We believe that a network of ideologically diverse leaders can work together to solve society’s biggest problems.
CtK.Campfire Fellows
Cultivate the Karass's signature program is CtK.Campfire: biannual, 3-day leadership retreats in a rural location for carefully selected leaders - our Campfire Fellows - who will shape the public agenda for the next 20 years.
Each Campfire unites leaders from a spectrum of political ideologies who want to reinvigorate our democracy and tackle humanity’s greatest challenges through respectful collaboration and friendship. We call the participants Loyal Antagonists and we continually support their burgeoning relationships. To do this, we select fellows who:
Come from diverse backgrounds and ideological perspectives;
Are open to becoming Loyal Antagonists and have difficult conversations without demonizing those they don’t agree with;
Embrace the tools to practice ongoing collaboration across ideological differences.
CtK’s mission is anchored in the belief that relationships are central to building democracy. Connectivity and inclusivity are at the core of our programming, as it enhances the ability of participants to search for – and identify – solutions to seemingly intractable issues. CtK:
Models how to engage in and conduct elevated conversations to cross-pollinate the collective political brilliance of the attendees
Equips and influences summit attendees to embed collaborative practices in their own spheres
Works with participants in a space designed to respect diverse ideological beliefs to elevate the discourse of civic life
Identifies specific actions that will reduce hyperpartisanship.
Develops next steps and possible pathways to positively influence the political landscape for the cohort and for Cultivate the Karass as whole.
Cultivate the Karass forges lasting alliances between Campfire Fellows. We build relationships between improbable allies who are determined to chart new ways out of our current impasse.
the Karass
Cultivating the Karass - building the network of people who are cosmically connected to do the common good - is our name and the core of our mission. We invite all of our Campfire Fellows and Alumni to help us to continue to cultivate the karass and build the larger network. In service of this work, we host events, social gatherings, panels, leadership workshops, and retreats.
When influential leaders have the chance to form strong relationships with one another and come to see one another as resources rather than barriers to action, the conditions for collaboration emerge. The value of loyal antagonism begins to set in.
By embedding the capability to truly collaborate, and urging attendees to take their new found or newly honed collaboration skills back to their individual spheres of influence, a new type of collaboration becomes part of their DNA, and by turn, part of the public discourse.
