Nearly 90% of employees report experiencing workplace polarization. When political identity and personal identity become the same thing, disagreement stops feeling like a difference of opinion and starts feeling like a threat. John Wood Jr. will draw on his own story and his work as a national leader at Braver Angels, the largest cross-partisan grassroots organization in America, to offer a practical framework for how organizations can move from polarization to genuine collaboration. Not by demanding ideological alignment, but by creating the conditions for real dialogue, shared values, and trust built across difference.

John describes himself as a "hope and change Republican." The son of a liberal Black Democratic mother from South Central Los Angeles and a white conservative father from Tennessee, he ran for Congress in 2014 speaking to Black churches and Tea Party clubs in the same campaign. He didn't win. But he learned something most people in this room already feel: America's divisions aren't abstract. They live in our families, our workplaces, and the conversations we keep avoiding.

Attendees will leave with:

• A clear analysis of how polarization took root in American identity and why it's showing up inside organizations
• A practical framework for building a culture of dialogue rooted in listening rather than winning
• Tools for building collaboration rooted in shared values rather than shared ideology
• Insight on creating space for diverse experiences without repeating the mistakes of imbalanced approaches to inclusion