Many are now asking: what will it take to bring the country together? The Civil Society Fellowship - a partnership of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Aspen Institute - answers that question by engaging the next generation of community and civic leaders, activists, and problem-solvers across these divisions to build deeper relationships with one another and tackle pressing issues head-on. 

In this special two-part episode of the Value of Leadership, we talk to two of those Fellows - Jenifer Sarver, Founder of Sarver Strategies in Austin, Texas, and Isaiah Oliver, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint in Michigan. 

These are two leaders are engaged in very different work. They come from very different parts of the country and hold very different identities. Yet, they've built a relationship of respect and understanding. 

We caught up with Jenifer and Isaiah after their week-long virtual retreat - called an UnSeminar - with their Civil Society Fellowship class, named “Mission: Redemption”,  and a digital town hall where they engaged with community leaders from across the United States. During the UnSeminar, the Fellows reflected on readings and speeches from leaders of past and present like Martin Luther King Jr. and President Dwight Eisenhower. The experience prompted them to further explore their personal roles in creating a more civil society today. 

In part one of this conversation, Jenifer and Isaiah reflect on discovering their commonalities and how lessons from their experience could be a model for how other Americans can find common truth. Could the key be to infuse wonder when we enter into these deeply divided spaces? 

Go deeper into this conversation with part two, where we talk about how exercising grace and leveraging one’s individual power - at any level - can aid in reconciliation to create a better country for all Americans. Jenifer and Isaiah also reflect on what values all Americans still share. 

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To learn more about the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the work of our Fellows, visit agln.aspeninstitute.org. And explore more episodes of the Value of Leadership here.