Held in the Ford Orientation Center on Mount Vernon Campus (See Map)

• Together with the George Washington’s 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 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. More information about the event and the winning teams can be found here.

• The event will also feature a panel of esteemed leaders speaking about the importance of bridging divides to strengthen our social fabric and democracy.

  • David McCullough III (American Exchange Project)

  • Liz Joyner (The Village Square)

  • John Wood Jr. (Braver Angels)

  • Sam Feist (C-SPAN)

• The event will open to the public and will be live-streamed. More info here.

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

Held in Fred W. Smith National Library Building (See Map)

• 8:30am (40 min) - Breakfast + Check In

• 9:10am (15 min) - Welcoming Remarks

• 9:25am (55 min) - “Intentional Introductions”

  • Plenary activity facilitated by Palma Strand (Civity)

• 10:20am (30 min) - The Five Cohorts of President Trump’s Coalition

  • Plenary presentation by Jason Mangone (More in Common) sharing not-yet released research findings.

• 10:50am (10 min) - Refreshments / Break

• 11:00am (60 min) - Community-Based Bridge Building Driving Toward Action

  • Breakout sessions facilitated by the 5 teams featured in Wednesday’s Innovation Showcase.

• 12:00pm (60 min) - Catered Lunch (free for Summit attendees)

• 1:00pm (60 min) - Leveraging national campaigns to advance place-based bridging

  • Plenary session with mini-presentations by leaders describing initiatives that are national in scale, but customizable and focused on place-based engagement:

  • NWoC / Better Together Film Festival (Karissa Raskin, Listen First Project)

  • America’s Potluck (Nicole Handy, Utah250)

  • Women Building Peace: Peace by Piece Initiative (Jennifer Walker-Thomas, Mormon Women for Ethical Government)

  • Team Up Project (Scott Rasmussen, Interfaith America)

  • Be the People (Jordan Brooks, More Perfect)

• 2:00pm (60 min) - Strengthening Relationships Between Bridging Movement and Adjacent Spaces

  • Breakout sessions that offer attendees an opportunity to learn more about work happening in spaces adjacent to the bridging field, but that have direct relevance for our work and potential for mutually beneficial partnerships:

  • Citizen Deliberation + Deliberation Tech (Sam Shireman: FRANKLY  |   Kristin Hansen: Civic Health Project | Matt Byrne: Unify America)

  • Media + Communications (Ann Reidy: NORMSY  |  Cambria Findley Grubb: Social Media Amplification and Networks | John Gable: AllSides)

  • Parks + Recreation (Trisha Dehrone and Linda Tropp: Parks as intentional spaces for fostering meaningful interracial relationships  |  Ken Powley: RAFT for America)

• 3:00pm (10 min) - Refreshments / Break

• 3:10PM (25 min) - Learnings from the field on Social Identity, Intergroup Contact + Bridging

  • Plenary presentation by Nichole Argo (Together Up!) and Linda Tropp (UMass), sharing insights from research literature and practice regarding intergroup contact and bridging groups across lines of difference. 

• 3:35pm (25 min) - Get up and play!

  • Plenary activity facilitated by Joe Bubman (UR Action) to deepen our connection as a Coalition.

• 4:00pm (10 min) - Closing Remarks to Conclude Day #1

• 4:15pm (60 min) - Optional VIP Tour of Mount Vernon Mansion and Main Estate

Held in Fred W. Smith National Library Building (See Map)

• 8:00am (40 min) - Breakfast + Check-In

• 8:40am (10 min) - Presentation by A Peace of My Mind

  • After being present at the Summit for the past 2 days, Nick Theisen (A Peace of My Mind) will share a video that compiles many of the photographs and quotes shared by audience members at the Showcase event as well as bridging leaders attending the Summit.

• 8:50am (60 min) - Thinking, Playing and Creating Out-of-the-Box

  • Panel discussion among Bridging Movement Leaders using different forms of creative expression to help bridge divides and build social cohesion on a local and/or national scale:

  • Film - Steven Olikara (Bridge Entertainment Labs)

  • Photography - Nick Theisen (A Peace of My Mind)

  • Theater - Jon Adam Ross (Inheritance Theater)

  • Music - Sage Snider (Braver Angels’ Music Program)

• 9:50am (50 min) - Connecting around ‘What is top of mind for you?’

  • Breakout groups will be organized to allow individuals to discuss themes / topics of greatest interest to attendees. Themes of breakout groups will be informed by a poll all attendees are asked to participate in ahead of time.

• 10:40am (10 min) - Refreshments / Break

• 10:50am (30 min) - Debrief from ‘What is top of mind for you?’ Breakout Sessions

  • Gather in plenary to share report outs from breakout discussions.

• 11:20am (30 min) - Reflections from Bridging Movement Leadership Council Members

  • Plenary panel discussion where members of the Bridging Movement Leadership Council share reflections on the time we just spent together at the Summit and share what new ideas, hopes, concerns, and thoughts they are carrying forward from this Summit.

• 11:50am (10 min) - Closing Remarks

  • 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.