Advisory Council - Braver Angels

Advisory Council

Meet the leaders from across the ideological spectrum who are helping Braver Angels make courageous citizenship the honored norm of American civic life.

Jim Ferrell

Founder of Withiii Leadership

Jim Ferrell is the Founder of Withiii Leadership. Prior to founding Withiii, he led The Arbinger Institute for 25 years. He has written multiple bestselling books on overcoming divides and bringing people together, including You and We: A Relational Rethinking of Work, Life, and Leadership and The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict.

Keith Allred

Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse

Keith Allred is the Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD), an organization that works to build our nation’s capacity to engage differences constructively. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, and Congressional Quarterly.

Pete Peterson

Dean of Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy

Pete Peterson is dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy where he also serves as a senior fellow of the school’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership.

R. Scott Stephenson

President & CEO Museum of the American Revolution

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Scott Stephenson holds a B.A. from Juniata College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia. His broad public history experience spans nearly three decades and has been marked by public and professional acclaim for his creative and innovative approaches to engaging audiences.

Vince Stango

President and CEO of the National Constitution Center

Vince Stango is the interim president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. Mr. Stango is a strategic partner to the Board of Trustees, responsible for driving the implementation of the NCC’s vision and organizational strategy.

Jonathan Haidt

Author & Social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business

Jonathan Haidt (pronounced “height”) is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and taught for 16 years in the department of psychology at the University of Virginia

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Pennsylvania Congressman

From Bucks County, to the FBI, to the Halls of Congress, Brian Fitzpatrick has built his life and career around one principle: bringing people together to solve problems.

Dean Phillips

Former Rep. for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district

After a career in business, The Honorable Dean Phillips served three terms in Congress representing Minnesota’s 3rd District from 2019-2024.

Rep. Tom Suozzi

New York Congressman

New York Congressman Tom Suozzi, trained as an attorney and CPA, serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax writing panel in Congress. He serves on the Subcommittees on Oversight and on Tax.

Paul Edwards

Director of the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University

Professor Paul Edwards directs the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University. Previously he served as the policy and communications director for the Governor of the State of Utah.

Tim Shriver

Chairman of Special Olympics and UNITE

Tim Shriver is a husband, father, grandfather, educator, bestselling author, and Chairman of Special Olympics and UNITE, dedicated to advancing dignity, inclusion, and connection.

Donna Hicks

Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University

Dr. Donna Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and the former Deputy Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR).

Cornel West

Union Theological Seminary

Dr. Cornel West, also warmly regarded as Brother West, is the current holder of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary and tries to keep alive the rich legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jonathan Rauch

Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer for The Atlantic

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer for The Atlantic. He is the author of nine books and many articles on public policy, science, and culture. He was a founding board member of Braver Angels.

Melody Barnes

Founding executive director of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy

Melody Barnes is the founding executive director of the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, where she leads the Institute on an action-oriented path to realizing the promise of democracy in both principle and practice.

Amanda Ripley

Author, Journalist, and Co-founder of Good Conflict

Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, a magazine journalist and the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict.

Yuval Levin

Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

Yuval Levin is the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy and director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and the editor of National Affairs.

Mónica Guzmán

Bridge Builder, Journalist, and Author

Mónica Guzmán is author of “I Never Thought of it That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times”; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity; advisor and debate chair at Braver Angels; and host of A Braver Way podcast.

Layla Zaidane

President & CEO of Future Caucus

Layla Zaidane is President & CEO of Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States.

Gov. Spencer Cox

Governor of Utah

Gov. Spencer J. Cox is a husband, father, farmer, recovering attorney, and Utah’s 18th governor. He also served as the 2023-2024 chairman of the National Governors Association Gov.
Braver Angels Support