Each member of SDI’s staff is working pro bono with local organizations to assist and provide support in needed areas. Pro Bono projects include a parent dialogue in a bilingual D.C. school, workshops for aspiring professors in DC, and support for post-election efforts in one Massachusetts community.
Team member Elizabeth Wuerz, in collaboration with Joined in Action, a Needham, MA-based community advocacy group that promotes inclusiveness, constructive conversation, and activism, presented a kickoff session on “Strategies for More Effective Conversation and Action” March 16, 2017. After the election, community members in Needham, MA were troubled by division and sought to find a way to help the community move through the political rancor. Elizabeth’s workshop for about 50 community members represents the group’s first Community Conversation.
SDI’s founder, the late Dr. Hal Saunders, wrote, “There are some things that only governments can do, like build policies and make rules. There are other things only [people] can do, like create the culture of how they treat one another.” SDI salutes this community’s efforts to build capacity for productive cross-cultural interactions. To suggest or connect a potential pro bono site to the SDI team, please reply to this email.