Beyond the First 100 Days: How Civic Engagement Can Build a New Resilience in American Democracy

John Sarbanes is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 2007 to 2025. The district includes Annapolis, the entirety of Howard County, and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. Joining the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University for 2025 as its first Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Congressman Sarbanes brings a long record of public service that includes seven years as chair of the Democracy Reform Task Force in the House of Representatives.

Sarbanes brings a wealth of experience from his tenure in Congress, where he was a champion for democratic reforms to strengthen the voices of Americans across the political spectrum.  As chief architect of H.R. 1 – the For the People Act, and later the Freedom to Vote Act – Sarbanes sought to enhance access to the ballot box, eliminate partisan gerrymandering and reduce the influence of big money on our politics.  He has focused especially on democratizing the funding of campaigns to empower grassroots donors and make running for elected office more feasible for more candidates, regardless of means. His leadership on democracy issues is rooted in the conviction that restoring faith in political institutions is the most effective way to reduce partisan gridlock and advance common sense public policy.  Throughout his career, Sarbanes has brought particular attention to encouraging civic participation among young people. He authored legislation establishing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that to date has brought student debt relief to over a million individuals pursuing careers as teachers, nurses, social workers, first responders, service members, and other careers in the public and nonprofit sectors.

Jasmine L. Blanks Jones is a dynamic theatre nonprofit leader, award-winning educator, and holds a dual PhD in Education and Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research on theatrical performance as a civic engagement praxis illuminates global race-based inequities in education and health, lifting the potential of knowledge co-creation through the arts and digital cultural production. As founder of Burning Barriers Building Bridges Youth Theatre (B4YT), a cultural performance company dedicated to community empowerment through the arts, she has more than twenty years of experience in youth development in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Having developed a track record of leadership in arts and advocacy in communities of color globally, in 2018 Jasmine extended the scope of B4YT to include a consulting practice, Creating Brave Stages, which provides support and guidance for advocacy organizations looking to integrate the arts into their movements and artists aspiring to create positive change through their performances. She holds a Masters of Public Policy degree from the University of Minnesota and Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Florida A&M University. She is a lecturer in the Program in Racism, Immigration and Citizenship at Johns Hopkins University where she conducted research and public scholarship as an inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow with Inheritance Baltimore.

Mary Bruce is the Assistant Director of Public Programs at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, a multi-disciplinary academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy by improving and expanding civic engagement and inclusive dialogue, and by supporting inquiry that leads to real-world change.  As assistant director of the SNF Agora Institute, Mary co-creates opportunities for meaningful dialogue and debate that inspire more active participation in democratic life. Throughout her career, she has worked to expand civic participation, including efforts of George HW Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. A former adjunct professor at UVA's Batten School of Leadership, Mary holds a BA in Poverty Studies from UVA and an MPA from Princeton University. She served in both the Peace Corps (Morocco) and AmeriCorps (Washington, DC). Mary’s work reflects her belief that democracy works better for everyone by combining thoughtful scholarship with practical action.