Larry Schooler

Larry is an award-winning mediator, facilitator, and public engagement consultant. He established the first public engagement division for the City of Austin, Texas, where he created and refined innovative tools for involving the public in decision-making like Conversation Corps and the Televised Town Hall Meeting. Larry has worked with public administrators from around the world and his work has been recognized by (among others) the National League of Cities, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Harvard School of Government, and the German Marshall Fund. Larry also served as president of the International Association for Public Participation (U.S. affiliate) and has been an adjunct faculty member in public policy dispute resolution at Southern Methodist University and Northwestern University. He is a senior fellow at the National Civic League and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at University of Texas at Austin; a subject matter advisor for 100 Resilient Cities, and a senior advisor for the Divided Communities Project at Ohio State University. Larry holds a bachelor's degree in history from Yale and a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution from Nova Southeastern University, where he is completing a doctorate. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the use of truth and reconciliation in North America as a public engagement strategy, and of a manual entitled "Keys to an Effective Public Meeting." Larry first came to the attention of Engaged Public staff when he wrote "It’s Your Money. Where’s Your Say?" about Balancing Act, our award-winning budget simulation.