Our Impact

• ALL TESTIMONIALS •

• CAMPUS TESTIMONIALS •

• INTERNATIONAL TESTIMONIALS •

• WORKPLACE TESTIMONIALS •

“I believe that implementation of SD enabled members of my campus to come together as a close-knit family, instead of strangers. I’m proud to be a part of an organization that embodies such diversity, acceptance, and honesty. This is how to make large-scale societal change in the ways we interact.”

LaForce Baker, Denison University

“SDI was wonderful to work with from start to finish. They took the prep time to fully understand our Fellows and the training participants. The training was comprehensive, interesting and in tune with the needs of our Fellows. We very much look forward to continuing to build the capacity of Atlas Corps with our Fellows through their well-executed trainings.”

Sara Potler, U.S. Program Director, Atlas Service Corps, Inc.

“I use the skills I learned through SD constantly when communicating with clients and colleagues. Being able to check biases & assumptions and open our hearts to the point where we truly empathize and understand where others are coming from is the deeply enriching gift of SD. It is also necessary for the health of our communities and society as a whole.”

Jacqueline Switzer, consultant and Workplace Programs Manager at the Level Playing Field Institute.

“My involvement leading SD was inspiring. I learned the importance of individuals’ experience in shaping their worldview, the value of listening, the necessity of being open to personal change, and the need to respect the complex intersections of people’s identities. SD has been instrumental in shaping my commitment to issues of social equality.”

Sian Miranda Singh OFaolain, Princeton ’08

“Sustained Dialogue has uplifted me … it gave me that empowerment. My GPA boosted dramatically my junior year. I owe it to Sustained Dialogue.”

Keith Alexander, Saint John Fisher College

“I was trained for Sustained Dialogue at NU in 2013. I recently used the SD model to lead a workshop where the group challenged social norms of masculinity with an audience of majority men. One participant at the end of the workshop asked how I came up with my questions and, honestly, all I could say was SD and everything it taught me. Thank you for the amazing training 2 years ago that I still use.”

Billy Choo, Northwestern University

“Turning the Page worked with SDI on “Building Authentic Relationships Across Difference” to equip us with skills and language to engage effectively with our partner schools and communities. We have used the practices in our community workshops and leadership activities to maintain that space between parents and teachers and school leaders. We enjoyed the training so much for our new AmeriCorps members.”

Ellie Canter, Turning the Page

“Sustained Dialogue changed how I see the world.”

Anonymous

“Sustained Dialogue is an eye-opening, perspective-shattering experience for anyone who is willing to listen to others, and has had an enormous impact on the way I think around the world and my place in it. I want everyone I know to experience what SD has given me.”

Anonymous

“In all my time here I’ve never felt like a member of the campus community, except for the times I’ve been with Sustained Dialogue.”

Anonymous

“Dialogues are a critical part of Bridgespan’s strategy for inclusion, retention, engagement, and innovation.”

Jeff Bradach, Co-founder of The Bridgespan Group, former dialogue participant

“The skills, perspectives, and experiences SD leaders gain are what we value in the corporate world. Listening is the most life-changing skill our executives practice daily. And, the ability to work in diverse teams to solve problems is critical.”

Elana Weinstein, Bloomberg LP

“We can’t do our work unless folks like you have the skills and commitments to [create inclusive environments]. You are exactly what we are looking for at Teach for America.”

Amanda Fernandez, Vice President of Latino Engagement, Teach for America

“I can testify to the remarkable energy, ability, creativity, and determination of individuals in meeting the challenges of human progress our world faces. This groundbreaking political paradigm deserves our most serious attention.”

Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and Nobel Laureate

“It was as if we were holding up gigantic mirrors in which we could see exactly how others saw us. And, while I cannot claim that our meetings hold the key to understanding the end of the cold war or explain why neither side resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, it is nevertheless my belief that Dartmouth made a profound difference in the relationships between the two superpowers.”

