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Dispatches From The Heartland

John Creighton learning lessons from small town life

Friday, February 5, 2010

  • 6

    Comments

    Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi believe the best way to fix Congress is to shut off the money.  I wish it was that easy.  Why is it harder?  Look in the mirror. Photo: Biggunben (Flickr)

    Fix Congress First Should Be Second

    posted at 4:04 p.m.

    Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi believe the best way to fix Congress is to shut off the money. I wish it was that easy. Why is it harder? Look in the mirror.

Monday, February 1, 2010

  • 2

    Comments

    Twitter users shaded their photos green to show solidarity with Iranian election protesters.  Does the solidarity remain?  Or, was it just a cause du jour? Photo: dougcurran (Flickr)
    Fad Activism via Social Media

    posted at 12:26 a.m.

    Twitter users shaded their photos green to show solidarity with Iranian election protesters. Does the solidarity remain? Or, was it just a cause du jour?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

  • 5

    Comments

    I was part of a team that examined the effects of new media on newspapers back in 1995.  We were blind to the real game changer.  Are education reformers making the same mistake today?
    We Got It Wrong

    posted at 7:52 a.m.

    I was part of a team that examined the effects of new media on newspapers back in 1995. We were blind to the real game changer. Are education reformers making the same mistake today?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

  • 7

    Comments

    We are all hypocrites to some degree.  That's what makes us interesting. Photo: zeusandhera (Flickr)
    We're All Hypocrites

    posted at 11:53 p.m.

    We are all hypocrites to some degree. That's what makes us interesting.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Monday, January 18, 2010

  • 2

    Comments

    King told his congregation Jesus knowingly asked us to do something difficult: Love Thy Enemy.  How well do we do this in public life? Photo: Associated Press
    Martin Luther King Day Rituals

    posted at 8:49 a.m.

    King told his congregation Jesus knowingly asked us to do something difficult: Love Thy Enemy. How well do we do this in public life?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

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    Comments

    The outpouring of support for Haitians is inspiring.  Let us remember this moment next month. Photo: American Red Cross (Flickr)
    Let Us Remember This Moment

    posted at 1:20 p.m.

    The outpouring of support for Haitians is inspiring. Let us remember this moment next month.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

  • 4

    Comments

    Losing weight and saving money may not be easy.  But, they're not complicated.  The same is true with many public issues.
    Put Less in the Pie Hole

    posted at 8:55 p.m.

    Losing weight and saving money may not be easy. But, they're not complicated. The same is true with many public issues.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

  • 2

    Comments

    Daniel Pink asserts that autonomy is the essential ingredient to tackle “complex challenges.”  Do public leaders agree?  Do you?
    Do You Believe In Autonomy?

    posted at 11:41 a.m.

    Daniel Pink asserts that autonomy is the essential ingredient to tackle “complex challenges.” Do public leaders agree? Do you?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

  • 4

    Comments

    Does it matter that most of us are insulated from the costs and consequences of war? Photo: The U.S. Army (Flickr)
    Should We Have War Without a Draft?

    posted at 6:53 p.m.

    Does it matter that most of us are insulated from the costs and consequences of war?

John Creighton

John Creighton

John is a student of community life and public leadership. He does research, writes, speaks ... more

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John is a student of community life and public leadership. He does research, writes, speaks and advises public leaders on strategies to activate citizens to take action.

John's professional journey includes twenty years work with public-oriented organizations including the U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Kettering and C.S. Mott Foundations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Demos Public Works Project and many Pulitzer prize-winning newspapers.  John is the former director and senior fellow with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.  As founder of Conocer, John designed a peer-to-peer learning netweork for forty-plus primary health care associations around the country.  He began his career working on the staff of two Kansas gubrenatorial campaigns.

John is author or more than forty reports and articles. He has been a keynote speaker for groups ranging from the Western Governors Association, Nature Conservancy, National Association of Secretaries of State, Mid America Press Institute, Greater Midwest Association of Primary Health Care Centers, and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

One of John's joys are the opportunities to interview Americans from all walks of life.  He has had the privilege to sit down with such diverse groups - in such diverse places - as executives in the World Trade Center; community health care workers in South Carolina; AME church members in Atlanta; ranchers in North and South Dakota; union members in Flint, MI; casino workers in Las Vegas; newspaper reporters in Baltimore; media pioneers in California, and countless others in 42 states.

John grew up in a small town on the Great Plains where he learned community is not a concept but a rewarding, and practical, way of life.  John is a graduate of the University of Kansas and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.  He and his wife Joni are raising three children in Longmont, Colorado where John serves on the school board.

Contact John Creighton