Michigan State Senators Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and John Damoose (R-Harbor Spring) join the Ford School for a "Conversation Across Differences", which will bring together political leaders from across the aisle to an open forum that explores common ground. In these polarized days, these conversations are more important than ever.

The senators have been examples of the ways in which the two sides of the Senate can cooperate and get things done – concerning water safety, RXKids, and other issues. The community will benefit from hearing about the ways in which they have been able to collaborate.

Of course, there are many issues on which they don't agree, and a civil airing of views is equally important in the current hyperbolic communications environment.

Speaker bios:

Senator Stephanie Chang is the first Asian American woman elected to the Michigan legislature. She worked as a community organizer in Detroit for nearly a decade before serving two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives and then as the Democratic Floor Leader for her first term in the Senate. She is currently serving her second term in the Michigan Senate and is the Senate Democratic Policy and Steering Chair.

Sen. Chang has led on air quality and environmental justice, criminal justice reforms, affordable, safe drinking water, and immigrants' rights issues. She has passed bipartisan legislation on a range of issues including sexual assault education and prevention, an address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence, the COVID-19 water shutoff moratorium, female genital mutilation, nitrous oxide "whip-its", reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals who were exonerated, improving Michigan's maritime economy, support of community crisis response to mental health emergencies, and establishing Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. She is proud to have helped secure a historic community benefits agreement for Southwest Detroit residents near the Gordie Howe International Bridge and is active in her district advocating for the community's needs. She cofounded the Asian Pacific American Legislative Caucus in Michigan and served as the chair of the Progressive Women's Caucus in 2017-18.

She served as state director for NextGen Climate Michigan, alumni engagement and evaluation coordinator for the Center for Progressive Leadership in Michigan, deputy director for the Campaign for Justice and as an organizer for Michigan United/One United Michigan. She also worked as a community engagement coordinator for the James and Grace Lee Boggs School and assistant to Grace Lee Boggs, an activist, writer, and speaker. The senator is a co-founder of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote-Michigan and Rising Voices; she also serves on the board of the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center.

Chang earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and master's degrees in public policy and social work from the University of Michigan. She lives in Detroit with her husband, Sean Gray, and two young daughters.

Senator John Damoose graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in political science in 1994, and immediately secured a job at the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, Virginia. While there, he learned his craft working on the 700 Club television program, and ultimately wrote and produced a two-hour documentary on the story of America called "Victory in Spite of All Terror."

In 1997, John co-authored a book with Dr. Bill Bright, the founder and president of Campus Crusade for Christ. The book explored the founding principles of the United States and was ultimately hand-delivered to every member of the U.S. Congress.

After working with his family to launch several non-profit organizations and rekindle the Religious Heritage of America Foundation, John and his father started 45 North Productions in the year 2000. Over the course of the next twenty years, this pursuit would lead John to co-author and produce nine national television specials on themes like Arlington National Cemetery, the Medal of Honor, military families, NASA, and many others. John and his father were contracted by the Department of Defense to produce the official documentary celebrating the opening of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. Both John and his father had been in the Pentagon when the plane struck seven years earlier. He also wrote, directed and produced "The New American Road." The three-part series was commissioned by Ford Motor Company and tells the powerful story of what many believe is the quintessential American industry.

For nearly 25 years, John has been a close associate of the organization that runs the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. In recent years, he has served as the executive director of Building America's Tomorrow — an organization that launched a series of initiatives dedicated to rebuilding America's manufacturing workforce and encouraging career and technical education programs.