Joan Blades is a co-founder of LivingRoomConversations.org, an open source effort to build respectful connections across ideological, cultural and party lines while embracing our core-shared values. Previously a co-founder of MomsRising.org and MoveOn.org, she is a co-author of The Custom-Fit Workplace and The Motherhood Manifesto. A mediator (attorney) by training and inclination, she is a true believer in the power of citizens and our need for respectful discourse.