06/16/2026
This past Saturday, the San Diego World Affairs Council was honored to partner with OneSD and the Burnham Center for Community Advancement to host "After Extremism: Building Bridges and Strengthening Community" as part of our Engage San Diego Speaker Series.
At a time when division, polarization, and mistrust often dominate the headlines, this conversation offered something different: hope.
Moderated by Andrew Blum, we were privileged to hear from Arno Michaelis, a former white supremacist who transformed his life and now works to prevent radicalization, and Tasreen Khamisa, whose extraordinary response to personal tragedy has inspired countless people to choose forgiveness, compassion, and healing over hatred.
Their stories reminded us that extremism is ultimately a human challenge not just a political or social one. And if hate can be learned, then so can understanding, empathy, and connection.
Thank you to our speakers, partners, board members, volunteers, interns and everyone who showed up with curiosity and a willingness to listen, engage, and recognize our shared humanity even when we disagree.
The challenges facing our communities are real, but so is our capacity to build bridges across differences. Programs like this are a powerful reminder of why civic dialogue matters and why creating spaces for understanding is more important than ever.
