Introducing Jessica Lowe-Minor, Director of Debates
The Debate Dispatch
In a debate I chaired recently, a participant used a highly charged word to describe the group of people implicated in the resolution. I froze. What is a Debate Chair supposed to do in this moment? We talk about maintaining neutrality in this role, but this situation was extremely uncomfortable. I am also worried that not intervening may make me complicit in the problem.
–Ambivalent Amy |
+(7).png)
|
|
📄Deliberations: The Psychological Immune System |
Why we defend our beliefs and how to break the cycle.
|
|
|
We like to think there are many perks that come with interning with the Braver Angels Debate Team. Among them is something that has become one of my favorite parts of the week—reading group!
Each semester, we have our interns choose a book to read and examine together. In summer 2025, our interns elected to read Mónica Guzmán’s I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. Last fall, we chose Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America’s Dangerous Divide by Keith Payne. And this semester, we are reading Arlie Hochschild’s Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right with interns past and present.
|
|
|
🗞 The Debate Debrief |
|
What we’re learning; what we’re enjoying.
“Civility in public forums: A mere pipe-dream?” by Lori Leander 💭Check out what the Southern Front Range, CO Braver Angels Alliance has been up to with Braver Network partner Reclaiming Civility. –Team
“The test of open dialogue,” by Matt Willis in Your Local Epidemiologist 💭Shared with us by a national debate leader named Bruce, this piece recounts a Braver Angels Debate that occurred between Jay Bhattacharya and the author at the 2024 Braver Angels Convention. I’d never heard the story before. –Sam
“How America Got Into This Mess and How We Recover: Reflections from a Columnist’s Life,” with David Brooks at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute 💭 We’re big fans of David Brooks on the Debate Team, and we wanted to go to this event when it was livestreamed. We got busy. Thanks for putting it up on YT, Harvard! –Team
“Trump Delivers State of the Union Address, Clashes With Democrats,” by the AllSides News Team 💭President Trump delivered the State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress earlier this week. In this post, AllSides takes a look at reports—left, center, and right—on the event. –Natalie
“What Americans think of words like “democracy” and “authoritarianism” in these times,” by the More in Common team. 💭 I love More in Common's research and thought this particular survey was quite interesting. –Jessica
“George Washington by George W. Bush,” by George W. Bush for In Pursuit 💭 Our 43rd President reflects insightfully on our first. –Sam |
|
|
✉️ From the Team |
|
Dear Debaters,
Earlier this month, I joined the Braver Angels team as Director of Debates and have been drinking from a fire hose ever since! Fortunately, I love people, meetings, activity, and, of course, the mission of courageous citizenship, so I am finding myself right at home amongst this incredible team of staff and volunteers. |
|
|
A bit of context about me: I'm a lifelong Floridian who's worked in multiple nonprofit settings over the last two decades. I served as the Executive Director for the League of Women Voters of Florida from 2010-2014, and then as the founding Executive Director for the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence from 2015-2018. Eventually, my family life and the desire for a more flexible schedule led me to co-start a nonprofit consulting firm focused on capacity-building. In that role, I was fortunate to work for a number of clients in my home state of Florida as well as in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I've also maintained a real estate license for many years (and love an entrepreneurial side hustle!).
As a volunteer, I've consistently been called to the realm of civic engagement. After my time on the staff at the League of Women Voters of Florida, I served on the board of my local League chapter, and then was elected to serve on the national board of the League of Women Voters of the United States. While there, I helped advance a strategic initiative called the Transformation Roadmap, bringing important modernizations to the League as it approached its 100th anniversary as an organization. I've also volunteered extensively with The Village Square, an incredible bridging organization based here in Tallahassee, and I currently facilitate a podcast club that started as one of their grant-funded projects.
At home, I share space with a wonderful husband, Rick, and our two daughters, Madeline (age 12) and Charlotte (age 7). Between us, we have a huge array of pets: two dogs (both Miniature Schnauzers), two cats (one Lynx Point Siamese and one Domestic Shorthair), one snake (Ball Python), one horse (an Andalusian cross that I used to show, but is now living his best life in retirement), and an aquarium of assorted Corydoras and two female Bettas. As you can imagine, there's a lot of activity in our household, and I'm sure that many of you will see at least one of the pets (or children!) wander into my Zoom screen from time to time. Thank you, in advance, for your forbearance and understanding!
As I've been getting settled in here at Braver Angels, I've loved meeting BA volunteers who are helping to drive our important work. As someone who's served in various volunteer leadership roles and understands the dynamics of national organizations with chapters at the local and state levels, I'm really excited to partner with volunteer leaders to move the BA Debates program forward. If you are inclined, I hope you will write to me at Jes...@braverangels.org to introduce yourself and/or share any suggestions you might have for how the Debates program can better support your needs. The opportunity to meet and partner with BA members from across the country is one of the best aspects of this job, and I can't wait to work with you to increase understanding, reduce toxic polarization, and practice courageous citizenship in 2026 and beyond.
Sincerely, Jessica Lowe-Minor Director of Debates |
|
|||
