RSA US hosted a conversation with Sam Pressler where he shared Connective Tissue, his recently published policy framework for regenerating connection within American communities. He provides insights gleaned from interviews with more than 70 practitioners and policymakers on how policy can promote civic opportunity, participation, and connection in the places we call home. Pressler joined us to advocate for a different way of approaching policy — not as a domain beyond our control, but as one that can be actively shaped by community builders and neighbors.
He was joined by Ash Hanson of the Department of Public Transformation as we explored the intersection of social connections practice and policy making. We also explored how policy-making happens - how we can create and support an enabling environment for re-generating American communities and reflected on our own ability for policy influence and joined up advocacy.
This interactive session provided participants with the opportunity to interrogate how their work impacts and is impacted by policy as well as empowered practitioners to lean into their power as policy shapers.
Sam Pressler
Sam Pressler is a community builder, researcher, and writer focused on connecting people to the communities, connections, and commitments that make life worth living. He is a Practitioner Fellow at UVA's Karsh Institute of Democracy, a Research Affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program, and the author of Connective Tissue, a policy framework on the role of government in regenerating connection within communities. In his past life, Sam was the founder and executive director of the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP), the nation's largest community arts organization serving veterans and their families. Sam has been recognized as an Echoing Green Global Fellow, Halcyon Fellow, and 30 Under 30 awardee from Forbes and Pacific Standard Magazine, and his work and writing has been featured in POLITICO, Vox, The Washington Post, CNN, and NPR, among others. He holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. His grandmas are very proud of him.
Ash Hanson
Ash Hanson (she/her) has over two decades of experience working with rural communities to activate stories, connect neighbors, and exercise collective imagination. She is the Creative Executive Officer (CEO) of Department of Public Transformation (DoPT) -- a nonprofit organizations that works at the intersection of creativity and civic life in rural communities. She is a member of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice Leadership Circle and she was an Artist-in-Residence in both the Planning Department at the City of Minneapolis and with the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, where she employed creative community engagement strategies for equitable participation in urban and rural planning and development processes. In addition to her work with DoPT, she is the founder of PlaceBase Productions, a theater company that creates original, site-specific musicals celebrating small-town life. She holds an MA in Applied Theater with a focus on Rural Community Development, and she was named an Obama Foundation Fellow and a Bush Fellow for her work with rural communities. She believes deeply in the power of play and exclamation points!
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