Martín Carcasson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Communication Studies department of Colorado State University, and the founder and director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD, www.colostate.edu). His research and practice focuses on helping local communities address “wicked problems” more productively through improved public communication, community problem solving, and collaborative decision-making. The CPD is a practical, applied extension of his work, and functions as an impartial resource dedicated to enhancing local democracy in Northern Colorado. Dr. Carcasson and the CPD staff train students to serve as impartial facilitators, who then work with local governments, school districts, and community organizations to design, facilitate, and report on innovative projects and events on key community issues. Carcasson and the CPD staff have designed and facilitated over 500 meetings in their 18 years.
In the fall of 2021, he helped launch the Northern Colorado Deliberative Journalism Project, which works to support and reimagine local journalism through collaborative efforts that combine the best of journalism with deliberative principles. More information here: https://cpd.colostate.edu/djp/
Carcasson has helped start centers like the CPD at multiple institutions including the University of Houston-Downtown, James Madison University, Baylor University, and Washington State University-Vancouver. He works often with local governments, school districts, libraries, and newsrooms. He has given keynote addresses or workshops with the International City/County Managers Association, the National Association of Counties, the American Library Association, American College Press ,the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the National Civic League, the National School Relations Officers Association the National League of Cities, among others. All together, he has given talks or run workshops to over 250 cities, universities, or community organizations in over 30 states.
Many of Martin's key writings are available on the CPD website here: https://cpd.colostate.edu/what-is-deliberation/resources/