Building Bridges, Crossing Divides in Utah. Jorgensen and Bernards

The nation has been shaken by violence yet again. The assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner was another jarring tear in the fabric of our public life. Every day Americans also hear divisive, angry, rhetoric from national political leaders and media pundits.

On "How Do We Fix It? we discuss how growing numbers of Americans are pushing back against toxic divides.

We report on the work of Braver Angels: The national movement that brings reds and blues together in the same room. This episode with Reena Bernards and Casey Jorgensen covers the Braver Angels Mobile Summit in Utah, a traveling conference where practical steps were taken to build bridges and cross divides.

Volunteers drove an RV across Utah, and also ran in-person events where red and blue citizens worked together on polarizing issues such as immigration. Two mobile summits in late 2025, and again in the spring of this year, featured workshops, debates and dialog. The aim was to depolarize communities and strengthen civic engagement.

"It was a wonderful experience," says Reena. "We became like a family."

At the immigration workshop, which included equal numbers of conservatives and liberals, there was agreement on the need to secure the border and having a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants who'd lived and worked in the U.S. for a long time, contributed to society, paid taxes, and had not done anything illegal.

Going into that workshop "I think people were thinking we'd be lucky to come up with one or two points of agreement," says Casey. "To have a list of over a dozen was really exciting."

See more about the Braver Angels Utah mobile summit here.

Casey Jorgensen is Braver Angels’ National Strategic Projects and Event Coordinator, and volunteers as the Red Mountain Region Co-Lead. Originally from Boise, Idaho, she and her husband, Dean (from Alberta, Canada) as well as their three grown children, and two more by marriage, live in Utah. She’s also the unbiased grandmother of two perfect grandchildren. Casey is President/Chair of Patriot Camps of America, a Utah Higher Education Inclusion Alliance Board Member, and has served as a GOP Precinct Chair and Delegate. She enjoys live theater, is a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and feels honored to work with true Braver Angels.

Reena Bernards leans Blue. As a volunteer Braver Angels moderator, she created the Common Ground Workshop, which brings together conservatives and liberals for constructive dialogue on a single issue. She was the Project Lead for Braver Angels Trustworthy Elections Campaign. Reena is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, in private practice in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. Reena lives with her husband Tom Smerling, also a Braver Angels moderator, in Takoma Park Maryland. They are pleased that their 2 adult children live nearby. Reena greatly enjoys being part of a performing dance group, The Chalice Dancers .

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