David Rockefeller Sr., Participant in the Dartmouth Conference

“But the crucial mission for these meetings was to establish areas of concurring interests and to attempt to outline mutually acceptable solutions to the most acute problems: nuclear weapons reduction, international conflict resolution, and facilitating conditions conducive to economic interaction… The Dartmouth Conference was also valuable in that it contributed to the growing human affinity and the forging of friendships, so difficult at that time.”

Yevgeny Primakov, former Russian Prime Minister and participant in The Dartmouth Conference

“Their discourse can be relevant, helpful, even significant. For nothing in the world – spaceships not excluded – can be more exciting or constructive than a worthwhile human encounter.”

Excerpted from journalist and world peace advocate Norman Cousins’ essay “Experiment at Andover”

“I learned how to listen harder when I disagreed rather than argue. I believe this concept is helpful in all aspects of life.”

– Student, University of Tampa

“My experience this semester has allowed me to go into the next phase of my life with a broader perspective and I know I will form more meaningful relationships because of it.”

-Student, University of Alabama

“I learned more about everyone on a personal level, which in our roles at the University, we may not have been able to do if it wasn’t for SD.”

-Staff, Case Western Reserve University

“Thank you for this important work which is very much needed in our professional and personal lives.”

-Staff, Appalachian State University

“I believe that the program addresses, in a physical and systematic way, the need for people of diverse backgrounds to be able to communicate and to interact in positive, meaningful and nonjudgmental ways. This can only serve to better our college atmosphere and the lives of all who participate.”

-Student, Augustana College

LaForce Baker, Denison University

Jacqueline Switzer, consultant and Workplace Programs Manager at the Level Playing Field Institute.

Sian Miranda Singh OFaolain, Princeton ’08

“Sustained Dialogue has uplifted me … it gave me that empowerment. My GPA boosted dramatically my junior year. I owe it to Sustained Dialogue.”

Keith Alexander, Saint John Fisher College

Billy Choo, Northwestern University

“Sustained Dialogue changed how I see the world.”

Anonymous

“In all my time here I’ve never felt like a member of the campus community, except for the times I’ve been with Sustained Dialogue.”

Anonymous

“I learned how to listen harder when I disagreed rather than argue. I believe this concept is helpful in all aspects of life.”

– Student, University of Tampa

“My experience this semester has allowed me to go into the next phase of my life with a broader perspective and I know I will form more meaningful relationships because of it.”

-Student, University of Alabama

“I learned more about everyone on a personal level, which in our roles at the University, we may not have been able to do if it wasn’t for SD.”

-Staff, Case Western Reserve University

“Thank you for this important work which is very much needed in our professional and personal lives.”

-Staff, Appalachian State University

-Student, Augustana College

Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States and Nobel Laureate

David Rockefeller Sr., Participant in the Dartmouth Conference

Yevgeny Primakov, former Russian Prime Minister and participant in The Dartmouth Conference

“Their discourse can be relevant, helpful, even significant. For nothing in the world – spaceships not excluded – can be more exciting or constructive than a worthwhile human encounter.”

Excerpted from journalist and world peace advocate Norman Cousins’ essay “Experiment at Andover”

Sara Potler, U.S. Program Director, Atlas Service Corps, Inc.

Jacqueline Switzer, consultant and Workplace Programs Manager at the Level Playing Field Institute.

Ellie Canter, Turning the Page

“Dialogues are a critical part of Bridgespan’s strategy for inclusion, retention, engagement, and innovation.”

Jeff Bradach, Co-founder of The Bridgespan Group, former dialogue participant

Elana Weinstein, Bloomberg LP

“We can’t do our work unless folks like you have the skills and commitments to [create inclusive environments]. You are exactly what we are looking for at Teach for America.”

Amanda Fernandez, Vice President of Latino Engagement, Teach for America

289,450

transformed relationships around the world

Our programs lead to increased understanding and greater commitment to collaborative community action. To see specifics, take a look at the drop-down options below.

Campus

What impact should campuses using SD expect?

