FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2023

Erica Manuel, CEO and Executive Director of the Institute for Local Government to Co-Chair the Convention

GETTYSBURG, PA — Institute for Local Government CEO Erica L. Manuel will co-chair the upcoming Braver Angels National Convention on the campus of Gettysburg College from July 5-8.

The Institute for Local Government (ILG) is a non-partisan, non-profit in Sacramento, California that provides education and training to elected officials and staff serving local government jurisdictions, such as cities, counties, and special districts.

As convention co-chair, Manuel will oversee all of the convention’s proceedings, which will gather more than 600 delegates from across the country to bridge the partisan divide and plant the seeds for a broad, social movement dedicated to political depolarization. Manuel will join her fellow co-chair, Wilk Wilkinson, who helps lead Braver Angels’ “We The People” project, in exercising convention leadership duties.

“For 65 years the Institute for Local Government has promoted ‘Good Government at the Local Level’. The recent rise in partisanship and polarization make it a struggle to maintain the basic decorum necessary for local officials to carry out their missions,” Manuel said.  

“As champions of local government and authentic civic engagement, we know how important it is to make space for people with different viewpoints to connect and communicate in a productive and meaningful way. The Braver Angels Convention provides the perfect opportunity to build momentum for bridging divides while still elevating important core values like equity, transparency, and accountability.”

The convention won’t shy away from challenging topics, and over the course of four days, delegates will participate in an incredible array of breakout activities that provide unique opportunities for Americans to engage, challenge, and question across the divide, discussing difficult topics like how we can move from toxic division to healthy conflict – and how citizens can help make this possible.

Delegates will hear from speakers like Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox on how political leaders can model better conflict; U.S. Democratic Representative Dean Phillips on how we can fix Congress; leading journalists on the media’s role in polarization; and dozens of student delegates on building an intergenerational movement. Many of the delegates will represent organizations who have joined Braver Network, the Braver Angels’ partner network of which the Institute for Local Government is an honorary co-chair.

“Conflict is an important part of a healthy democracy and any meaningful policy discussion, but polarization, partisanship and incivility are eroding government institutions at all levels,” continued Manuel. “ILG is proud to  be part of this grassroots movement where people can learn how to have crucial conversations that clarify differences, affirm dignity, and search for common ground.”

On the final day of the convention, under the leadership of Manuel and Wilkinson, delegates will come together in plenary to adopt a national platform to guide the work of a nascent, broad-based social movement consisting of interwoven organizations across sectors, institutions, and houses of worship working to build a healthy civic pluralism.

Manuel added, “Good government invites all voices to the community table and then listens. This conference will provide the roadmap and foundation for reuniting our civic family and finding common ground.”

The national convention is open to press and interested members of the press should contact media@braverangels.org.

More information available at www.braverangels.org/convention.

Learn more about ILG’s Leadership, Civic Engagement, and Public Participation work.