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John Creighton

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 network for forty-plus primary health care associations around the country.  He began his career working on the staff of two Kansas gubernatorial 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 is the opportunity 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.

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Featured Neighborhoods
Recent Entries by John Creighton
  • Bend, Oregon: Anywhere, USA?

    Published 6:44 p.m. July 27, 2011

    A visit to Bend, Oregon is a surreal experience. Anywhere, USA plopped down in the middle of unique American beauty.

  • Technology overload? Amish provide lesson in adaptation

    Published 2:00 p.m. July 13, 2011

    Many Americans feel overwhelmed by technology and media. The Amish can teach us how to cope.

  • Letting go of the American Dream to reclaim it

    Published 7:50 a.m. June 28, 2011

    Can our current definition of the American Dream be revived? Or do we need to redefine the dream?

  • War strikes closer to home

    Published 6:04 p.m. June 6, 2011

    Modern warfare lets most Americans off the hook. Is that good for our nation?

  • Graduation speeches: The best or worst of times?

    Published 4:31 p.m. May 20, 2011

    How will graduates remember their years in school? As a time of strife or the beginning of a new era of opportunity?

  • Muslim in Tennessee

    Published 2:02 p.m. May 12, 2011

    Remziya Suleyman and her colleagues are speaking out for American Muslims. It's a familiar American saga.

  • M&Ms, Tea Party license plates and national unity

    Published 12:51 p.m. May 5, 2011

    Some measure our national unity by the President's approval ratings. We need to start a lot closer to home.

  • Think twice the next time a Greg Mortenson comes along

    Published 6:19 p.m. April 18, 2011

    Rather than saying shame on Greg Mortenson, we should be saying shame on us.

  • Questions for Colorado's leaders

    Published 11:40 a.m. March 8, 2011

    Colorado leaders working under the state's golden dome have tough questions to answer. How to balance the state's budget is not one of them one.

  • Austerity comes to Colorado

    Published 3:37 p.m. February 18, 2011

    Governor John Hickenlooper, Colorado Democrat, deserves credit for proposing a jaw dropping budget. But, like many of the budget cutters across the nation, his prescriptions lack an adequate dose of vision.

  • IBM Watson on Jeopardy

    Published 8:43 a.m. February 8, 2011

    Is the debut of IBM's supercomputer, Watson, on Jeopardy just a fun publicity stunt or a harbinger of tough political conversations?

  • Rep. Michele Bachmann wins the night

    Published 12:15 a.m. January 26, 2011

    Do we Americans value celebrity over wisdom? What are the long term consequences if we do?

  • The Dave Ramsey way

    Published 4:47 p.m. January 19, 2011

    Dave Ramsey preaches personal responsibility above all else. Does the focus on individuals let big corporations of the hook?

  • A growing chasm: America's political class and the real world

    Published 1:08 p.m. January 11, 2011

    Those in America's political class make their living arguing hysterically over trivial matters. The American people have had enough. People are ready for serious conversations about serious issues. The question is whether the political class will be part of the discussion.

  • After the Great Recession: A search for balance

    Published 10:42 p.m. January 3, 2011

    Great effort is being devoted to figure out what the “new normal” will be as the Great Recession ebbs. In what ways, if at all, have Americans and American life been permanently changed?

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