Director

Project Coordinator

Daniel Ritter is a senior studying Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) in the School of Public Affairs. He is a member of the SPA Honors Program and AU Scholars. Daniel spends his spare time serving as the president of the Club Running team and reading about transportation policy and urbanism. In his role as project coordinator, Daniel creates content for and manages the Project's online presence, organizes events, and trains peer facilitators.

Peer Facilitators

Liam Carbutt is a first-year graduate student studying philosophy and social policy in the Department of Philosophy & Religion’s BA/MA program. He works for the department as a coordinator for the Ethics Bowl and spends his spare time playing ultimate and drawing. Liam is looking forward to holding conversations about controversial topics and writing for the Project’s Real Talk blog.

Isabella Dominique is a junior double-majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) and Political Science and minoring in International Studies. She serves as the vice president of AU’s NAACP chapter and the president of AU’s Pre-Law Society. Isabella first worked with the Project on Civil Discourse during 2017-18 as a Program Development and Research Fellow. She is excited to continue to build the program with the team and is eager to have important conversations about civil discourse with students.

Felicia Hernandez is a sophomore studying Political Science in the School of Public Affairs. She is an SPA Ambassador and a member of the SPA Leadership program, where her research focus is on environmental sustainability. Felicia is a member of Alpha Xi Delta, where she serves as the Director of Alumnae Relations.

Noam Glanzberg-Krainin is a sophomore studying Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) in the School of Public Affairs. He is a member of the AU Honors Program and the AU Debate Society and interns on Capitol Hill. Noam is looking forward to creating a space at AU where students with different political opinions can respectfully discuss the pressing issues of our time, engage with unfamiliar beliefs, and strengthen their own principles.

Priyanka Gulati is a junior studying Political Science in the School of Public Affairs with minors in Communication and Marketing. She works in social media for a South Asian Diaspora-based startup and is the co-president of Speak Fresh, AU’s only spoken word team. Priyanka looks forward to not only creating more environments on campus for civic engagement but enriching the spaces that already exist by providing avenues for meaningful dialogue.

Maddie McCarthy is a sophomore studying Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) in the School of Public Affairs. She is a member of Alpha Xi Delta, College Republicans, and Model United Nations. Maddie is excited to bridge the gap between political ideologies on campus by facilitating conversations where students can see past the politics in others.

Abbe Murphy is a second-year Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) major with a minor in Computer Science. She is a member of AU’s Mock Trial team and a research fellow for the Peace and Violence Research Lab. Abbe’s passion for speech rights led her to become a peer facilitator, where she looks forward to facilitating productive conversations on campus.

Kira Pyne is a junior majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG) and minoring in Psychology. She is a member of the SPA Honors Program, part of the Standards Committee for the Rude Mechanicals, and a New Membership Assistant for Phi Alpha Delta. Kira is excited to help to make AU a more inclusive campus and she is looking forward to meeting the students she will be working with.

Susana Saldarriaga is a fifth-year student studying philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religion’s BA/MA program. She is interested in social work and community engagement and works at Horton’s Kids as a case manager. Susana is excited to help facilitate difficult conversations in a way that allows students to learn and understand other points of view.

Jason Steuerwald is a second-year Justice and Law student at American University. On campus, he is a part of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program, a member of the executive board of PRIDE, and an overnight library assistant. Outside of school, he is involved in drum corps and got to spend this summer touring the country and competing as a member of the Oregon Crusaders. He is looking forward to becoming more engaged with and helping to facilitate some of the exciting conversations that are happening on campus.

Robert Wines is a junior at American University studying Interdisciplinary Studies: Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG), with an intended minor in Entrepreneurship. He currently serves as the president of the American University College Republicans, is a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and is a winger for the men’s ice hockey team.