BRIDGEBUILDER IN CHIEF: Founder/CEO. Anna Czarnik-Neimeyer, MA
I’m Anna. And I believe in bridging divisions, because innovation lives there.
I have a giant family. I am a Wisconsinite (that’s U.S.A). I’ve traveled the world. I’m trained to see connections across differences: I’ve got a Master’s in it, actually! And I start organizations so I know how to work with yours.
WHAT DO I MEAN? HOW DO I BRIDGE?
Giant family: Think “By Big Fat Greek Wedding” but the Wisconsin version. This matters because my whole life, I’ve talked, joked, laughed, cried, and loved with dozens of people across the country that range the spectrum from very conservative to very liberal, from outdoorsmen to businesswomen, from military colonels to Hawaiian surfers. I love them, I’ve worked with them and lived with them, I’ve had no other choice. And innovation lives there.
Wisconsinite (U.S.A): Swing state of both dairy farms and universities, of unions and logging camps, of blue and red, of Aldo Leopold and Joseph McCarthy. I was educated in both private and public schools that were both secular and religious. In a camp director’s family I moved to the woods for the summer and lived in the city in the school year. Wisconsin is a mashup and a mixture, and I’m fluent in all of it.
Traveled the World: Mark Twain says travel is fatal to narrow-mindedness. I know it firsthand. I’ve lived in the cascade mountains of Washington state, to the winding streets of Manhattan in NYC. I’ve stayed in gated communities in Africa to beachside hovels in Puerto Rico. I’ve lived on a farm in Germany, at a retreat center in the West Indies, and a camp in Appalachia. I was on-site at the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and on-site at the 60th anniversary of Ghana’s independence from Britain. From Oslo to Florence to Amsterdam to London, I have walked streets and connected with people across difference in businesses, churches, schools, nonprofits, and websites. I have friends in India, South Africa, Ireland, Poland, and Thailand. Why not bring the best of the world– the best ideas, innovations, insights– to your org?
Master’s Degree in Bridgebuilding: My undergraduate degree is in Communication and my master’s degree is in Interdisciplinary Studies. That means I’ve been trained to see connections, research, write, train, and execute projects across difference to build strong relationships and organizations. I worked with an MBA program on sustainable business, traveled to Atlanta to train with international movers doing leadership theory, studied with pastors on interfaith dialogue, worked in a lab with a bioethicist, and taught & studied with a philosopher on ancient ethics. My emphasis is in organizational development, ethics, and inclusivity. I can bring those tools to you.
AND WHAT IF YOU NEED MORE? LET ME BE YOUR DOCTOR.
I’m like your primary care doctor. I have a broad range of knowledge and can treat many things, but I also know and trust specialists. For example, if you have a funky mole, your doc might refer you to a dermatologist. Likewise, if you have a specific need in your org, I can work on it with you and then refer you to global experts in that area because I have friends and colleagues who do amazing things, all over the world.
Bridgebuilder Consulting 