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.

Associate Director: Katie Knobloch, Ph.D. (beginning January 2013)

Graduate Assistant: Shelby Scott

Undergraduate Assistants: Candace Karlin and Samantha LaFever

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 Communication Studies
Deni LaRue, Larimer County Community Information Officer
Jen Johnson, 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
Ginny Sawyer, Neighborhood Administrator, City of Fort Collins
Linda Mahan, Larimer County League of Women Voters
William Timpson, CSU Department of Education
Michael Liggett, PSD Think Tank, Fort Collins Library Board, & Liggett, Smith, & Wilson
Pete Seel, CSU Department of Journalism and Technical Communication
James Ross, Poudre School District School Board

Student Associates

Every semester, 10-15 CSU undergraduates are chosen to serve as “Student Associates” for the Center. Student associates working within the Center will typically receive 3 hours of SPCM408 credit ("Applied Deliberative Techniques") their first semester and at least one hour of practicum credit for their second semester with the Center. Students are trained their first semester, while supporting projects in various ways. 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.

Current senior student associates (Fall 2012):

Senior Associates:
Bull, Kacey
Corbin, Lindsay
Jackson, Raleigh
Karlin, Candace
Lafever, Sam
Lavelle, Jordan
Miller, Kayla
O Neal, Krystina
Parks Samantha
Reutemann, William
Silveira, Kirsten
Stigall, Cherica
Sutliff, Dilan
Weir, Ryan
Zuehlsdorff, Ben

New student associates:
Bruhn, Ruth
Carnicello, Kevin
Contreras, Luke
Dawson, Connor
Fleming, Kevin
Garcia, Kate
Grady, Clare
Hodak, Matt
Holloway, Kaylee
Martel, Regina
McClure, Hailey
Ramos, Taylor
Steppan, Logan

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. Currently, Myles Crane, Carole Crane, Rich Alpern, and Karen Buchanan are serving. Contact Martín Carcasson at mcarcas@colostate.edu for more information.