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Chris Crates on collaboration:
Politics should focus on the processes of governance, rather than
just government. That is, ways in which business, government, community
groups and citizens can work together to help a community reach its
collective goals and meet its common challenges.
Chris Gates on self-government:
The way to renew ourselves as a country is to create a political
system which encourages, and whose leaders allow citizens to take some
responsibility for their lives again. In short, our political system
should include both the capital "P" politics of elections
and campaigns and voting and the small "p" politics of volunteerism,
philanthropy and self-government.
Chris Gales on democratic renewal:
As much as the partisan, political news from Washington, D.C. may
discourage us, it is clear to me that there is a quiet revolution taking
place in America. At the local level, citizens and government are finding
ways to creatively work together to make their communities better places
to live and raise families. As I travel throughout the country, I have
found that Americans are reinventing democracy one community at a time.
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As President of the National Civic League, Christopher Gates is a leading
advocate for citizen democracy, an expert on state and local governance
structures, and an experienced facilitator for community planning processes.
Gates speaks extensively around the country, and around the world,
is a featured instructor in leadership training programs, regularly
lectures at the University of Colorado's Graduate School of Public Affairs
and the State and Local Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School
of Government. Gates has a Masters in Public Administration from the
John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an honors
degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and was
a visiting scholar at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.
Chris Gates is a clear thinker who can diagnose what is broken about
our political system and a strong voice for a new model of collaborative
leadership. Speaking person-to-person, to a large group, or in a panel
discussion Chris Gates can articulate, in plain language, his ideas
about such issues as:
- Citizen disengagement from public affairs
- The need for catalytic rather than messianic leadership
- The antidote to a ruthless and cynical media
- The middle ground between 'representative' and 'direct' democracy
A warm, engaging and witty person, Chris is great in conversation because
he encourages people to look at familiar issues through fresh and challenging
new frames.
As President of the National Civic League, Chris Gates:
- Serves as the chief executive of the nation's oldest not-for-profit
community building organization, founded in 1894 by civic reformers
including Teddy Roosevelt and Louis Brandeis
- Oversees the All-America City Award, our country's oldest and most
prestigious community recognition program
- Works in dozens of communities each year providing expert technical
assistance on such topics as strategic planning, economic development,
capacity building, effective governance, race and diversity issues,
and
leadership training
On the National Circuit, Chris Gates:
- Is a highly demanded lecturer on topics including the changing
forms of
democracy, citizen participation, and community visioning
- Serves on the board of directors of the California Center for Civic
Renewal, the advisory board of the National Commission on Civic
Renewal, the board of Independent Sector, the board of the Council
for
the Advancement of Citizenship, and as co-chair of the Civic Practices
Network
- Is co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a Harvard University Project
of
Robert Putnam to study the future of social capital and civic
engagement
In his home community, Chris Gates:
- Founded and chairs the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training
a ten
year old statewide leadership enhancement program
- Regularly instructs at Leadership Denver, Leadership Aspen, the
Denver Community Leadership program, the University of Denver and
the University of Colorado
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