundant Housing LA, and Public Access Democracy. This 90-minute online teach-in brought together advocates and experts on democratic theory and governance to introduce

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Creating a Healthy Democracy For Everyone – Omni Win Podcast

How can we include everyday people in political decisions? Duncan welcomes Alex Renirie, Linn Davis and Kacey Bull from  Healthy Democracy to the show to discuss democratic lotteries that empower citizens to participate in the political process with informed deliberative consideration of complex issues. In this episode, you can see how they’re making sure your voice matters. 

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Guaranteeing Representation: Reimagining Community Participation through Democratic Lotteries — Webinar

In this webinar, held on November 18th, 2021, Healthy Democracy teamed up with experts from across the world to discuss lottery-selected deliberative panels. Democratic lotteries are being used around the world to guarantee diversity, representation, and inclusion of new voices in public policymaking. Watch us to learn how this popular democratic reform could help Portland

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A Tribute to Ned Crosby

Healthy Democracy is grieving the loss of Ned Crosby. Ned was not only a leading innovator in the field of citizen deliberation and public engagement, he was also a beloved mentor to many who have passed through HD’s offices. Ned passed peacefully on the evening of Sunday, May 29, 2022 surrounded by family in Minneapolis,

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Here’s how the controversial new Petaluma fairgrounds planning process will work

AMELIA PARREIRA ARGUS-COURIER STAFF March 2, 2022, 12:15PM To form the panel of 30 to 40 residents, potential candidates would be invited to participate through a mailed letter sent to 10,000 randomly selected residences. The letter would ask those residents to respond by filling out a questionnaire which would ask for demographic information such as

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Let the People of California Solve the State’s Homelessness Crisis

A Citizens Assembly Could Unify People Around a Thorny Problem and Succeed Where Politicians Have Failed by JOE MATHEWS | FEBRUARY 22, 2022 The tool is called the citizens assembly.While getting elected to the legislature without a permanent address is nearly impossible, one democratic virtue of the citizens assembly is that it could specifically include a significant plurality of people who

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Community Matters: Finally, a novel approach to resolving the Petaluma Fairgrounds quandary

TYLER SILVY ARGUS-COURIER EDITOR February 9, 2022 Eager to find a solution to the quandary, Petaluma City Manager Peggy Flynn recently unveiled an entirely new approach that would utilize a novel “democratic lottery process,” the exact opposite of “politics as usual.” Healthy Democracy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit consulting firm with a solid track record of helping

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Democracy Rising 8: Deliberative Democracy — Power

By Susan Clark, originally published by Resilience.org Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR) gives an old system a much-needed update. The initiative and referendum system, used in two dozen American states and many cities, allows voters to create public policy through ballot measures. In Oregon, leaders were concerned that this direct democracy process, while allowing voters substantial power, was missing

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Guaranteeing Representation

Recording Reimagining Community Participation Through Democratic Lotteries Thursday, November 18th • 5:00-6:30pm (PST) Democratic lotteries are being used around the world to guarantee diversity, representation, and inclusion of new voices in public policymaking. Join us to learn how this popular democratic reform could help Portland reimagine civic participation to center everyday people – and hear

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Opinion: Citizen Initiative Review Commissions Provide Deeper Involvement in Democracy

Guest opinion article written by Sue Malek for the Missoulian: Should we enact Citizen Initiative Review Commissions (CIRCs)* in Montana? A bipartisan bill in the Oregon Legislature established CIRCs in 2008. Twenty-four citizens, randomly selected to serve, are paid salaries and expenses for participation in groups that study initiative issues and publish a statement describing

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City of Eugene Review Panel Publishes Guiding Principles on Housing, as Part of Innovative Public Engagement Process

EUGENE — A first-of-its-kind Review Panel has completed the first phase of a public engagement process designed to advise the City of Eugene on the implementation of HB 2001, as part of the City’s Middle Housing Code Change project. The 29-member Panel of everyday Eugene residents was selected through a lottery process that uses random,

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Podcast // Facilitating Public Deliberation: Episode 32, Citizens’ Initiative Reviews with Linn Davis

From Facilitating Public Deliberation: Linn Davis leads Healthy Democracy’s program development and process design. He coordinates Healthy Democracy’s complex public processes, trains its facilitation teams, and consults on deliberative projects in the U.S. and abroad. In this episode, recorded prior to the pandemic’s impact, Linn explains the Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR) and the skills needed for excellent facilitation

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Podcast // Democracy In Crisis Part 2: Mini-publics, Citizens’ Assemblies and Juries

Democracy in Crisis is a special online series of global roundtable discussions about the use of randomly-selected citizen assemblies to further democracy. Democracy in Crisis is produced by Ahmed Teleb, Brian Standing, the 8 O’Clock Buzz and WORT-FM. Welcome to the second episode of “Democracy in Crisis” an in-depth series right here on WORT. In

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Annabelle’s Reflection on her Nevins Fellowship with Healthy Democracy

Over the summer, Healthy Democracy was grateful to welcome Annabelle LaRosa as our 2020 Nevins Fellow. The Nevins Fellowship, through the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, provides students with the opportunity to complete internships at organizations that bring people together to solve common problems. From June through August, Annabelle lent her perspective and

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First Virtual Oregon Citizen Assembly Shares COVID-19 Recovery Recommendations August 27

For Immediate Release August 12, 2020 Media Contact: Robin Teater, Executive Director Ph: 503-841-6865; Email: robin@healthydemocracy.org   WHAT: Oregon Citizen Assembly on COVID-19 Recovery Thirty-six diverse citizens from across Oregon will share results of seven weeks of discussion and deliberations on key questions relevant to the State’s COVID-19 economic recovery. WHEN:  Thursday, Aug. 27, 6-6:30

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First Statewide Online Assembly Will Look at Coronavirus Recovery

From Portland Tribune: Forty Oregonians, just under half the size of the Legislature, will meet online during the next six weeks to help chart a course for the state’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Chosen at random and reflective of the population, they will take part in a statewide assembly that mirrors Oregon’s decade-long citizen review

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Oregonians to weigh in on COVID-19 recovery issues in ‘virtual citizen assembly’

From KTVZ News Channel 21: PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregonians from all walks of life will participate in the state’s first virtual Citizen Assembly to weigh in on what could be some of the state’s most important policy considerations in a generation. The virtual Citizen Assembly, a pilot project of nonpartisan, nonprofit Healthy Democracy and Oregon’s Kitchen Table, will

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Oregon Citizens to Weigh-In on COVID Recovery: Healthy Democracy & Oregon’s Kitchen Table Convene First Virtual Citizen Assembly

For Immediate Release June 30, 2020 Media Contact: Robin Teater, Executive Director Ph: 503-381-1196; Email: robin@healthydemocracy.org   PORTLAND, Ore. – June 30, 2020 – Oregonians from all walks of life will participate in the state’s first virtual Citizen Assembly to weigh in on what could be some of the state’s most important policy considerations in

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Citizens’ Initiative Review: Helping Citizens Make Better Informed Voting Choices

From medium.com/participo: Linn Davis is a program manager at Healthy Democracy, a US-based nonpartisan non-profit that designs and coordinates deliberative democracy programs. He manages the Citizens’ Initiative Review program, as well as design and outreach for emerging local government and high school programs. The Citizens’ Initiative Review is a unique deliberative process. In the OECD’s forthcoming

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