Meet the 2025 Collaborative Discussion Visiting Fellows

We are thrilled to introduce the 2025 Interactivity Foundation Collaborative Discussion Visiting Fellows! Throughout 2025, our three Fellows will be contributing their expertise to developing new activities for the freely-accessible Collaborative Discussion Toolkit and working on content for exciting new workshops and trainings. This important work will help expand the practice of collaborative discussion, equipping more people with the tools to engage in meaningful, productive conversations.

Meet our Fellows below, and don’t forget to sign up to upcoming CDP Workshops and Webinars to learn how to improve discussion in your school, workplace, or community.

Meet the Fellows

Lori Britt

Director & Professor, School of Communication Studies, and Co-Director, Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue (ICAD), James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

Fellowship Focus: Civic Collaboration

Lori Britt is Director and Professor in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University and co-director of the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue (ICAD). She teaches courses in organizational communication, leadership, dialogue and deliberation, and the design and facilitation of processes for productive talk. Through ICAD, Lori aims to shape conversations that impact individuals, organizations, and communities.

Her teaching and work is infused with a passion for training students and practitioners to design and facilitate conversations where people can tackle challenging issues that face our communities and workplaces. Lori believes that well-designed and well-facilitated discussions can help people stay ‘at the table’–even when the issues are difficult–creating greater opportunities to collaboratively find solutions.

Don Waisanen

Founder & President, Communication Upward, and Professor at Baruch College, CUNY
New York, NY
Fellowship Focus: Creative Collaboration

Don Waisanen is a pracademic who teaches, researches, and consults on strategic communication and civic engagement, and strives to help others level up in these areas. A Professor at Baruch College CUNY and an adjunct at Columbia and NYU, Don also founded and leads Communication Upward, a consultancy offering professional development workshops and expert facilitation.

With seven books to his name, including Improv for Democracy and Leadership Standpoints, not to mention a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California, Don integrates creativity and strategic thinking into his work. 

Don is a tennis fanatic, Duolingo enthusiast, and sometimes even known to perform improv comedy. Learn more about his work and sign up for his monthly newsletter on elevating communication at www.donwaisanen.com.

John Igwebuike

Founder, The Lead Listening Institute
Chicago, IL
Fellowship Focus: Active Listening

Dr. John G. Igwebuike is a thought leader, facilitator, and DEI consultant specializing in effective listening as a tool for fostering inclusion and belonging. As the founder of The Lead Listening Institute, he helps organizations, groups, and individuals develop listening skills that ensure all voices feel heard, valued, and understood.

John’s expertise spans focus-group facilitation, restorative justice, and leadership training. He is the founder of the Guanacaste: Transformational Listening Conference (TLC) and has authored multiple books, including I Want to Hear You: 22 Tips for Artful Listening Before, During, and After a Conversation and I Listen and So Can You, a children’s book on listening now being used in schools across the U.S.

A licensed attorney and lifelong learner, John holds a J.D. from the Robert H. McKenney School of Law at Indiana University, a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, and masters degrees from both the Ohio State University and California State Polytechnic University. His TEDx Talk on Active Listening can be viewed here.

Stay tuned for updates as our Fellows design and deliver exciting new skills-based collaborative discussion workshops.

About the Collaborative Discussion Project

The Interactivity Foundation’s Collaborative Discussion Project (CDP) enables meaningful conversations through fostering skills across five dimensions of collaborative discussion: working together and harnessing collective wisdom; creative collaboration; critical collaboration; culturally responsive collaboration; and civic collaboration. By providing interactive training sessions, free innovative discussion tools in the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit, and facilitated workshops, the CDP helps individuals and communities of all kinds navigate complex issues with openness and creativity. With an emphasis on constructive engagement, the project empowers participants to build understanding, explore diverse perspectives, and co-create solutions to shared concerns.

Core to the CDP is the notion that effective discussion is not just about exchanging ideas but also about developing collaborative intelligence—the ability to think together in ways that are generative, respectful, and forward-looking. CDP resources are designed to be adaptable across different contexts, from classrooms and community groups to professional and organizational settings, ensuring that people in all positions and from all walks of life have access to the skills needed for meaningful, impactful, and powerful conversations.

Curious to learn more? 

👉 Join a free webinar for an Introduction to the Collaborative Discussion Toolkit, or sign up for a workshop to learn how to use it in your classroom, office, or even at the kitchen table!
👉 Start using the free Collaborative Discussion Toolkit
👉 Subscribe to the Collaborative Discussion Project newsletter for Toolkit activities, tips and tricks every Monday