Through Sustained Dialogue high impact experiences, participants develop a diverse set of leadership skills, including strong personal identity awareness, knowledge of social justice, empathy, facilitation and conflict resolution skills, and more.

Sustained Dialogue is featured in two published academic studies.

Sustained Dialogue’s Impact After Graduation

This study, conducted in 2008, interviewed college graduates who had participated in Sustained Dialogue programs in college. Previous research had demonstrated the positive impacts of dialogue during college, but this study asked “How do recent college graduates understand the influence of their college dialogue experience on their post-graduate civic life?”

Their participation impacted them in five different ways:

Cognitions: Academic pursuits, critical thinking, new ways of thinking about diversity, etc.
Behaviors: Involvement in diversity initiatives at work or in graduate school, engaged in politics, major life decisions, etc.
Attitudes: Motivation and interest in diversity issues, more empathetic, more open with others, changed values about social issues, etc.
Skills: For relating to others, and for reflecting about themselves.
Hopes and Plans for the Future: Plans to attend graduate school or live abroad, engagement in local community, plans to use dialogue in the workplace.

Participants stated that SD impacted many of their major life decisions and how they want to raise their own children. This study found that participants developed civic skills that they used at work and in graduate school, and that these skills permeated their personal lives as well. One participant says: “It’s just a part of me and it changes how I look at things.”

* Diaz, Ande and Rachael Perrault. “Sustained Dialogue and Civic Life: Post-College Impacts” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. (Fall 2010). Available at: http://www.sdcampusnetwork.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/11205

Impact internationally:

In a randomized field trial* conducted comparing two-term SD participants at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia with students who did not participate, the study found statistically significant attitudinal change:

A decrease in mistrust
An increase in trust between people of different ethnic origin
An increased sense of ethnic identity
An increased perception of being ethnically discriminated
An increase in accommodative feelings towards students of other ethnicities leading to resulting positive relationships

* Svensson, Isak and Karen Brounéus. “Dialogue and interethnic trust: A randomized field trial of ‘sustained dialogue’ in Ethiopia.” Journal of Peace Research (August 20, 2013): 1-13. Available at: http://jpr.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/08/19/0022343313492989

SDCN also conducts pre- and post- dialogue surveys for student participants based on key measures from questions similar to The National Survey on Student Engagement, NSSE, and the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, COFHE. These surveys demonstrate:

Participants saw strong increases in some of their personal skills and/or actions because of their time in dialogue, including, but not limited to:

Meeting new people (75% to 93%)
Developing, understanding, and expressing their personal beliefs (82% to 87%)
Explaining the college climate toward diversity, issues that may arise between students, and why issues persist (70% to 81%)
Thinking critically about the experiences of others and how they might be improved (86% to 90%)
Talking about their experiences in front of a group of their peers (81% to 84%)
Having serious conversations with people who are very different from them in terms of race and ethnicity (72% to 76%), gender and sexual orientation (63% to 68%), and religious beliefs, political opinions, and personal values (69% to 73%)
Taking steps if a friend, roommate, classmate, or professor makes a biased or hurtful comment (76% to 79%; 58% to 67%)
Talking about diversity-related issues with friends (84% to 88%)
Using inclusive language (80% to 87%)

Before and After SD: How much do you agree with the statement:

Compared with NSSE statistics, total percentages of participants who responded “Very often” or “Often” to the following questions were as such:

Other helpful SD resources:

Sustained Dialogue: Background and Uses for Campuses (Spanish Language Version: Contexto y Aplicaciones de la SDCN)

International

The Tajikistan Peace-Building InitiativeThe Inter-Tajik Dialogue (ITD) was initiated in March 1993 as an unofficial dialogue intervention to deal with the ongoing Tajik civil war. ITD involved a core of ten to fourteen influential citizens of Tajikistan divided among the different political factions. A third-party team of 3 Americans and 3 Russians moderated the discussions.

