Shadow Politics
Shadow Politics is a grass roots talk show giving a voice to the voiceless. For more than 200 years the people of the Nation's Capital have ironically been excluded from the national political conversation. With no voting member of either house of Congress, Washingtonians have lacked the representation they need to be equal and to have their voices heard. Shadow Politics will provide a platform for them, as well as the millions of others nationwide who feel politically disenfranchised and disconnected, to be included in a national dialog.
We need to start a new conversation in America, one that is more inclusive and diverse and one that will lead our great nation forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At Shadow Politics, we hope to get this conversation started by bringing Americans together to talk about issues important to them. We look forward to having you be part of the discussion so call in and join the conversation. America is calling and we're listening… Shadow Politics is about America hearing what you have to say. It's your chance to talk to an elected official who has spent more than 30 years in Washington politics. We believe that if we start a dialog and others add their voices we will create a chorus. Even if those other politicians in Washington don't hear you — Senator Brown will. He's on a mission to listen to what America has to say and use it to start a productive dialog to make our democracy stronger and more inclusive. If we are all part of the solution we can solve any problem.
Guest, Mark Gerzon
Mark Gerzon is one of the key architects of the field of global leadership and an experienced facilitator in high-conflict zones. He has advised a wide variety of organizations including the US Congress, multinational corporations, and UNDP. The author of numerous books, including Leading Through Conflict and Global Citizens, he is currently dividing his time between international leadership workshops and building a transpartisan movement in the USA.
Concerned about the increasing polarization in American communities, Mark has spent the last two decades working on the ideological frontier between Left and Right. He co-designed and served as head facilitator for the US Bipartisan Congressional Retreats in the late 1990s, and has spent the following years participating in a wide variety of efforts to deepen dialogue across the political spectrum. He is currently developing with this colleagues a multi-pronged strategy to build a transpartisan movement in the United States.
As President of Mediators Foundation, which he founded over 25 years ago, Mark has worked closely over the years with several projects that also advance the field of global citizenship. He founded the Conflict Transformation Collaborative, a network of peace-builders from around the world. He has also designed an interactive, awareness-raising workshop The Global Citizen Journey based on his most recent book, published in the USA under the title American Citizen, Global Citizen.
For four decades, Gerzon has been involved in global affairs first as a student (his junior year at Harvard was spent living and studying in seven countries around the world); then as a journalist (he co-founded WorldPaper, a global newspaper which reached a circulation of 1.5 million in five languages); next as a citizen diplomat (he worked for several years bringing together Soviet and American civic leaders to help end the Cold War); and now as a UN advisor in leadership development.
He lives with his wife Melissa Michaels in Boulder, Colorado, and has three sons and seven grandchildren.
