Ep 26: A reflection on Youth and Civics

Rethinking with Alex Torpey

This episode: Returning from my trip across the country in the fall of 2020, and before I moved up to New Hampshire to serve as Town Manager in the Town of Hanover, I have had the incredible fortune to get to participate in some really interesting experiences. This includes teaching outdoor education with adults and kids at Fairview Lake YMCA (where my sister, myself, and many friends went to summer camp as kids) as well as designing and implementing the first round of a civics pilot program for a New Jersey middle school, and teaching another semester in Seton Hall University’s Master of Public Administration program.

In this episode I reflect on these experiences and how I see youth engaging in big picture ideas, technology, nature, and what current dynamics in mental health and values could or might mean for our collective civic futures.
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Join former mayor, municipal manager, professor, consultant Alex Torpey for a new episode of Rethinking where we discuss Alex’s experiences working with youth in New Jersey, and implications on and for our civics and future. Take a listen today!

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Resources:

• Fairview Lake YMCA: https://www.fairviewlakeymca.org/
• Pathways for America leadership program I designed and implemented in 2016 – 2018: https://www.alextorpey.com/perspectives_on_pathways_for_america_overview
• Educating the Next Generation of Officials an Advocates at Seton Hall University: https://www.shu.edu/news/joining-with-public-officials-and-community-advocates.cfm
• Seven Grandfathers Teachings Overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxiwx_ZZ0Os&t=10s
• The Lakota Way by Joseph Marshall: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/305508.The_Lakota_Way
• Braver Angels: https://braverangels.org/
• Yuvah Noah Harari: https://www.ynharari.com/