Progressive organizations are fracturing over Israel/Palestine, Jewish and Muslim identity, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the politics of race and religion. These divisions are stalling essential work, weakening coalitions, putting targets on our backs, and making it harder to build the power we need.
Western States Center’s Common Good Intensive is a two-day working session for leaders who are ready to move through this strategically and with clarity.
What It Is
The Common Good Intensive brings together a small cohort of progressive leaders from across the country to learn, process, and strategize together. Over two days, you'll:
Build historical context for understanding how antisemitism and Islamophobia are intertwined and how ethno-religious nationalism exploits both
Develop tools for navigating tension and conflict in your organization and coalitions
Practice deep listening and dialogue across differences
Connect with peers facing similar challenges
This isn't a lecture series. It's hands-on, facilitated work designed to leave you with insights and strategies you can use immediately.
Who It’s For
This space is designed for leaders who are actively encountering these tensions in their work. That includes:
Coalition-builders — organizers, directors, and board members struggling to hold coalitions together across these divides
Advocacy and social service leaders — nonprofit staff and leadership navigating internal organizational tension
Community and civic leaders — clergy and religious leaders, philanthropists, elected officials, and government employees working on community bridge-building
Dates and Locations
Three intensives are planned for 2026. Each cohort is capped at 20 participants.
Monday, August 3 – Tuesday August 4 in Washington, DC
Tuesday, September 15 – Wednesday, September 16 in Minneapolis, MN
Monday, December 7 – Tuesday, December 8 inLos Angeles, CA
Cost
$350 for the first participant from your organization; $150 for each additional participant (up to 3 total). Organizations are encouraged to send at least two participants.
Lodging (two nights) and meals during the session will be provided
Travel subsidies are available for those who need them
No organization will be turned away for lack of funds. Please let us know if cost is a barrier.
Ready to Join Us?
Fill out our interest form. It takes about 15 minutes to complete and helps us make sure that this is the right fit for you.
*If more than one person from your organization would like to attend (we encourage this, up to 3 total!) please note that each individual will need to fill out the interest form separately. Space will be filled on a rolling basis, so please submit your interest form as soon as possible to secure your spot.
Know Someone Who Could Use This Space?
Complete this very brief referral form and we’ll take it from here.
Your Facilitation Team
Megan Black Johnson is a trainer, facilitator, and organizer who has spent much of her career trying to make sense of our differences and build bridges between them. Trained in community organizing and interfaith solidarity, since 2010 Megan has worked to navigate the divisions created by race, religion, and politics, with a particular focus on the issues of antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and Christian hegemony, and in 2016 earned a Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt Divinity School. She directs a program to counter antisemitism and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions at Western States Center and regularly trains and facilitates bridge-building initiatives across the country. Megan lives in Baltimore, MD with her spouse and child.
Elianna Boskoff is a facilitator and political educator who has recently returned to her hometown of Albuquerque. Born and raised in the desert mountains of New Mexico and nurtured by a small but vibrant Jewish community, Elianna has always been fascinated by the stories we tell about ourselves and our pasts. Determined to better understand the legacy of traumatic pasts in her own community and others, Elianna studied the history of colonialism and nationalism in undergrad and the Holocaust and genocide studies in her master's. As a political educator, Elianna works to steward the process of healing from these pasts and building more integrated, inclusive, and imaginative futures. Before returning to the US at the beginning of 2024, Elianna was living and working in Jerusalem, organizing grassroots Jewish-Palestinian solidarity. During her time there, she served as the Educational Director of Achvat Amim, an educational and movement-building platform engaged in critical learning and justice work.
Maggie Siddiqi specializes in faith-based advocacy for social change, coalition-building across lines of difference, and public policy on religious freedom and countering hate. She serves as Senior Advisor at the Interfaith Alliance and Non-Resident Fellow at the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Maggie recently concluded her appointment as senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education on issues of religious freedom, including protecting First Amendment rights and countering antisemitism and Islamophobia. Prior to that, she served as senior director of the Religion and Faith team at the Center for American Progress, a progressive thinktank. The first decade of her professional life was devoted to national organizations serving American Muslim communities through interfaith relations, public policy, community-building, and philanthropy.