This essay was developed from a talk delivered during the Public Good Conference at the University of Denver (October 2008). The theme of the conference was "Making Public Good Work." Conference speakers were asked to address questions about how we make public good work in both teaching and research. In particular, what inspires us to do this…

As faculty director of an undergraduate leadership program that is part of the public policy studies department at Duke University, the author has been developing a pedagogy that introduces students to difficult social issues through community-based internships, and asks them to imagine what kind of leadership it would take to address those issues…