Chamber Education: Why We're Divided And How We Can Move Forward

Why We're Divided And How We Can Move Forward

Program Overview

This session will explore the human and structural forces driving political polarization and challenges the idea that division is inevitable. Drawing on her experience in politics and civic engagement, speaker Shannon Watson explains why our brains, media environment, and political incentives pull us apart, while offering practical, hopeful steps individuals can take to bridge divides in their own communities. The program reframes polarization not as a moral failure, but as a solvable civic problem — and invites audiences to become part of the solution.

Speaker

Shannon Watson is the founder and executive director of Majority in the Middle. She has also worked in policy and public affairs roles in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has 20+ years of experience in electoral politics, advising candidates and working on campaigns on both sides of the aisle in Kansas, Colorado, and Minnesota.

Shannon is a frequent op-ed writer and speaker. She is also a graduate of Leadership St Paul, a member of the twin cities MYALP cohort, and a Humphrey Policy Fellow.