New Hampshire Listens

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» New Hampshire Listens recently received a platinum award at the UNH Sustainability Awards held May 7. Read more about this achievement.

New Hampshire Listens is a civic engagement initiative of the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. In the same way that we need the physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, and buildings, we need to build, strengthen, and sustain civic infrastructure to support a sustainable democracy. Our mission is to help New Hampshire residents talk and work together to create communities that work for everyone. We design for virtual and in-person gatherings.

In Solidarity: A message from the NH Listens team. Read more

A Message from Everyday Democracy: Standing together in the pain of crisis and the hope of transformation. Read more

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NH Listens Fellow of the Month!

NH Listens March Fellow of the Month: Courtney Wrigley

"In my work with NH Listens and my consulting business, I want to contribute and help in those processes to have people's voices heard and contribute to shaping a better, more inclusive New Hampshire for the future." ~ Courtney Wrigley

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NH Listens March Fellow of the Month: Courtney Wrigley

"In my work with NH Listens and my consulting business, I want to contribute and help in those processes to have people's voices heard and contribute to shaping a better, more inclusive New Hampshire for the future." ~ Courtney Wrigley

Learn More
NH Listens February Fellow of the Month: Josh Arnold

"What excites me most about Makers Mill is not that it will be a place where people can make widgets, fix things, or learn how to use a table saw. Those things will be fun and wonderful, yes. But the real impact of a space like this is from creating experiences where people with different beliefs...

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NH Listens February Fellow of the Month: Josh Arnold

"What excites me most about Makers Mill is not that it will be a place where people can make widgets, fix things, or learn how to use a table saw. Those things will be fun and wonderful, yes. But the real impact of a space like this is from creating experiences where people with different beliefs...

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NH Listens January Fellow of the Month: Tina Kim Philibotte

"I became a teacher to be the adult I needed as a West side kid, a Korean-American, as a ‘raised as a French-Canadian,’ as the only person of color in nearly every class, as a kid who never had a teacher of color..." ~ Tina Kim Philibotte, Chief Equity Officer, Manchester School District

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NH Listens January Fellow of the Month: Tina Kim Philibotte

"I became a teacher to be the adult I needed as a West side kid, a Korean-American, as a ‘raised as a French-Canadian,’ as the only person of color in nearly every class, as a kid who never had a teacher of color..." ~ Tina Kim Philibotte, Chief Equity Officer, Manchester School District

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Upcoming Events

NH Listens: Understanding and Preventing Hate-Based Activity
October 3rd, 2022

The Maine and New Hampshire Seacoast area has experienced increased hate-based activity in recent months. Please join us for an informative presentation and Q&A with area police departments and lo ...
NH Listens: Understanding and Preventing Hate-Based Activity
October 6th, 2022

The Maine and New Hampshire Seacoast area has experienced increased hate-based activity in recent months. Please join us for an informative online presentation and Q&A with area police departments ...
NH Listens: Basic Facilitator Training
October 12th, 2022

NH Listens: Basic Facilitator TrainingJoin this 2-hour basic facilitator training for tips on facilitating that you can apply both on and offline. We’ll focus on sharing:Some key facilitator conc ...

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In the News

NH Listens Partners with Urban Rural Action on Deepening Connection & Understanding Initiative

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NH Listens Awarded New Hampshire Humanities Grant

NH Listens & Urban Rural Action to implement statewide engagement initiative...

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Testimonials from People and Organizations we've worked with

“Just wanted to thank you for the great presentation! I think it hit the mark and was just what we had hoped it would be and what we needed to spark the commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).”
~ Donna J. Kuethe, CPRP, Executive Director of GP RED

“NH Listens is well organized and facilitates discussions in a manner where all opinions and views are shared in a respectful and constructive fashion. NH Listens helped my department hold a discussion with community members to assure mutual understanding and trust between the Community and our Police Officers. The event was well attended and met our goals. The follow-up report written by NH Listens was excellent and resulted in action steps to build upon the discussion.”
~ Anthony Colarusso, Chief of Police (retired), Dover, NH; current Head of Security, Wentworth Douglass Hospital

“It is with gratitude that I write this letter of support and gratitude for NH Listens at the Carsey School of Public Policy at UNH. As chair of the Claremont School Board, it seemed appropriate, as we transition out of Covid related restrictions, to gather as a community to meet our four candidates for school board and learn about them and for the candidates to learn the what citizens want and expect from the schools and them.” Read more

"The planning of the forum was exceptional with very appealing and informative promotional information that gave the community a clear idea of what the outcomes of the evening would be. This was easily shared with a variety of media sources in Claremont. The results were obvious as approximate 40 citizens, excluding facilitators, candidates, and current school board members, nearly as many as showed up for the deliberative session for the school budget. We were also able to televise the event via community television."

"The event itself was skillfully facilitated; to say the attendees were diverse culturally and politically is an understatement. I sat back as an observer and saw groups sharing ideas, laughing, and collaborating, an incredible sight in these polarized times. People participated, were heard, and had their views validated. The questions generated by groups allowed candidates to draw bright lines, in their responses, between themselves and the other candidates. The de facto Facebook page of Claremont, What’s Up Claremont, currently has a number of video excerpts from the forum posted by candidates and other citizens along with encouragement for citizens to vote. A definite Claremont 'seal of approval'.”

"In conclusion, I want to thank NH Listens, the facilitators were just superb, the results were remarkable, and we were lucky enough to have the whole thing paid for by a grant. I recommend this format for anyone who wishes to engage their community in a positive process of local governance."

~ Frank W. Sprague, Chair, Claremont School Board

“I look forward to setting our next steps to build upon the work of the series. Working with NH Listens was fantastic, thank you so much. I look forward to the next project we can do together!”
~ Annette Carbonneau, Senior Program Manager, North Country Health Consortium

“Listening can be one of the most disruptive things you can do. Stop and listen. It can provide a pathway forward.”
~ Steve Abbott, Independent Consultant, Great Schools Partnership