Do you want to lead your community to engage more constructively across differences of opinion?
Program
The Better Arguments Project Ambassador Program is a fellowship-style leadership development experience. As a result of the program, each Ambassador will be equipped to make commitments of action to put Better Arguments into practice in their respective communities. We seek leaders of all kinds who share a passion for finding healthier, more constructive ways to disagree and exchange ideas, and who are ready to commit to leading their communities in doing so. This program will unfold through a series of nine modules, taking place virtually for two-hours each week. Meeting weekly with a diverse cohort of Ambassadors, participants will master the Better Arguments framework and learn how to guide others to argue better. Participants will engage in peer-to-peer learning with a diverse cohort of Ambassadors, all of whom are taking this step to improve our civil discourse. At the end of the experience, each Ambassador will make a commitment to bring Better Arguments concepts to their community. This program is completely free, and each participant will receive a stipend. If this program sounds right for you, start by asking yourself: “Why does my community need a Better Argument?” Share your thoughts with us by applying to the Ambassador Program today!
Aparna Mukherjee
Aparna Mukherjee is a Digimentor, working to empower nonprofits and media organizations to better elevate and share their communities’ stories. As lead of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Catalyst program, she helps entrepreneurs of color build media startups. A 2021 John S. Knight Community Impact Fellow at Stanford University, she also works on boosting democratic voice in public meetings through AI, sentiment analysis, and deliberative democracy methodologies. Through Sense LA, a systems thinking creative assembly series Aparna co-created and launched out of LA’s City Hall as an Executive Adviser, she elevates the role of emotion and lived experience in shaping public opinion and policy. A former journalist, she’s worked in newsrooms at the AP, Bloomberg News, CNBC, and written for WSJ and The New Yorker. At The New York Times, she ran the paper’s online education ventures group and civic engagement initiatives. Aparna’s other innovation-focused roles include launching McKinsey on Twitter and LinkedIn as the firm’s first social media editor and running industry programs for the Paley Center for Media. An alumna of Bryn Mawr College, she holds a Master’s in Journalism/MBA from Columbia, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow and taught digital strategy master classes for EMBAs.
Aparna Mukherjee
Catalyst Lead at Asian American Journalists Association
Blaine Volpe
As a Senior State Caucus Manager at the Millennial Action Project, which activates Millennial policymakers to create post-partisan political cooperation, Blaine works with over 1,600 young state legislators across the country to share innovative policy solutions and bridge the partisan divide. Blaine holds B.A.s in Political Science, Global Studies, and Geography from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
Blaine Volpe
Senior State Caucus Manager at the Millennial Action Project
Courtney Wright
Courtney is an Assistant Professor of Management & Corporate Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School where she teaches leadership, business writing & presentations, interpersonal communication, and diversity & inclusion courses to full-time and working professional MBA students. She also directs the Business Communication Center, where she and her team provide career and communication coaching to all levels of business students. Passionate about the importance of civil discourse, Courtney helped start a faculty working group dedicated to fostering a culture of constructive dialogue and disagreement on UNC-CH’s campus. Courtney earned a BA in Psychology and an MBA from UNC; she also holds a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Duke University.
Courtney Wright
Assistant Professor of Management & Corporate Communication at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
George Zavala
George Zavala is the Western Regional Manager at Welcoming America. In this role, he supports and expands the Welcoming Network membership of local government and nonprofits in the western U.S., assisting them in local policy, programming, and systems change that advances inclusion for immigrants and refugees. A second-generation Mexican American, George received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from California State University, Northridge. George was born and raised in southern California and credits his large Mexican family as his inspiration for creating inclusive communities where newcomers can thrive.
Jamil Brown
Jamil Brown is a space operations officer in the United States Space Force. He currently serves as a Political Science Instructor at the US Air Force Academy and as a Fellow in the newly established Institute for Future Conflict. His research focuses on the impact technology and organizational policies have on national security decision-making. His military experience spans executing satellite operations, planning space effects support and coordinating on space policy. Additionally, he teaches space policy classes in the local community, volunteers with economic development non-profits, and consulted on tactical and operational military war games.
Jamil Brown
Political Science Instructor at United States Airforce Academy
Layla Saatchi
Layla Saatchi has a PhD in philosophy and Masters in Near East Languages and is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University. Her combined background in Islamic studies and history motivates her philosophical interests in understanding the epistemic significance of disagreement and group epistemology. She is currently working on a research project called Epistemic Fragility that tries to explain the epistemic foundations of Robin DiAngelo’s observations in White Fragility.
Rosemary Ybarra-Hernandez
Rosemary Ybarra-Hernandez is the CEO and Founder of AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute (AGUILA). Founded in 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona, AGUILA empowers and prepares youth for college admission and graduation through a unique approach based upon a greater cultural understanding as a guide to personal, academic, and professional excellence as future leaders. Throughout her life she has been recognized for her personal, and academic accomplishments and as a champion for those in need through award-winning programs in government, education, and non-profit organizations. Her work with AGUILA has been her dream in developing youth to become the educated, articulate, compassionate, ethical, and thoughtful leaders needed to create a better world.
Rosemary Ybarra-Hernandez
CEO and Founder of AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute
Sean Kavanagh
Sean Kavanagh is a communication skills expert, storyteller, facilitator, and leadership coach. For twenty years, Sean ran The Ariel Group, an international training firm that teaches individuals to develop their authentic leadership presence. Sean works with leaders in business, non-profits, the military, and education. These days, he applies the lessons learned during a year-long recovery from a near-fatal bicycle accident to help individuals move through challenges to greater achievement and more authentic lives.
Skylar Camarena
Skylar works for Allstate Insurance Company, where she helps deploy initiatives to sales call center employees. She is heavily involved with her company’s Employee Resource Groups, where she contributes to advancing Allstate’s core value of Inclusive Diversity & Equity. Skylar is currently serving as Executive Administrator for Professional Latino Allstate Network (PLAN), Culture Committee Co-Lead for Allstate Women’s “I” Network (AWIN), and Data & Survey Team Member for Young Professionals Organization (YPO). Skylar works out of San Antonio, TX, where she shares her home office space with foster cats and kittens that she cares for in her spare time.
Zachary C. Queen
Zachary Queen graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 and began active-duty service in the United States Marine Corps. While serving as a Marine Corps officer, he deployed to seven countries in the European and Pacific theaters, fostering bilateral and multi-national relationships with foreign militaries. He is currently stationed in Quantico, Virginia where he is the Director of the Instructor Development Group at The Basic School, a training academy for student officers. His responsibilities include training, coaching, and mentoring Marine Corps student officers and other members of the instructor cadre by facilitating discussion groups, case studies, and various training exercises.
Zachary C. Queen
Director of the Instructor Development Group at The Basic School, United States Marine Corps
