The Hoover Institution's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions invites you to attend Introducing the Civic Profile: What Kind of Citizens Are We? on Thursday, June 18, 2026 from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. PT.
Do you know your civic identity? Do your students and your colleagues know theirs? Join our webinar to introduce the Civic Profile—a groundbreaking educational and research tool that's redefining how Americans understand their role in democracy. Akin to a “civics Meyers-Briggs,” the Civic Profile is an interactive quiz that holistically measures users’ civic identities across three dimensions: values, knowledge, and engagement. It doesn’t assign grades or pass judgment; rather, the Civic Profile is designed to help Americans understand that democracy requires diverse voices, choices, and actions.
Developed by the Hoover Institution's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) and the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship, the Civic Profile is arriving at a critical moment as our nation approaches its 250th anniversary amid rising partisan division and declining public trust. Webinar attendees will hear from early adopters and get an exclusive look at the Civic Profile and how it works, learn what the research reveals about civic identity in America today, join the conversation about what democracy needs from all of us, and ask questions and offer suggestions for making the Civic Profile even more useful.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Aydin Alsan is a freshman at Stanford University studying mathematics and computer science. He serves as a freshman service liaison, helping connect members of his dormitory community with civic engagement and service opportunities. Alsan is also a committee member for Stanford Votes, a nonpartisan organization that promotes voter registration, turnout, and civic education. He works on numerous political organizing initiatives across campus and is passionate about strengthening civic participation among young people.
Mia Charity is president of the Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has served more than one million students and educators since 1971, equipping young people with the knowledge and skills of active citizenship.
Charity leads Close Up during a period of growth and evolution, expanding its work as a comprehensive civic education organization to include experiential student programming in Washington, DC, and in communities nationwide, professional development for educators, curriculum design and consulting, and the creation of classroom resources. Under her leadership, Close Up has broadened its national reach, strengthened strategic partnerships, and expanded access to authentic civic learning opportunities for students from diverse communities and perspectives.
Jessica Cunning, a National Board-certified teacher in social studies, chairs the Social Studies Department at Chesapeake Math & IT Academy North High School in Laurel, Maryland. She has taught classes in US history and in government and politics since 2010 and has been an AP government and politics reader for the College Board since 2018. In addition, she sponsors Rho Kappa, the National Social Studies Honor Society.
Salvatore Ingrassia is the research program manager at the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, where he focuses on civic education and democratic citizenship. He earned his MA from the University of Chicago, where his graduate research examined the role of antiestablishment attitudes in shaping contemporary American politics. He received a BA in political science from UCLA.
Thomas Schnaubelt is the executive director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution. Prior to his role at the Hoover Institution, Schnaubelt served as a lecturer and senior advisor on civic education at the Deliberative Democracy Lab within the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Schnaubelt came to Stanford in 2009 and has served as the associate vice provost for education, the executive director of the Haas Center for Public Service, and a resident fellow in Branner Hall, where he and his wife oversaw the development and implementation of a living-learning community focused on public service and civic engagement. In 2015, Schnaubelt coordinated the launch of Cardinal Service, a university-wide effort to elevate and expand public service as a distinctive feature of the Stanford experience. He has launched and led several national initiatives focused on democratic engagement and social change education. Schnaubelt received his PhD in educational leadership from the University of Mississippi, MA in education from the University of Michigan, and BS in physics from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
Valerie Ziegler received a BS in business from Indiana University and a master’s degree in education technology from the University of San Francisco. She teaches social studies and career technical education courses at Abraham Lincoln High School in the San Francisco Unified School District. She has served as the chair of the Social Studies Department and is the founder and coordinator of the Green Academy CTE program (energy, environment, and utilities sector), a three-year program serving students interested in careers in the green economy. Ziegler spends summers taking part in professional development, having visited schools and teachers in Colombia, Germany, Japan, Finland, Singapore, and across the US. She served as a fellow to the House of Representatives and attended the Federal Trials and Great Debates in US History Summer Institute through the American Bar Association and the Federal Judicial Center. Ziegler works with the Digital Inquiry Group to develop and test curriculum for the Reading Like a Historian, Beyond the Bubble and Civil Online Reasoning programs. Her work was recently featured in The New York Times.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR:
Chester E. Finn, Jr., is the Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. At Hoover, he chairs the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship within the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions. He previously led Hoover’s Task Force on K–12 Education and now participates in the Hoover Education Success Initiative as much of his career has focused on reforming primary and secondary schooling in the United States. That included serving as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland's Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education as well as assistant US secretary of education and chair of the National Assessment Governing Board.
