Mission

To promote the development of a vibrant deliberative democracy in Northern Colorado.

Our Three Broad Goals:

1. Enhance the Local Civic Culture

•  Increase local participation in community problem solving
•  Decrease the sense of polarization, cynicism, and frustration with politics
•  Help develop a civic habit of relying on deliberation to address local concerns

2. Expand Collaborative Decision-Making

• Promote interconnections between local government and citizens
• Expand and improve the role of the public in decision-making processes
• Help incorporate deliberative techniques in local institutions

3. Improve Civic Pedagogy

• Study and improve methods of developing citizenship skills at all levels (K-12, higher education, citizen education)
• Incorporate deliberative pedagogy at all levels

CPD Leadership

Founder and Director: Martin Carcasson, Ph.D.

Research Assistant: Ellie Christopher

Advisory Board

The CPD Advisory Board consists of community and campus individuals who agreed to lend their name to the official proposal for the creation of the Center, and continue to support the Center in a variety of ways, such as serving as primary liaisons between the Center and their respective organizations.

Karrin Anderson, CSU Department of Speech Communication
Lyn Kathlene, Director, Colorado Institute of Public Policy
Deni LaRue, Larimer County Community Information Officer
Barb Kistler, Director, CSU Student Leadership and Civic Engagement office
Ellen Laubhan, Director of Communications, Poudre School District
Brad MacDonald, CSU Department of Political Science
John Meyer, President of Fort Collins Church Network and Pastor of Summitview Church
Robert Moore, Executive Editor, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Ginny Sawyer, Neighborhood Administrator, City of Fort Collins
Dixie Schmatz, Spokeswoman, Larimer County League of Women Voters
William Timpson, CSU Department of Education
Michael Liggett, PSD Think Tank, Fort Collins Library Board, & Liggett, Smith, & Wilson
Jessica Thompson, CSU College of Natural Resources
Pete Seel, CSU Department of Journalism and Technical Communication
James Ross, Fort Collins Human Relations Commission

Student Associates

Every semester, 8-10 CSU undergraduates are chosen to serve as “Student Associates” for the Center. Student associates working within the Center will typically receive 2 hours of SP496 credit their first semester and one hour of credit for their second semester with the Center. Students focus on deliberative theory and practice their first semester, and organize and run public forums using prepared NIF material. In their second semesters, students work on local projects, researching the issue, preparing their own materials, and organizing and running public forums on the issue.

Student associates starting Fall 2006 (inaugural class):

• Alexander Fairbanks
• Angela Huffman
• Anthony Grimes  
• Bethany Porter 
• Daniel Segreti
• Ellie Christopher
• Jake Woods 
• Janie Dunckley 
• JT English
• Kassidy Kaylor
• Krystal Angelo
• Michael Lawrence
• Ryan Olivett
• Thea Rinard
• Michael Crook

In the spring of 2007, eleven of the original student associates returned for their second semester (the other 4 graduated from CSU), and the CPD welcomed 10 new student associates:

Jamie Folsom
Mandi Gum
Brian Kraus
Lisa Wirth
Matthew Wolf
Rich Rodriguez
Kristen Turechek
Aubrey White
Jonathan Cohen
Kevin Jacobi

In the fall of 2007, five SA's returned (Jamie, Mandi, Brian, Lisa, and Matthew), and 14 new SA's began their first semester:

Kimberly Goodrich
Robert Drost
Teddy Saldivar
Rachael Lovendahl
Christine Cecilione 
Helen Heinrich
Lindsay Byers
Bonnie Goff
Sarah Robinson
Amy Wimberger
Keri Owen
Stacy Pilgram
Dawneen Banks

Interested in becoming a student associate? Contact Martín Carcasson at mcarcas@colostate.edu for more information and an application

Community Associates

Community members will also have an opportunity to go through the training workshops and be available to work on projects tied to the Center.

In the Spring of 2007, several graduate students and lecturers in the Department of Speech Communication attended training and helped facilitate events, in particular the grade configuration forums. Those students included Carissa  Dunlap, Alicia Ernest, Joe Mohrfeld, Hilary Nixon, Hollie Petit, Emily Scott, and
Allison Searle.

In the summer of 2007, 11 local community members attended our moderator training workshop (see below). Of those participants, Victoria Keller, Ryan Staychock, Darrick Hildman, and Chris Carsten have expressed interest in serving as community associates, and will be available to help work on CPD projects during the fall.