Community Conversations

People love stories, and everyone has a story to tell.  Community Conversations is a local storytelling project where diverse neighbors speak about what matters to them and their families in this moment of American history. The project is designed to find common ground, foster trust and respect, and bridge social divides.  

We invite you to read the 16 short profiles that emerged from 1-on-1 local citizen-led conversations. The accompanying portrait of each interviewee reflects each person’s unique background and story through photography. Participants range in ages, genders and ethnicities.  1st generation Americans to recent immigrants, left-leaning, independents and right-leaning. Plus, significant diversity across educational, religious, socioeconomic backgrounds, and cultural traditions.

Discover the diversity and beauty of the people of Benzie, Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties.  We hope you continue the conversations personally and learn how we are more alike than not.  And, how we are working together to bridge the divide to have stronger and healthier communities.