Our Story
Reducing Division, Uniting America
UR Action's story is best told through:
01
The lens through which we view our work
02
The timeline of our early days
03
Our intellectual heritage
WHY WE DO IT
Our Lens
The founding team of Urban Rural Action came to the work of advancing peace and democracy through shared purpose: preventing organized violence in conflict zones. Prior to starting UR Action, that meant East Africa, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America.
Today we work in the U.S. because underlying dynamics that fuel violent conflict globally (e.g., widespread distrust of governing institutions; toxic polarization; income inequality; misinformation; divisive leaders) are also present in our own country.
But there is nothing inevitable about where we are headed as a country. UR Action was founded in 2018 on the conviction that our geographic, generational, political, racial, religious, and other differences in the U.S. are a source of strength.
We build relationships by solving problems together, and we solve problems together by building new relationships.
HOW WE GOT TO TODAY
Our Timeline
A History of UR Action
UR Action receives its first of two Department of Homeland Security grants, this one to implement the Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence in South-Central Pennsylvania program.
Joe (now Executive Director) and Kira Hamman (now Senior Director of Programs) kick off UR Action's first-ever programming with a Gun Safety workshop in Waynesboro, PA with gun shop owners and violence prevention advocates.
UR Action implements Uniting for Action Local Hubs and collaboration skills workshops across the country.
Joe founds
Urban Rural Action
Then-Mercy Corps team members Joe Bubman and Lisa Inks contemplate applying international peacebuilding approaches to addressing conflict in the U.S.
2016
2018
2019
2022
Today
FOUNDATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE
Our Intellectual Heritage
The intellectual heritage of UR Action is tied to two organizations where several members of our founding team built their careers in conflict resolution: Vantage Partners and Mercy Corps.
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UR Action's approach for helping community members conduct more constructive conversations across difference was inspired by Vantage Partners, a spin-off of the Harvard Negotiation Project.
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UR Action's approach for bringing together community members across divides to design and implement projects was inspired by Mercy Corps' Peace and Conflict work.
