ABOUT CIVIC SERIES
Rule Number One:
No question is a dumb question.
The world is a complicated place. Don’t you wish you understood it better?
Civic Series helps you understand, think for yourself, and have meaningful conversations about the most important issues of our time, like Brexit, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change, and many others. We run free, non-partisan events where you can ask questions of experts and discuss the most important issues of the day.
Civic Series events are educational but we’re not academics or activists. Our expert speakers present multiple sides of the issue without telling you what to think. We have no agenda, other than to help you be a part of the conversation about what’s going on in the world you live in.
Civic Series is a non-profit organization run by dedicated volunteers in the United States and Canada.
OUR MISSION
Civic Series’ mission is to help people be part of the local, national and global conversation about the most critical issues of our time.
Understand. That starts with helping you understand the complex issues we see in the headlines every day, that are shaping society.
Think. We help you define and articulate your own views on these issues, so that you’re clear where you stand.
Connect. You’ll develop skills on how to have impactful conversations about these important topics with friends, family, and fellow citizens — especially with those who disagree with you.
In short, we’re rejuvenating civic discourse, by empowering everyday people to engage with issues that matter most to society.
We’ll come to you! To open a Civic Series in your region, contact us.
WHO WAS BEHIND CIVIC SERIES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Laur Hesse Fisher
Program Director, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (Founder & President)
Peter Levine
Associate Dean & Professor, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University (Secretary)
Hannah Burke
Government, Merit (Vice President)
Lauren Tapply
Senior Finance Associate, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (Treasurer)
Sharon Bort
Manager, Community Programming, Solve – MIT and former Boston host
ORGANIZERS
Chicago, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Austin, TX
Philadelphia, PA
COMMUNICATIONS
Adam Gismondi
Civic Media Researcher
Boston, MA
David Lishansky
Audio Producer
San Diego, CA
Anna Tran
Assistant Producer
Lancaster, PA
ALUMNS
Thank you and best wishes to all those who helped us grow over the years, and especially the former hosts, organizers, and board members listed here.
Rachel Abrams
Organizer, Boston & Marketing Support
Adam Dingle
Organizer, Boston
Jay Zafar
Organizer, Toronto
Becca Weaver
Organizer, Boston
Justin Sola
Organizer, Boston
Organizer, Toronto
Host, Toronto
Organizer, Boston
Organizer, Boston
Board Member (Treasurer)
All of us at Civic Series wish to give a very special thank you to the following foundations and donors. Our organization and Fellowships would not exist without their generous support:
- Theresa and Lincoln Filene Foundation, for fully supporting the Boston Fellowship
- Colford Family Fund, for supporting the Philadelphia Fellowship
- Dan & Amy Harris
- Rhyme and Reason Fund of the Boston Foundation
- And all our annual and event donors
Thank you for the in-kind contributions of:
- Two Row Studio for the development of this website
- Julian North of Zadama for an earlier version of our website
- Winnie Gong for our logo design