Care Lab Holds Senate Chiefs Delegation to Utah
In April 2024, six U.S. Senate Chiefs of Staff – three Democrats and three Republicans – traveled together to Salt Lake City, Utah.
It was not for a typical fact-finding congressional delegation. The Chiefs were not sent to explore a hot policy topic. Rather, the trip was an experiment designed to do something else.
These six Chiefs already shared in common their participation in Care Lab’s Three Dinner series – a program that brings bipartisan cohorts together to build both relationships and skills – and they had agreed to travel together in order to (1) continue building relationships with each other, (2) practice using Care Lab skills and ideas in a real-world context, and (3) engage in safe, open conversations with everyday people grounded in two-way sharing and listening.
While this was the inaugural state trip for Care Lab Senate Chief’s network, Care Lab has long understood the power of unconventional congressional delegations.
“There is something very special that happens when a group of people travel together,” says Executive Director Sarah Stephens, who spent many years organizing delegations to Cuba and other Latin American countries, “if they’re organized right, participants form relationships and engage with ideas they never would have otherwise.”
In the case of this trip, part of the power was unrelated to the destination itself. Simply getting away from D.C., entering into a new arena, and engaging with states their offices don’t directly represent changed the tenor and made room for more curiosity.
That said, Care Lab selected Utah for a reason. In the past few years, the state has received significant attention from the “bridging community,” largely as a result of Governor Spencer Cox’s Disagree Better Campaign, which urges everyday people and politicians alike to find new ways to engage, persuade, and move forward. The state takes pride in social cohesion and in the “Utah way,” of prioritizing solutions over partisanship.
And yet, it’s also been dealing recently with deeply contentious issues; Utah has been rocked by rapid growth and economic change, a bitter legislation session recently ended in the banning of DEI, and the state’s historic welcome to refugees is giving way to anxiety over immigration.
The Chiefs had a wide-ranging itinerary while in the state, including conversations with teachers, dairy farmers, immigrant farm workers, and advisers to the Governor. They listened to the Tabernacle choir, peered into the largest pit mine in the country, and chatted with a tribal leader about conservation at the Great Salt Lake.
On the final evening, they were joined by a group of local leaders, representing everything from conservative think tanks to progressive community organizations, for a conversation about connecting state and national bridging efforts.
Each of these encounters offered opportunities to delve into topics that were relevant in Chiefs’ own states: education, the economy, immigration, indigenous knowledge and representation, growth, and labor.
“One of the most remarkable things to witness during the trip,” reflected Care Lab Cofounder Justine Williams, “was the Chiefs’ openness to engaging with each other on hot button topics. While they laid all their cards on the table about their political differences, they also showed real curiosity in understanding each other’s positions, and an interest in identifying points of commonality.”
After the success of the trip, Care Lab plans to continue designing delegations to a range of other states. The organization is also engaging with Utahns to sustain a conversation about bridging, care, and belonging, and to keep it connected to parallel conversations taking place in Congress.