We the People

AMERICASPEAKS

21st Century Town Meeting

AmericaSpeaks: Engaging Citizens in Governance

This 3.5-minute video introduces the 21st Century Town Meeting and the underlying technology that enables thousands of citizens to tackle the tough issues in their communities.

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About AmericaSpeaks

AmericaSpeaks is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission of providing Americans with a greater voice in the most important decisions that affect their lives. Most recently, AmericaSpeaks convened thousands of Californians to deliberate about statewide healthcare reform. AmericaSpeaks has engaged more than 130,000 citizens across the country on topics such as: municipal budget priorities (Washington, D.C.), regional planning (Chicago and Cleveland), childhood obesity (six American cities), rebuilding plans for the World Trade Center site (New York City) and recovery plans for New Orleans.

AmericaSpeaks takes pride in its reputation as an honest and neutral advocate for public participation. Please take a moment to review our statement of neutrality.

AmericaSpeaks Project Team

Janet D. Fiero Project Executive and Lead Facilitator Dr. Fiero was the Project Manager for Voices and Choices, an unprecedented civic initiative involving tens of thousands of citizens and leaders across Northeast Ohio in creating a shared action agenda to revitalize the region’s economy. Voices & Choices is designed to challenge the citizens of Northeast Ohio to think differently about the regional economy and to act in ways that set a new direction for the future. Citizens and leaders will be engaged in making tough choices about the economy, creating a prioritized regional agenda, and acting in concert to advance that agenda. [ learn more about Janet D. Fiero ]
Juanita Boyd-Hardy Producer Juanita Boyd Hardy has over 33 years of business experience, 31 years with IBM, where she retired in 2005. Juanita is a Senior Associate for AmericaSpeaks and has been involved with the organization since 1999. Selected roles and projects with AmericaSpeaks include: member of the design team for Listening to the City, which united over 5000 NY citizens to discuss redevelopment of the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan in 2002 and the 2005 World Economic Forum at Davos to prioritize the top issues facing the world with global leaders, producer for the New Orleans Community Congress II and III, multi-site meetings with over 3000 New Orleans citizens (local and displaced) to formulate input to a unified rebuild plan, and Sacramento site moderator for CaliforniaSpeaks, a multi-site meeting to discuss health care reform with over 3500 California citizens in August 2007. [ learn more about Juanita Boyd-Hardy ]
Daniel Clark Assistant Producer Daniel Clark has been an Associate with AmericaSpeaks for 3 years. Recent projects and roles include Facilitator Recruiter and Sacramento Site Producer for CaliforniaSpeaks where over 3,500 Californians discussed statewide healthcare reform. He was Producer for the National Rural Assembly where close to 300 leaders working on rural issues across the country came together in Washington, DC for a 3-day conference to build a new and stronger national rural agenda. He served as Facilitator Recruiter and Area Facilitator for Shaping America’s Youth town meetings in Chicago and Iowa. He served as the Dallas Site Producer for the Unified New Orleans Plan Community Congresses II & III and Theme Team Captain for the Northeast Ohio Regional Town Meeting II. He served as an Assistant Producer for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) town meeting and provided keypad polling for six Citizen’s Healthcare Working Group meetings. [ learn more about Daniel Clark ]
Mattice Haynes-Amusa Project Manager Mattice Haynes-Amusa is a new Associate of AmericaSpeaks. Over the past 18 months she has served in town meeting roles which include Area Facilitator for Shaping America’s Youth (Dallas), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME Chicago) and the Citizen’s Health Care Working Group (Little Rock). This year Mattice also served as Assistant Producer for Shaping America’s Youth town meetings in both Chicago and Iowa. Her most ambitious roles include serving as the Atlanta Site Manager for Community Congresses II & III which focused on recovery planning for New Orleans and most recently as the Sacramento Site Manager for CaliforniaSpeaks where over 3,500 Californians discussed statewide healthcare reform. [ learn more about Mattice Haynes-Amusa ]
Susanna Haas-Lyons Theme Team Captain As a Program Associate, Susanna plays a role in planning and implementing AmericaSpeaks' 21st Century Town Meeting® projects. Susanna has served as project manager for the Voices and Choices Regional Town Meeting II. She has also served as Theme Team Captain for the Cincinnati and Los Angeles meetings of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group and for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Town Meeting. [ learn more about Susanna Haas-Lyons ]
Darrick Nicholas Communications Manager As a Communications Manager, Darrick plays a role in planning and implementing public relations strategies for AmericaSpeaks' 21st Century Town Meeting® projects. A native of Louisiana, Darrick previously served as media relations coordinator for Gallaudet Universty. [ learn more about Darrick Nicholas ]