After working on more than 20 political campaigns and two highly respected non-profits, Rich Harwood set out to create something entirely different. He founded what is now known as The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation in 1988, when he was just 27 years old. Soon after, he wrote the ground-breaking report Citizen and Politics: A View from Main Street, the first national study to uncover that Americans did not feel apathetic about politics, but instead held a deep sense of anger and disconnection.
Over the past 30 years, Rich has innovated and developed a new philosophy and practice of how communities can solve shared problems, create a culture of shared responsibility and deepen people’s civic faith. The Harwood practice of Turning Outward has spread to all 50 U.S. States and is being used in 40 countries.
Rich has invested his career in revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations and reconnecting institutions like newsrooms and schools to society. In Newtown, CT, after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Rich led the process for the community to collectively decide the fate of the school building.
Rich is an inspiring, sought after speaker, who regularly keynotes major conferences and events. He appears regularly on major media outlets. He has written four books, scores of articles and numerous groundbreaking reports. He’s also written numerous studies and articles that have appeared on national media including MSNBC, NPR, CNN’s Inside Politics, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Special Report with Brit Hume and C-SPAN. Recently, he became a regular contributor to The Christian Citizen, a publication which provides thought on issues of justice, mercy and faith.
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As one of the initial driving forces behind the Bridge Alliance and as chairman of the board, David Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process.
As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action.
He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded any one organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.”
Nevins is also co-publisher of The Fulcrum, a daily new publication committed to protecting democracy by educating the public on issues that matter. The Fulcrum is a key piece of a larger strategy to build a pro-democracy constituency of millions of Americans by making it easier to find and act on civic engagement opportunities. The Bridge Alliance, The Fulcrum, and Citizen Connect are all interconnected in their support of the ecosystem of our community of pro-democracy organizations and concerned and engaged citizens.
He established and continues to work with The Nevins Fellow program at The Mccourtney Institute of Democracy at Penn State University. The Nevins Fellows program allows students to complete internships at organizations that bring people together to solve common problems. In this program students begin by taking a Democratic Leadership class that introduces them to a different side of democracy—one that focuses not on campaigns and elections, but on bringing people together to work on common problems. Students learn about organizations doing this kind of work, and develop the skills necessary to facilitate conversations about community issues.
He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership.
Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. He continues as President of Nevins Real Estate Management. Nevins is married to Catherine Moyal Nevins. They currently reside in Palm Beach Gardens Florida and Cape May New Jersey.
