Transforming the Way the World Deals with Conflict with Saadia Qureshi (EP176)

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Saadia Qureshi is Community Engagement Officer, Senior Officer for Training and Community Engagement at Common Ground USA/Search for Common Ground. Her work as a Gathering Coordinator for Preemptive Love led her to Common Ground USA, transforming how we deal with conflicts. When I met Saadia at the International Listening Association Convention, I knew that her story needed to be heard. 

Your WHY 

Through authentic connections, hearts can soften and hatred can subside.  My religious tradition teaches us that we were created to know and understand one another.  This is how we bring peace to the places where we live. We all have a role to play in this; it takes courage and determination- and this is why we need to do it in community, because “We Belong to Each Other.â€

Your Background

I was born in Pakistan and moved to the United States when I was three years old, as my father was finishing his master’s degree and saw greater opportunities for our family here. After a few years up north, my parents decided to settle in hot, humid, and sunny Orlando, Florida—a place I have now proudly called home for nearly 40 years. Growing up in Central Florida, I navigated what it meant to feel “different†in a very homogenous environment. Those experiences—both the struggles and the joys—shaped me into who I am today.

Your Education and Beliefs

I pursued a degree in environmental engineering and worked in the field for several years, driven by a desire to use my skills to make the world a better place. After pausing to raise my family, I felt a growing pull toward people as much as the planet. My faith deepened this conviction: to get to know those who were different from me and to show that we have more in common than what divides us.

I’ve always seen myself as a connector, as I have always been one to look for similarities I have with people who are not like me. Growing up in Central Florida—where diversity was limited—I experienced the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable realities of difference. It took time, but when I eventually found my “people,†I knew building bridges was the work I wanted to dedicate myself to.

When the towers fell on 9/11, as a Muslim American, the world I had known crumbled too. That’s when I made a conscious choice to be a bridge builder, a peacemaker, a practitioner of nonviolence. Whether facilitating groups for nonprofits, volunteering for the Muslim Women’s Organization of Orlando, or bringing her kids to a vigil around town, I believe meaningful friendships can be found in unexpected places. 

What or who inspired you to get involved in peace projects?

One of my biggest inspirations is my dear friend Anna, who embodies what it means to lead with an open heart. She’s the reason I’m in this field today—showing me how to lean into uncomfortable conversations with people who are different, speak the truth with love, and model courage rooted in empathy. 

Together, we embarked on a peace-building journey. What began as a small women’s group blossomed into work with Preemptive Love, helping people around the world host their own Love Anyway Gatherings. Today, I continue this work as a Senior Officer for Community Engagement and Training at Search for Common Ground / Common Ground USA. 

I’m also deeply inspired by other peace heroes in my life, like my friend Diana, a veteran who chose to lay down her weapon in Iraq and now continues her commitment to peace through the Waging Peace Project, creating change both locally and globally.

Search for Common Ground/Common Ground USA

Founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground is the world’s largest dedicated peace-building organization.  and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018. Search for Common Ground works to transform the way the world deals with conflict, moving from adversarial approaches toward collaborative problem-solving. We work with local partners to find culturally appropriate means to strengthen societies’​ capacity to deal with conflicts constructively: to understand the differences and act on the commonalities.

www.cg-usa.org

Our mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict: away from adversarial approaches, towards cooperative solutions.

We have developed a broad array of operational methods, collectively our “toolbox.â€â€‹ These include well-known conflict resolution techniques, such as mediation and facilitation, and less traditional ones, like TV productions, radio soap opera, and community organising. We have found that employing multiple tools increases their overall effectiveness.

After realizing that the markers for violence and destabilization seen abroad is shown in our own American society, Search for Common Ground created Common Ground USA as the U.S.-focused peace-building leg that works towards depolarization and decreased violence.

Common Ground Gatherings Campaign

One of my favorite initiatives is Common Ground Gatherings, which invites people to host small meals in their living rooms, coffee shops, or community centers with those just outside their everyday circles. For the past five years, we’ve encouraged “do-gooders†to join us in creating a community and spaces where people break bread, share courageous stories, and discover common ground. We aim to nurture an alternative narrative—one rooted not in division, but in listening, understanding, and the simple yet radical act of belonging to one another.

Common Ground Gatherings are grassroots events where people come together across the one thing that unites us all: Food. These locally rooted, nationally connected gatherings build civic resilience through storytelling, connection, and shared purpose.

Community leaders of all backgrounds bring together groups as small as five to as big as one hundred to talk about everything: from who their favorite band is to what makes them feel safe. It is an opportunity to learn about the people around us, and discover that we often have more that unites us than divides us.

This is a unique opportunity to join our neighbors and community members at tables, on picnic blankets, before our favorite sporting events—or even at the bar—to talk and learn more about each other.

https://www.cg-usa.org/initiatives/common-ground-gatherings  

Short video: 2024 Love Anyway Feasts

Even when we believe different things, most Americans
want to find solutions across our differences.

Everyone’s invited to join Common Ground as we gather to find ways to make our country better. Read more about hosting a Gathering this October 2025. 

Follow us on Instagram: @cg_usa

Saadia’s Contact Information

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadia-qureshi-aa038097/ 
Website: www.cg-usa.org
Email: squreshi@sfcg.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saadiaq2

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I am so grateful that Saadia joined me on my virtual porch. I met her at the International Listening Association Convention in August. After she shared Saadia story as part of a story exchange, I knew I had to learn more about her. I even found that Saadia is friends with my good friend, Ilene Winokur. I hope you connect and follow Saadia. Please share this post and podcast with your friends.

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