We are Civic Bridgers.
We are leaders who embrace the differences we love as much as the differences that create friction.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LIBBY STEGGER
Libby Stegger is a social entrepreneur and the founder and executive director of Civic Bridgers. She is fueled by her belief that when we see others more fully, we will work more collaboratively.
Libby excels in turning bold ideas into action. She has successfully scaled several initiatives addressing our nation’s most pressing needs. Before founding Civic Bridgers, she spent a decade scaling hunger relief systems and K-12 schools. She served as Chief Advancement Officer for Hiawatha Academies, one of Minnesota’s largest networks of public charter schools. She led Hunger-Free Minnesota’s strategic grantmaking portfolio to increase access to child nutrition programs. And she spearheaded the launch and growth of one of the nation’s first SNAP Outreach Programs at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Libby earned an MBA from Yale University and a BA in political science from Davidson College. She is a certified trainer in Intercultural Conflict Styles.
VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS
JILL CAREY
Prior to Civic Bridgers, Jill founded Youth Alliance Yoga, an official social-emotional learning provider for Chicago Public Schools. An award-winning educator by background, Jill has worked with thousands of students across hundreds of educational institutions. She has earned distinction as both the Points of Light Civic Accelerator Winner and a University of Wisconsin-Madison Forward Under 40 honoree. Reach out to Jill when you need support with curriculum development, program design, facilitation/teaching, or scaling models for learning programs.
VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT
ANNA NIELSEN
Anna has over a decade of robust experience in non-profit leadership, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship. Most recently, Anna founded Conflict Capable Solutions, where she was a sought-after facilitator and a frequent keynote speaker about conflict resolution across multiple sectors. Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Diversity Studies from Metropolitan State University and a master’s in Advocacy and Political Leadership from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She loves improv, popcorn, paddleboarding, and creative writing.
PROGRAM & PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR
CIBONEY REGLOS
I am a Civic Bridger because you become more well-rounded by diversifying your world view. I believe it’s fundamental to challenge your perspective by engaging with a different one. Especially in times of divisiveness, we can reach common ground by centering people’s humanity and gain insight into the experiences, stories, and ideologies that shape us.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
INGA CAPISTRANT-KINNEY
I am a Civic Bridger because I believe that our communities are stronger when we find common ground. It is important that unique perspectives are heard, and we can bridge political and ideological divides by understanding what unites us. I feel called through my work in public service to uplift the voices of marginalized people and ensure that everyone has a seat at the table.
ABOUT CIVIC BRIDGERS
Libby Stegger founded Civic Bridgers in response to the deep polarization that accelerated and deepened following the 2016 election. She witnessed friends, family, and co-workers cut off communication with members of “the other side,” motivated by resentment, judgment, and deep distrust. On extreme ends of the spectrum, partisans censored nuance to achieve ideological lockstep, abandoned divergent views in fear of rejection, and splintered into ever-smaller circles of identity-based coalitions.
As curious and civil dialogue with “the other side” became a cultural third rail, Americans descended into a reductionist view of morality – simply put, it’s who you vote for. This primed the emerging generation to view leadership as a good/bad binary, and for leaders themselves to align with candidates or parties over democracy itself.
Civic Bridgers prepares emerging leaders to defend democracy through bridging, a set of skills and practices that heal polarization and revive pluralism. Unlike many leadership programs, we do not prepare bridgers to wield power over others; instead, we prepare them to leverage collective power to bridge some of America’s most calcified divides.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Ellie Lucas
Founding Board Member
Hunger Impact Partners
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Ash Hanson
Board Member
Department of Public Transformation
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Thomas Antony
Board Member
Red Ventures Optum
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Christine Reed
Board Member
New Millennium Academy
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Len Sanqui
Board Member
Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches
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Nicole DeBoer
Board Member
Southwest Minnesota Arts Council
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Julian Condie
Board Member
Junior Achievement North
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Libby Stegger
Executive Director
Civic Bridgers
OUR PARTNERS IN BRIDGING
OUR PROGRAMS
BEYOND CIVICS
FOR TEENS
Beyond Civics is a 10-week enrichment program that trains teens to become Bridgers: community leaders who engage and solve problems across lines of difference.
CAMPUS BRIDGING INITIATIVE FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
Campus Bridging Initiative bridges the urban-rural divide by immersing students from rural and urban community colleges in two weekends of cross-cultural learning and collaboration.
FELLOWSHIP
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
The Civic Bridgers Fellowship immerses young leaders in a year of bridge-building at a local nonprofit or government agency.
