The David Mathews Center's 9th Annual Civic Institute

Connect with civic-minded changemakers and leaders from across Alabama for a daylong discussion about our state’s past, present, and future.

As we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the David Mathews Center, the theme for the 2025 Civic Institute is drawn from Dr. Mathews' 2021 book Together: Building Better, Stronger Communities. Participants will each receive a copy of the book and other resources.

Our speakers will highlight what's working in their communities, discuss strategies for addressing persistent challenges, and offer perspectives on the enduring importance of working together. Participants will learn about meaningful efforts to mark the 250 anniversary of the founding of the United States. They will hear how participation in the Mathews Center’s college internship program helped shape the careers and perspectives of dynamic young professionals. And they will be encouraged by leaders from across the state who will discuss challenges and successes in their communities. Dr. David Mathews will offer his own thoughtful perspective in a recorded message.

Our keynote will feature two Alabama lawmakers who understand well the importance of dialogue across differences. Earlier this year, Representative Ginny Shaver (R – Leesburg) and Senator Vivian Davis Figures (D – Mobile) secured passage of a bill providing paid parental leave to state employees. They will discuss what it takes to secure such a bipartisan victory in the State House and, more broadly, why working together in our communities is so vital.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Agenda

8:00AM Registration & Coffee

8:30AM Welcome & Opening Remarks

• Carrie Banks, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
• Col. Alan Miller, American Village Citizenship Trust
• Scotty Kirkland, David Mathews Center for Civic Life

9:00AM "Strategies for Dealing with the Wickedness in Problems"

The Institute begins with a panel of people working in the fields of education, economics, humanities, and the law who will discuss some of the “wicked problems” confronting Alabama today. Dr. Mathews would define a wicked problem as one that is “as tricky as it is aggressive.” Wicked problems cannot be fixed in a day, or a year. They require effort by as many dedicated people as possible, working together to address them. “Strategies for countering these problems have to engage citizens from every sector of the community because the problems have multiple sources,” Mathews says in Together.

• Moderator: Jim Byard, Byard Associates, LLC
• Chandra Scott, Alabama Possible
• Chuck Holmes, Alabama Humanities Alliance
• Joe Sumners, Ph.D., Auburn University's Government and Economic Development Institute, emeritus
• Michael Waters, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform

10:30AM "Can Citizens Really Make a Difference?"

“What your community will be in the future will be determined by the way it makes decisions going forward,” Dr. Mathews writes in Together. This panel assembles a large group of diverse Alabamians working in the fields of housing, public health, sustainable agriculture, local government, and more who will discuss ways their organizations are answering the question Can Citizens Really Make a Difference with an emphatic YES!

• Moderator: Carrie Banks, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
• Theoangelo Perkins, Wallace Center for Arts & Reconciliation
• Herman Lehman, Keys to the City Community Coaching
• Danny Patterson, Gulf States Health Policy Center
• Russell & Jewel Bean, S & B Farm
• Ethan Brown, English Classroom

12:00PM Awards Luncheon

• Marsha Folsom, David Mathews Center for Civic Life, presiding
• Jean O’Connor-Synder Award Recognition
• Keynote Address by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures & Rep. Ginny Shaver, moderated by Todd Stacy, Alabama Public Television

1:45PM Concurrent Sessions

"Rediscovering Communities: The Jean O'Connor Snyder Internship Program"

Step into a powerful and inspiring panel discussion featuring former interns of the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program, a program dedicated to empowering younger generations through immersive civic engagement. Discover alongside JOIP Alumni firsthand how this transformative internship experience became a launchpad for lifelong leadership, advocacy, and active participation.

• Moderator: Lauren Lockhart, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
• Rev. Marian Royston, St. Paul United Methodist Church
• Jeffrey Rogers, Maynard Nexsen
• Madi Duboise, Walker Area Community Foundation
• Chauntina Whittle, David Mathews Center for Civic Life
• Cristin Brawner, National Issues Forums Institute

"Oral Histories: Reaching Out to the Whole Community"

Stories become history in the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Programs represented on this panel. From Mobile's “Down the Bay” community to Troy and Montevallo, discover how faculty and interns ensure that community voices are not forgotten, but heard, shared, and preserved as living history. Through podcasts and social media campaigns, these oral histories create a bridge across generations, offering lessons and lifelong advice from the past to those in the present and future.

• Moderator: David Dada, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• David Messenger, Ph.D., University of South Alabama
• Lauren Cochran, Troy University
• Jayden McQueen, Troy University
• Kathy King, Ph.D., Montevallo Legacy Project

2:50PM Concluding Remarks: "A Community of Communities"

• A message from Dr. David Mathews