![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RAS-L-BRAVERWORKSHOP-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAt the first Ramona Braver Angels workshop, the 40 participants were grouped into pairs and directed to ask their partners questions that were unrelated to politics.<\/p>\n
Where were you raised? How did you come to Ramona? What was your upbringing that shaped your life today? were among the questions at the April 4 workshop at Ramona Town Hall.<\/p>\n
The goal of the Ramona chapter of the national group was to take the first steps toward bridging the partisan divide by having participants engage in structured conversations, organizers said. The theme of the event was \u201cOur Curious Conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramona resident Richard Madeira said he came to the event looking to find tools to communicate with other people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like there\u2019s a great polarization and separation in our country and even in our community,\u201d said Madeira, who describes himself as sometimes moderate and sometimes liberal. \u201cIt\u2019s good to find tools and vehicles to understand and communicate and dialogue with each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very sad all the separation going on in our country,\u201d he added. \u201cPeople feel like they can\u2019t talk to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Participants were encouraged to partner with someone who they hadn\u2019t met or didn\u2019t know very well. Each pair took turns answering the questions and telling their life story to an unfamiliar person in 5 minutes each.<\/p>\n
The activity was designed so participants would get to know each other and discover a new friend as part of the early stages of building bridges, said Ramona Braver Angels Co-Chair Verna Silvia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Julie Gallant<\/p>\n
The first official workshop of the Ramona Braver Angels Alliance engaged 40 participants in sharing information about their own backgrounds with a partner. (Julie Gallant)<\/p>\n
After the Q&A session each pair was asked to describe their partner. Common threads appeared \u2014 some said their partner was raised by good parents, some pursued higher education, and many of them had moved to different states in their lifetimes. A number of them also said they appreciated Ramona\u2019s small-town, rural vibe where neighbors support each other.<\/p>\n
Ramona resident Lori Vouros said after the Q&A that she liked the nonpolitical format.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met a new person,\u201d Vouros said. \u201cIt was entertaining and fun. I don\u2019t have any problem with talking with new people. My problem is talking with family members on the other side. I\u2019m hoping to get insights on that, maybe in another session.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vouros\u2019 partner was Sue Gwizdak, a Ramona resident since 1978.<\/p>\n
Gwizdak said even though she knew many people at the event, she learned new things about Vouros and the other attendees.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out we have a lot in common,\u201d said Gwizdak, adding that she would attend another Braver Angels meeting. \u201cIt was eye-opening to see the things people had in common. I would talk about politics as long as it\u2019s a civil discourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some attendees said they came to the Braver Angels workshop because of the goals identified by Braver Angels:\u00a0Build relationships across political differences; practice respect, curiosity and listening; strengthen community bonds and neighborliness; and develop life skills for disagreement free of dehumanization.<\/p>\n
![\"Participants](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RAS-L-BRAVERWORKSHOP-03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Julie Gallant<\/p>\n
Participants in a Ramona Braver Angels workshop at Ramona Town Hall on April 4 said they were seeking communication tools to bridge the partisan divide. (Julie Gallant)<\/p>\n
Rita Powell, Richard Madeira\u2019s wife, said the lack of communication is related to the disappearance of basic foundations.<\/p>\n
\u201cDe-funding education is really disturbing to me,\u201d said the former community college counselor. \u201cEducation helps all of us be more knowledgeable and understand situations. Without education you would do whatever other people say, but if you\u2019re educated you can make your own decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bo Varnado said she was seeking strategies for communicating with people she may not agree with in a productive and peaceful manner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to learn more about the organization because I believe in peace,\u201d the Ramona resident said. \u201cI want people to get along and work for the common good of humanity and that won\u2019t happen if we don\u2019t get along.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silvia said she connected with Braver Angels after going through a similar exercise when she was concerned about polarization and negativity in the country. As a liberal she said she was paired with a conservative man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t come to a consensus that day but I walked away with a friend,\u201d Silvia said at the start of the meeting. \u201cI thought this was doable.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of the meeting, participants suggested Ramona Braver Angels Alliance reach out to connect with more men and young adults.<\/p>\n
Although a follow-up meeting has not yet been scheduled, Silvia said workshops will be held in the future to encourage people to be sensitive to \u201cpeople on the other side of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt went extremely well and people were engaged,\u201d Silvia said near the end of the event. \u201cThey seemed to really enjoy talking with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information, email Silvia at vsilvia@braverangels.org or visit the website BraverAngels.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the first Ramona Braver Angels workshop, the 40 participants were grouped into pairs and directed to ask…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[5286,5287,74,76,75,77],"class_list":{"0":"post-269211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-ramona-sentinel","9":"tag-ramona-sentinel-news","10":"tag-san-diego","11":"tag-san-diego-headlines","12":"tag-san-diego-news","13":"tag-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}