In the first episode of our Civic Actors series, host Kristine Michie sits down with Emma Bloomberg, Founder/CEO of Murmuration (and daughter of the former Mayor), to explore the heart of local civic engagement. Through personal stories (reading the Declaration of Independence each 4th of July with her Dad), practical lessons, and powerful examples, the conversation reveals how real change begins close to home and why investing in people and communities matters most. You’ll be drawn into a dialogue that uncovers not only the serious challenges of democracy and civic life, but also the hope, play, and joy that fuel meaningful progress. This is an invitation to see your role in shaping the future—block by block, conversation by conversation.
Key Takeaways:
- Murmuration is the phenomenon of birds flying in formation, each influencing the seven birds around them, and thus a great metaphor for individual acts and community organizing.
- Emma’s group empowers local organizations with data-driven insights, civic engagement tools, and strategies to strengthen participation.
- Every community is unique, but local conversations foster and spread shared solutions that cut through political divides.
- Murmuration’s Civic Pulse program surveys 500 people daily to capture community concerns and highlight national trends in hope and engagement.
- Small, tangible wins at the local level—like securing a stop sign near a school—can unlock momentum for larger systemic change.
- Philanthropy must move beyond one-off victories to invest in long-term civic infrastructure that sustains progress.
- Democracy depends on active participation, and when people engage locally, they build resilience against systemic threats.
"If our democracy is under threat, participate in it, because the more of us that are participating, the less under threat it is." — Emma Bloomberg
"Those who control the data, control the systems, control the outcomes, and what we’re trying to do is democratize that." — Emma Bloomberg
"One of the reasons [progress] slips away is that there isn’t that investment in the broader community ecosystem." — Emma Bloomberg
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