Get TO KNOW MóNICA
and the team!
Arrange and click on the photos to learn more.
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Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America, founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; and author of I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.
Moni is the inaugural McGurn Fellow at the University of Florida, working with researchers at the UF College of Journalism and Communications and beyond to better understand ways to employ techniques described in her book to boost understanding. She was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied how journalists can better meet the needs of a participatory public.
Her work has been featured in The New York Times, the Glenn Beck Podcast, Reader's Digest, BookTV, and EconTalk, and she is an advisor for Starts With Us and the Generations Over Dinner project.
Before committing to the project of helping people understand each other across the political divide, Mónica cofounded the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey and led a national network of groundbreaking local newsletters as VP of Local for WhereBy.Us.
She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle, served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes, and plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties' Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
MEET THE TEAM
Jessica Jones is the Director of Business Development for Reclaim Curiosity.
She manages Mónica's speaking engagements, oversees daily operations, and helps guide long term strategic development.
Jessica is passionate about civil discourse and relishes the opportunity to help Mónica build a more curious world in these polarized times.
Previously, Jessica served at Seattle CityClub for 8 years, culminating in her role as Deputy Director. She was key to the growth and development of the overall organization as well as many programs, partnerships and initiatives including the Jefferson Awards, the live Seattle Speaks debate series, Living Voters Guide, Civic Health Index, Civic Cocktail and Civic Bootcamp.
Jessica graduated from the Leadership Tomorrow class of 2011 and was invited to serve as a mentor to the class of 2012. She was a Cole Scholar in Electoral Politics at Oberlin College, a competitive, multi-year program for those who wish to pursue elected office.
Jessica previously served on the Board of Powerful Voices, an organization working to empower girls, and as a Trustee on the Board of HistoryLink, the free online encyclopedia of Washington State history.
She is currently President of her PTSA, where she works to fill in funding gaps, build community, and advocate on behalf of students and families in her diverse Title 1 South Seattle public school. Jessica is an avid urban farmer, loves to cook and bake for friends and family, and lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
Jasmine Barta is a website designer, social media manager, email marketer, branding consultant, and event planner for authors, small businesses, and nonprofits around the world.
She's proud to have Reclaim Curiosity as a client, where she helps design social media posts, designs the newsletter, (subscribe here!) and manages this website. (She designed it, too!)
Jasmine began her career as a journalist, graduating from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with the Associated Press College Innovator of the Year Award.
She's always been a storyteller at heart, with time spent as a reporter for USA TODAY, a part of the Super Bowl's Social Media Command Center, a scriptwriter for news anchors, a newsroom editor, a social media producer, and a book publishing marketer. Before venturing out on her own, she worked for news organizations, nonprofits, and boutique agencies.
Jasmine is passionate about helping people and organizations tell their story impactfully.
In her free time, she enjoys singing, reading, cooking and baking, learning photography, and exploring this world with great curiosity. She lives in Seattle with her little black cat, Glimmer.
You can find her at www.jasminebarta.com.