'America in One Room' group pitches local 'Catalyst Cities' deliberative project to study housing in Green Bay

Jeff Brooks, director of the America in One Room program at the Hellerman Group Foundation, told the Green Bay Equal Rights Commission on Jan. 9 that his group is exploring a local “Catalyst Cities” deliberative project focused on housing and homelessness.

Brooks said the program assembles a large, statistically representative sample of local residents and gives participants time, expert briefings and small‑group formats to examine policy options. "We view this as a force multiplier for national problems," Brooks said, describing prior national and youth-focused implementations and research partnerships, including work with Stanford’s Democracy Lab and public coverage by national media.

The project model Brooks described would aim to recruit roughly several hundred participants — he cited 300 as a plausible local target — compensate participants for their time, and remove practical barriers to participation. "If someone can't attend unless they are compensated, we compensate them," Brooks said, adding that organizers have paid per…