Bridging Movement Summit 2025

Save the Dates for our Inaugural, In-Person Gathering

Hosted at George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Sept. 24 - 26, 2025

For the past 5 years Listen First Project has been honored to partner with a team of field leaders to host an annual virtual gathering for the leaders in our Coalition. Typically held in early December each year, we’ve come together for 4-5 hours on Zoom to connect, reflect on the past year, and look forward to opportunities for collaboration and capacity building for our field in the coming months. These meetings have been well attended and we always receive such positive feedback about the value partners experience being together as part of the Listen First community. But we have also heard for years your desire to deepen our connections and find a way to hold an in-person gathering event. 

Thanks to funding support from you - our Coalition members - as well as generous contributions from More Perfect and George Washington’s Mount Vernon, we are thrilled to announce that this year we will be hosting our first-ever in-person Bridging Movement Summit! We are still developing the agenda for the Summit, but we wanted to share preliminary information so you can mark the dates on your calendar and begin planning to attend.

Venue / Location: 

All programming will be hosted at:

George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

3600 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway,

Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121

Programming Outline:

    • Together with the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, Listen First Project is delighted to host the 2025 Bridge Building Innovation Showcase & Awards Event as part of Mount Vernon’s annual Founding Debates Program. The event will celebrate six teams of community members from different geographic communities in America who are walking a patriot’s path - following in the footsteps of George Washington himself. The event will also feature a panel of esteemed leaders speaking about the importance of bridging divides to strengthen our social fabric and democracy. More information can be found here.

    • The event will be live-streamed.

    • A reception will follow the event. Cocktail hour and heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.

    • If you are aware of local teams of community members working together to solve problems across differences in their communities, please encourage them to apply to be showcased at the event. Travel expenses will be covered for Showcase Teams.

    • Through a combination of panel discussions, plenary presentations, and breakout sessions, the day will be filled with opportunities to strengthen our bonds as a Coalition, share learnings and insights with each other, and grow our organizations’ networks. 

    • Attendees will include Showcase Teams celebrated at the evening event on Sept. 24th, as well as Listen First Coalition Partners, Allies, and Sector Ambassadors. 

    • Breakout Sessions may include: 

      • Networking / relationship building; 

      • Collaborative problem solving around tough questions / issues facing our movement

      • Exploring opportunities for collaboration (America250 as a theme, or divide by Sectors)

    • Breakfast, Lunch, and refreshments will be provided for all registered attendees

    • A mid-day tour of a Mount Vernon feature exhibit will be offered to attendees

    • Suggested evening events will be available for attendees to participate in at their own cost.

    • We will spend time reflecting on the themes that came out of our discussions the day prior - particularly our breakout sessions - and will coordinate activities that enable Coalition members to plan further actions we may take together to address these topics. 

    • Interactive workshops may be offered, as well as a final panel discussion. 

    • Breakfast and mid-morning refreshments will be provided for all registered attendees. 

    • The Summit will end at 12pm ET. 

    *Members of the Bridging Movement Leadership Council will be asked to stay through the evening on September 26th for our Annual Leadership Retreat, which will also take place at Mount Vernon.

Cost of Registration: 

All members of the Listen First Coalition are welcome to attend free-of-charge. However due to limited capacity, we request that only one member of each organization register until we determine if we have more space available. We will reach out over the summer to let you know if additional spaces are available for more members of your team.

Travel / Lodging: 

Attendees will be required to cover the costs of their own travel and lodging during the Summit. We are working on getting group rates at nearby hotels. More information about possible group rates for hotel booking will be provided soon. Check back here for updates. Emails will also be sent out. 

 

Planning Team & Sponsors

Ready to join the movement?