Megan Scribner
Founder
For more than 30 years, Megan has worked with a wide range of writers, established as well as first-time authors, to help them bring their stories and ideas to life. One of the highlights of her career was co-editing, with Sam Intrator, three poetry anthologies, Teaching with Fire, Leading from Within, and Teaching with Heart. Through these books, they worked with hundreds of teachers and leaders as they reflected about their work and life in relation to a cherished poem. Readers shared how these stories often resonated with their own, sometimes in surprising ways. One wrote, “to unexpectedly stumble onto something that jolts you into seeing the bigger picture again is a gift, wherever you find it… [such as] stumbling onto the quiet wisdom of others who have had to struggle for courage and perspective in adventures and battles of their own.” That insight stayed with her and became the premise for Building Bridges Word by Word.
Pat Harbour
Advisor
Pat is an author, public school educator, a professional coach-facilitator and a social change leader. As someone committed to the transformation of public education and the development of our youth, she facilitates leaders and citizens to create strategies and take action locally to make a difference in education and the lives of youth. She is the CEO and President of the Center for Quality Education and her book, Community Educators: A Resource for Educating and Developing Our Youth, published by the Kettering Foundation Press receives high praise, nationally and internationally. In 1995, Pat founded Healing the Heart of Diversity (HHD), a transformative process and social change coaching series for professionals who lead diversity education seminars and training.
Megan Scribner
Creator and Curator
For more than 30 years, Megan has worked with a wide range of writers, established as well as first-time authors, to help them bring their stories and ideas to life. One of the highlights of her career was co-editing, with Sam Intrator, three poetry anthologies, Teaching with Fire, Leading from Within, and Teaching with Heart. Through these books, they worked with hundreds of teachers and leaders as they reflected about their work and life in relation to a cherished poem. Readers shared how these stories often resonated with their own, sometimes in surprising ways. On her blog, Lane Wallace reviewed Leading from Within, she wrote, “to unexpectedly stumble onto something that jolts you into seeing the bigger picture again is a gift, wherever you find it… [such as] stumbling onto the quiet wisdom of others who have had to struggle for courage and perspective in adventures and battles of their own.” These insights stayed with Megan and became the premise of Building Bridges Word by Word.
Lisa Harris
Advisor
Lisa is a lawyer with almost 30 years of service in the federal government. While she loves her job, the results of an interest inventory about seven years into her career suggested that she should have become a guidance counselor or a minister. She has been a preschool Sunday School teacher for 21 years, so that’s close. With the long-ago encouraging words of her ninth grade English teacher ringing in her ears, she has recently been delving more into creative, personal writing through participation in workshops and community writing opportunities, and she enjoys social media as an outlet for expressing herself. Much of what she writes is prompted by her deep love for her two adult sons and granddaughter. She hopes to soon begin writing a book about her experience mothering two markedly different boys from childhood to adulthood.
Nick Kiessig
Web Designer
Nick brings over 7 years of experience in web development and all things tech, dedicating his skills to projects like Building Bridges Word by Word, the International Leadership Association, and many others. Since embarking on a life-changing journey in August 2018, Nick has traversed over 40 countries, acquiring what he affectionately calls his “Global Degree,” all while balancing work and travel. He is currently authoring his first book, focusing on intentional disruption – a guide to a life where strategic change fosters continuous growth and new opportunities, inspired by his extensive travel experiences and professional insights. An ardent believer in the power of genuine connections, Nick thrives on sharing and exchanging ideas about technological innovations, leadership strategies, and the thrill of travel. Always eager to connect with like-minded individuals, he invites conversations on forging meaningful relationships and embracing life’s exhilarating challenges.
Dennis Huffman
Advisor
Dennis fell in love with community colleges early in his career and for more than twenty years led Prince George’s Community College at University Town Center, an off-campus center in Hyattsville, Maryland. He is a past president of the National Association of Branch Campus Administrators (NABCA), and an active facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal. Dennis comes from a Mennonite background and grew up on an Ohio apple farm. His teaching experiences range from elementary schools to universities, as well as adult basic education. He speaks Spanish and has lived and worked in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia. Dennis is married, the father of two daughters, and is now learning how to be a grandfather. His manuscript of poems was a finalist for the 2021 Dogfish Head Poetry Prize.
Our Colleagues and Partners
We have been very fortunate to work with many individuals and organizations that are doing extraordinary work to make the world a better, kinder place. Throughout it all, two in particular, the Center for Courage and Renewal and Parker J. Palmer, have been remarkable friends and partners.
The Center for Courage & Renewal’s mission is to nurture deep integrity and relational trust, building the foundation for a more loving, equitable, and healthy world. While the forces of exhaustion, loneliness, violence, and injustice are real and undeniable, so are the powers of human authenticity, generosity, courage, and community that rise up to meet them. Whatever personal or societal challenges we face, the resources we need to transform our lives and the world can always be found within us and between us – in the human heart and in community. When we show up in our homes, relationships, workplaces, communities, and ecosystems rooted in our own integrity and with a deep bow to human dignity, we inspire hope in those around us and foster the relational trust and stamina we need to keep moving, step by step, toward a more loving, equitable, and healthy world.
Parker J. Palmer, founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal, is a world-renowned writer, speaker and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. Parker’s work has touched the lives of millions of people around the world seeking to live more courageously and authentically. “With all the bitter divides in the U.S. and around the world, and the violence that comes with them, it’s hard to believe that human beings can create community with each other. But we can and we do… When we do, we’ll find our differences taking on less importance, as we start to see the Light in every human being – even when they cannot see it themselves. On that foundation, we can build a better world.”
Many thanks to the Fetzer Institute and The Freedom of Spirit fund for their generous support of Building Bridges Word by Word.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about getting involved and telling your story, please do not hesitate to contact us at buildingbridgeswbw@gmail.com.