Creating Citizens is The Commonwealth Club’s civics education initiative. Building on more than a century of nonpartisan civil dialogue at The Commonwealth Club, Creating Citizens brings students and educators into the conversation.

Civil dialogue is fundamental to a healthy democracy, yet our nation is more polarized and divisive than ever. We know young people are watching and listening, and we know they want to speak up. Creating Citizens gives them this chance.

Programs feature civic leaders from across the ideological spectrum, thinkers and influencers young people respect, and youth themselves. Students develop their own perspectives on complex issues and learn the power of mutually respectful dialogue in a diverse society.

Join us as we work together to create the next generation of active, empowered citizens. Our democracy depends on it.

Explore Our Projects

School Field Trips

Literacy for Civic Learning

Discussion Guides

Meet the Speaker

Youth Advisory Committee

 

Our Team

Lauren Silver, vice president for education, launched Creating Citizens in 2020. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology and has been an educator in museums, pre-K–12 classrooms, and universities for more than 25 years. Before joining The Commonwealth Club, Lauren founded the education department at the Computer History Museum; worked at Stanford University as an education curator at the Cantor Arts Center and a lecturer in the Graduate School of Education; and she was a family education specialist at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Griffith Swidler, school partnerships manager, joined the Creating Citizens initiative in 2022. His background is in community development and education. Before joining The Commonwealth Club, Griffith worked for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, taught secondary school in France, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo.

Nesreen Ezzeddine, education program manager, joined Creating Citizens in 2024. Prior to this role, she founded the Democracy Institute for Civic Engagement, a nonprofit focused on civic education, during her undergraduate studies. She has also worked as a grant coordinator, building transfer pipelines from community colleges to the University of Michigan. Nesreen holds a Master’s degree in policy, organization, and leadership studies from Stanford University.

Ava Escobedo, communications and engagement intern, joined Creating Citizens in 2024. She is a third-year student at UC Berkeley, where she is studying history and global studies. Ava is passionate about the political relevance of history and hopes that by understanding history from new perspectives, young people will be more civically engaged and better equipped members of our society. She is also involved in numerous research and civic engagement organizations at UC Berkeley.