March 19, 2025
Juliana Tafur, Director of the Bridging Differences program at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center
Over the past two decades, Americans have grown increasingly isolated and divided, fueling a loneliness epidemic and deepening distrust between groups. This social fragmentation threatens our emotional well-being, breeds prejudice, and even undermines the foundations of our democracy. Yet, despite these challenges, a majority of Americans long for unity: 7 in 10 say they feel a responsibility to connect with people who have different backgrounds and viewpoints, and when asked to imagine an ideal future, most envision a more united nation.
In this talk, Juliana Tafur, Bridging Differences Program Director at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley will introduce science-backed strategies for fostering connection. Rather than focusing solely on direct dialogue, she will highlight practical approaches—such as finding shared goals—that help people build bridges in ways that feel safe, meaningful, and effective. Grounded in research, this interactive session will translate theory into practice, allowing participants to not only understand but also experience the power of these strategies firsthand.
At a time when many of us are searching for ways to reconnect, this event offers a hopeful, evidence-based path forward.
This program is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and is part of the Dialogues Across Differences Project, which is funded by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
is the inaugural Director of the program at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. A Colombian-American, her work focuses on strengthening social connections across lines of race, religion, culture, politics, and more, to foster a culture of understanding and belonging in the United States and beyond. With experience as a social entrepreneur, , , Emmy-nominated senior producer, and award-winning documentary filmmaker, she has been working to foster human connection across complex societal divides for more than a decade. Juliana is a 2021-2022 Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University—a mid-career fellowship that recognized and deepened her work in the bridge-building field, expanding her research on intergroup relations, political polarization, and conflict transformation. She has led and facilitated speaking engagements and training sessions on bridging differences at more than 30 higher education institutions and organizations, and is now leading the implementation of a state-wide, multi-year in Colorado to ease polarization and promote a sense of belonging in every community across the state. She’s an honors graduate of Northwestern University, with dual degrees in Journalism and History.
For more information, please visit: https://www.clarkeforum.org/wednesday-march-19-2025/
Further information
- Location: Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium
- Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
- Cost: $0.00