Consensus CouncilFounded in 1990, The Consensus Council is a non-profit organization that custom-designs processes bringing diverse viewpoints together to seek common ground from local to international levels.
Council facilitators and staff colleagues provide many services to support building public policy agreements. Under the trusteeship of the diverse Board of Directors, the Council operates with support from foundations, contracts for services and contributions.
Subject areas of consensus processes have included disaster mitigation, economic and rural development, education, environment and natural resources, government restructuring and reform, health care, human services and law. However, the possibilities are boundless. Contact us to begin building agreements to benefit the whole community.
History of the Consensus Council Inc.:
In 1990, North Dakota's private and public leaders considered significant challenges raised by demographic, economic, and social conditions in the state. This discussion produced the concept of a consensus council, to firmly position North Dakota for an effective future in the central region of North America.
The Consensus Council, Inc., is a private, North Dakota, nonprofit corporation dedicated to the improvement of government structure, services, and policy primarily in North Dakota and the Great Plains (Originally called the “North Dakota Consensus Council, Inc.,” the name was change in 1999 to “The Consensus Council, Inc.” to more accurately reflect its growing regional service presence.)
The Consensus Council provides models that can be adapted to and work to enhance other governing circumstances in the region and throughout the world. This approach helps to bridge the gap between how we think and how we act in public life.
Mission of the Consensus Council Inc.:
The Council connects leaders and citizens to build public policy agreements.
Vision of the Consensus Council Inc.:
Citizens and leaders of this region rely on consensus-building and conflict resolution to address important issues of public and community life.
Values of the Consensus Council Inc.:
The Council contributes a tradition and a model for
consensus-building. In this process, we are committed to the following
values:
We seek cooperative resolution of issues, clearly articulated by leaders, and tested by broad citizen conversation.
We actively involve persons from diverse viewpoints, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, ages, life experience, and geographical areas of the state to strengthen the collegial wisdom of the process.
We value innovation, welcome new ideas and encourage adaptability to new opportunities, while affirming the wisdom of our tradition.
We value the graces of hospitality to encourage conversation and active listening in developing relationships among participants in the consensus-building process.
We are committed to fundamental fairness and honesty in providing neutral services to leaders in the consensus-building processes.
We support leadership and citizenship. We seek to ensure citizen participation in the process of building and implementing public policy. We seek to support the role of leaders in their institutional memory, and in their ability to see, hear, and interpret the views of citizens on issues of importance to public life.
We value the spectrum of political views and are nonpartisan in our services.
Fargo, ND.
Bruce is a Trust Officer and Public Relations person at State Banks in Fargo. He is the former Interim Director at North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance. He was also the Mayor of Fargo from 1994-2006. His current activities include serving on the Board of Directors of State Bank and Trust, Tri-College University, Red River Zoo, INREIT Investment Trust and the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation.
Dennis HillBismarck, ND.
Dennis is the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives. Through his work, he oversees a statewide trade association that provides government relations, communications, safety, professional development and economic development services to the state’s electric cooperative industry.
CHRISTINE HOGANBismarck, ND.
Christine is a staff attorney for the North Dakota Protection and Advocacy Project (P & A). She is the former Executive Director of the State Bar
Association of North Dakota and a Committee Chair of the North Dakota
Judicial system. She
is a spokesperson for the legal community, and for disability rights.
David L. KemnitzMandan, ND.
David
is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the
statewide American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL/CIO).
He is the leading spokesperson for labor interests in
North Dakota.
REPRESENTATIVE ANDREW MARAGOSSecretary/Treasurer, Minot, ND.
Andrew is a businessman and Vietnam veteran, who is involved in family business pursuits. He is also a Republican State Legislator, having served in the ND House of Representatives from 1993-2005, and was re-elected in 2010.
Jerry L. NagelVice-Chair,
Lake Park, MN.
Jerry is President of Northern Great Plains, Inc., a research and demonstration organization working to maximize the economic potential of rural communities; and co-convener of the Meadowlark Institute, a transformational leadership training and development collaborative.
SENATOR CAROLYN NELSONCarolyn is a Democratic State Legislator and member of the Senate Judiciary and Government and Veterans Affairs Committees. She is a senior lecturer emeritus of mathematics at North Dakota State University.
Barry VickreyChair,
Vermillion, SD.
Barry is the Dean of the School of
Law at the University of South Dakota. Prior to his current position,
Barry was the Associate
Dean of the School of Law at the University of North
Dakota. He is involved in education and natural resource issues.
Executive Director. Rose has experience in process design, facilitation, programming, implementation, legislative initiatives, community conversations, program evaluation, and presentations. She received a degree in social and behavioral sciences from the University of Mary.
Rose has past experiences as the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in North Dakota where she received the Mental Health Services Award from the North Dakota Psychiatric Society and the Welcome Back Award from the Eli Lilly Company. She also worked, for 17 years, with the North Dakota Department of Human Services. She is a graduate of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber Leadership program, is a past Chair of the Bismarck Human Relations Committee, serves on the Northern Plains Initiative (NPI) Board of Directors along with serving on many governing and policy boards statewide and regionally. Rose is a founding member of the North Dakota Womens Network.
Contact: 701-224-0588 x 101
Paul GriffinDeputy Director. Paul has experience in program development, service delivery, management and planning in the public and private sectors. He holds a bachelors degree in psychology from Jamestown College and a Masters degree in education/counseling and guidance from North Dakota State University.
Among other things, Paul has worked as a counselor with Vocational Rehabilitation at the ND State Hospital, an mental health counselor at Memorial Mental Health Center, a regional Development Disabilities Coordinator at the Center for Human Development, the Program and Social Services Director at the Svee Rehabilitation Home (Lutheran Social Services), the Operations Manager at Freedom Resource Center (a center of independent living) and with Catholic Family Services (Catholic Charities ND), where he was initially the supervisor of guardianship services and later the Executive Director. He as served on a number of boards, task forces and working groups that have addressed a wide variety of public policy issues. He is currently the Board president of Partners, Inc. and a past president of the Guardianship Association of North Dakota.
Contact: 701-224-0588 x 102
The staff is structured to work as a team to
accomplish Council goals. A high value is placed on collegiality and
communication. All staff colleagues have gifts and talents that can be
effectively contributed and enhanced in this effort as part of a
cooperative, energetic environment.
| The Consensus Council is an equal opportunity employer and values all applications. While there are no current employment opportunities or internship openings, we are excited to receive applications from interested individuals and discuss future opportunities. |