ITD played a significant part in the different phases of the peace-making process in Tajikistan:

First, in paving the way for negotiations (1993-1994). This period ended in April 1994 with the launching of the official UN-mediated negotiations to which three ITD members were delegates
Second, in providing a parallel venue to the official negotiations where ITD members focused on the elements of a political process of national reconciliation (1994-1997). A peace agreement was concluded and signed in 1997.
Third, in a transitional period for establishing a process of national reconciliation (1997-2000): Four ITD members became members of the Commission on National Reconciliation (CNR) which was entrusted with overseeing the implementation of the peace accords.

The Arab-American-European Dialogue (AAE) This initiative creates a space where influential and thoughtful citizens from Europe, the United States, and the Arab region gather to discuss the sources of the confrontation between the Arab world and the West and explore the terms of a new relationship between these three parts of the world. The AAE dialogue was launched in March 2004 and is now in its third year of operation. It has tackled a variety of important topics including among others: reforms in the Arab region, electoral processes in Arab countries, the relationship between state, religion and society in the West and Arab region, and an issue cluster dealing with terrorism, violence and occupation. A dialogue executive committee was formed in February 2004 and is now responsible for designing the dialogue meetings and outreach activities. Small delegations of Arab dialogue members have met with parliamentarians in Britain and Italy and with Muslim European groups in Britain. We will be organizing a series of meetings for a similar dialogue group to visit France and the EU headquarters in Brussels.

Workplaces

SD was used in a corporate setting to address employee engagement. After 10 weeks of dialogue, the number of employees who felt they could bring their full selves to the workplace doubled from 40% to 80%.

Community

Constructive relationships are the keys to peaceful democratic, social, economic, and political development. Some things only governments can do – provide security, make and enforce law, and fund major programs. But only citizens can transform conflictual human relationships, modify human behavior and change political culture.

Columbus, Indiana:

The Columbus Indiana Community Area Sustained Dialogue, of which Phil Stewart is a co-chairman, now completing two full years of monthly sessions, focuses its work on identifying and addressing obstacles to and creating opportunities for economically challenged citizens to achieve self-sufficiency – economically, socially and emotionally. The dialogue has created a safe space that regularly attracts Columbus area residents from all sectors of the community. Outcomes include a shifting from the concept of “client” to “citizen,” from humiliation to dignity for those who struggle, as well as concrete actions such as the development of a comprehensive program to ensure those ready to work have reliable transportation. More broadly, participants note that their dialogue continues to have a transformative impact on the local political climate, moving from confrontation to listening, and from listening to dialogue.

UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA, Tampa, FL

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How is one of SDCN’s newest campuses working to integrate Sustained Dialogue into their campus culture? The University of Tampa is using retreats, academic credit for yearlong SD participation, and integrating SD into courses in various departments to help create impact for students across campus. Each January, a group of students will gather for a 3-day Sustained Dialogue retreat experience, and will meet all spring semester go through the five stages of dialogue. Other students will experience moderated dialogue in their sociology, criminology, and religion courses. The team at Tampa is based in the Wellness Center and has close connections with Student Affairs and the Dean of Students.

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, Evanston, IL

Imagine every journalist being trained in how to create dialogue about deep difference? Northwestern’s campus is making that dream a reality. When the group began in 2012, the SD team set their sights on creating an experience that could scale to compliment the curriculum. Now, with several years of student-led dialogue as experience, Northwestern’s campus is experimenting with a co-curricular Sustained Dialogue requirement for future students in the Medill School of Journalism and other majors. The campus has trained over 150 student moderators and run over 35 dialogue groups.

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, Cleveland, OH

How does a campus engage its students, staff, faculty and senior administrators in conversations about inclusivity that can lead to change? Case Western Reserve has a multi-pronged approach to improving campus life. Students participate in dialogue groups and an SD retreat that forges cross-cultural connections on campus and beyond. Faculty and staff engage in dialogue groups that strengthen relationships and lead to recommendations to improve the campus experience for CWRU employees. The Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and First Year Experience and Family Programs work collaboratively to ensure the Sustained Dialogue methodology is infused into the campus culture and widely used in campus offices, academic departments and within and outside the classroom.

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