Laura - Empowering Meaningful Conversations
How do you cultivate meaning and purpose in your life? Before graduating from college, Laura Durham wrote in her journal every day, “I want a happy job, where I can give back to the community.” Laura’s journaling manifested a creative journey that has led her to working exclusively with non-profits, being an advocate for people, artists, and creators. A role that serves the community “behind the scenes”, that often doesn’t receive much recognition.
After working for the Utah Division of Arts Museums for 15 years, Laura joined PBS as a pledge drive host, and now serves their team as the program director and engagement coordinator. Laura loves seeing people succeed and fostering connections.
About seven years ago, Laura started a program at PBS Utah called Book Club in a Box. She shares, “I wanted to empower people to hold their own discussions around PBS content.” Seeing the popularity around book clubs, she thought this would be a great opportunity to “create toolkits for book club hosts.”
The program has really “opened up the door for communication”, offering book club members an opportunity to genuinely “see and hear each other.” PBS hires a scholar to write the discussion questions, so that participating book club hosts can feel more confident in presenting the materials, in a group setting.
“I didn't realize how successful this program was going to be, but I was also really worried about it. We’re asking people to not only read a book, but watch a film about something that's really challenging. I remember my mom even told me, she's like, ‘Honey, people just like to get together and have fun.’ And I said, ‘We’ll see how it goes.’ I was just blown away by the comments people gave us.”
One commenter who responded to a book club topic on authenticity and identity said, “I learned to see people as they really are and not as I expect them to be.” Another commenter, responding to a book club on dementia said, “I feel motivated to finally talk to my mom about her dementia and how hard it is for me.”
Laura is really proud of this program, “ It’s really empowering people to have conversations that matter and mean something. This is why I love PBS so much. They facilitate these conversations that people really need to be having to take care of each other.”
Whether the conversation is prompted by a tv program, a book, or an art installation, an open mind and curiosity can facilitate new connections and a deeper understanding. PBS is so much more than public television. “I just want people to take care of each other that way, to ask more questions. That’s going to save the world.”
Connect with Laura Durham:
Website: www.pbsutah.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pbslaura/