Meet Our Civic Catalysts

Judy Lubin

Judy is a Citizen University-trained civic catalyst who empowers people to find new ways to practice democracy and to create intentional community. She is also an Executive Coach and Leadership Team Coach applying behavioral and learning psychology in the workplace. Judy has been an avid social sector volunteer for 25 years, including board service, youth education and mentoring, and pro-bono coaching for non-profit leaders. She lives in Evanston with her husband of 30 years, Tom, and their goldendoodle, Quincy. They have two grown children, one in Boston and one in Seattle.

Matt Easterday

Matt is an associate professor in the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) at Northwestern University. His research focuses on technology for the new civics – producing scientifically supported educational technology to create informed and engaged citizens who can solve the serious policy problems facing our society such as poverty, climate change and militarism. His research team recently designed Evanston’s first participatory budgeting process where which allowed the Evanston community to allocate $3m to improve issues such as environment, affordable housing, infrastructure, education, and health care. He is a Northwestern Center for Civic Engagement Faculty Fellow, a Northwestern Searle Center for Teaching Excellence Fellow, and winner of the Northwestern Ver Steeg Graduate Advising Award.

My Nguyen

My is an Evanston-based civic catalyst. She is the CEO of ForgeWorks, LLC, an Evanston business. She is actively engaged in a number of initiatives including Evanston’s Participatory Budgeting and Kitchen Table Talk, an affinity group for AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) women.

Meet Our Partners

We'd love to have you join this list! Contact us if you would like to work with us!

Citizen University

Citizen University is a Seattle based non-profit and the creator of Civic Saturday gatherings. They believe that we all have the power to make change happen in our communities - and the responsibility to try. Citizen University equips civic catalysts with the ideas, strategies, and spirit to build a culture of powerful, responsible citizenship in cities across the country. Programs include the Civic Saturday Fellowship that trained our Evanston Civic Saturday leaders, Citizen Redefined and Youth Collaboratory, both of which help youth build their civic power and character, and the Civic Collaboratory which is a solutions incubator for social innovators. Find out how you can get involved!