Sponsored by:

Virtual Event

Session 1:

Bridging Divides to Prevent Election Season Violence

As we all hope for the best but prepare for the worst as hateful conspiracies accelerate going ​into the election season, many Bedrock partners are working to prevent hate-fueled violence.

Alongside partners, we will hold a series of three virtual events showcasing practitioner ​activities to prevent violence (hate-fueled and related) going into the election season, ​including discussion of what we can do together. Invitees include 501(c)3 civil society ​organizations – most of whom are Bedrock partners – as well as philanthropic partners, and ​trusted policymakers.

This first event is on the topic of “bridging divides” to address election season violence. Our ​speakers will showcase how they are bridging divides and how you can join them.

First Keynote Speaker

Stephen K. Benjamin

Assistant to the President; Senior Advisor to the ​President and Director of the White House ​Office of Public Engagement

Steve Benjamin is Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the President and Director ​of Public Engagement. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Benjamin was the ​Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina from April 2010 through December 2021. Benjamin has ​served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2018-2019), as President of the ​African American Mayors Association, Vice Chairman of the Global Parliament of Mayors, ​Executive Chairman of Municipal Bonds for America, Chairman of the FirstNet Authority, a ​Member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory ​Committee, and as a member of several corporate and nonprofit boards.

Mayor Benjamin served as the Spring 2022 Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior ​Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has served as an ​Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina’s top ranked Honors College ​teaching a course titled “Columbia, South Carolina: Building a Great City” and is a member ​of Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities. Benjamin is a graduate of the University ​of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he served as ​President of Student Government and as President of the Student Bar Association. He is ​married to the Honorable DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, a Judge on the United States Court of ​Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Benjamins are the proud parents of two daughters and ​are members of the Saint John Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

Second Keynote Speaker

Elizabeth Neumann

Author, Kingdom of Rage

Contributor, ABC News

Chief Strategy Officer, Moonshot

Elizabeth Neumann is a national security expert, violence ​prevention advocate, and author of the new book Kingdom of ​Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to ​Peace. She served on White House Homeland Security Council in ​the George W. Bush Administration, and as the Assistant ​Secretary for Counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland ​Security during the Trump Administration. She is currently the ​Chief Strategy Officer for Moonshot – a tech-enabled company ​supporting governments and community partners to understand ​and prevent violence. She is also a national security contributor ​for ABC News.

Featured Speaker

Becca Hartman-Pickerill

Senior Director of Democracy Initiatives, Interfaith America

Becca Hartman-Pickerill, Senior Director of Democracy Initiatives, leads Interfaith ​America’s non-higher education strategy for fostering a healthy diverse democracy. ​She is a connector between IA’s program offerings, research and learning on effective ​bridgebuilding, and diverse networks of civic and faith communities supporting the ​structural and cultural pillars of democracy. Becca oversees the Faith in Elections ​Playbook, a nonpartisan tool to empower religious and ethical communities to engage ​in election processes, from building trust in the process to volunteering for primaries ​and elections. She also leads Interfaith America’s Team Up Project, a partnership with ​Catholic Charities USA, Habitat for Humanity International and YMCA of the USA to ​deepen bridge building work across these national networks. Becca has a bachelor’s in ​religion and philosophy from Northwestern University and a master’s in forced migration ​from the University of the Witwatersrand. Beyond the office, Becca loves to spend time ​outside with her partner and two small children. Her American Baptist tradition guides ​her commitment to safeguard religious liberty and to be a loving neighbor to all.

Featured Speaker

Lisa Inks

Senior Director, Urban Rural Action

Lisa Inks is a member of the Executive Team of Urban Rural Action and Co-Director of ​Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence in Southeast Wisconsin. Before joining UR Action, ​she was Senior Director for Peace and Governance at Mercy Corps, an international ​humanitarian, development and peacebuilding organization. There, she led agency ​strategy around peace and governance programming and thought leadership, ​specializing in social cohesion and preventing youth participation in violence. Prior to ​that, she was Director of Conflict Management Programs and Monitoring, Evaluation, ​and Learning Advisor for Mercy Corps in Nigeria. She has also worked at IREX and ​Global Nomads Group. She has an MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School ​at Tufts University and a Bachelor’s from Indiana University.

Featured Speaker

Nealin Parker

Executive Director, Common Ground USA

Nealin Parker leads Common Ground USA as its inaugural Executive Director. A leader ​in identifying solutions to polarization and political violence in America, Parker brings to ​this new role decades of experience in senior domestic and international positions ​dealing with conflict, poverty, and social change. Before joining Search for Common ​Ground, Parker founded and co-directed the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton ​University, where she helped to create the first near-real time national database of ​political violence in the United States. She previously served in the U.S. government as ​Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she ​oversaw more than $45 billion in federal programs, and as Acting Director of the Office ​of Transitional Initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development, an office ​charged with rapid response to emerging violent conflict and political transitions in ​more than two dozen countries around the world. Parker also held leadership, policy, ​and program positions with the Center on International Cooperation at New York ​University, Interpeace, The Carter Center, and the International Foundation for Election ​Systems. Her writing on American politics and elections has been featured on CNN, ​PBS, and USA Today. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the ​University of Virginia and a Master's in Public and International Affairs from Princeton ​University.

Featured Speaker

Maryann Zimmerman

Walworth County Coordinator, Urban Rural Action

Maryann Zimmerman leads Urban Rural Action’s Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence ​in Southeast Wisconsin efforts in Walworth County. As County Coordinator, she ​recruits, trains, and supports an ideologically, racially, and generationally diverse group ​of Uniters to address the causes of targeted violence. Prior to joining UR Action, ​Maryann has enjoyed a career spanning healthcare, manufacturing, and the nonprofit ​sector. She is Vice President of her local school board, a member of the Disability ​Rights Commission for the City of Whitewater, and a Six Sigma Black Belt. She resides ​in Walworth County, WI, and runs a farm with her four children and husband.

Moderator

Ryan B. Greer

President, Bedrock

Ryan B. Greer serves as the inaugural President of Bedrock. He also serves as a non-​resident Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project and owns a strategy ​consultancy, Vasa Strategies. Prior to joining Bedrock, Ryan served as National ​Security Director and Chief of Staff for the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) ​Government Relations, Advocacy, and Community Engagement (GRACE) team, and ​prior to that role, as Director for Program Assessment and Strategy at ADL. Previously, ​he consulted for several terrorism prevention clients and served in government as a ​Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as a counterterrorism ​Policy Advisor and also as a Program Officer at the U.S. Department of State, as a ​Special Assistant for the White House National Security Council, and on staff for two ​Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan holds a Master’s in Public Policy ​from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s ​from Skidmore College.

Bedrock is a hate-fueled violence prevention organization, working by, with, and through its 57 ​organizational partners to supercharge the field of hate-fueled violence prevention, disrupt the ​normalization of violence, and create an America more conducive to safety and belonging for all.

For any questions, contact:

info@bedrock.us