Community Conversation in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Join the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) and New Hampshire Humanities (NHH) for a dynamic conversation about the evolving role of community and what it means for Portsmouth, taking place at the Community Campus. This is an opportunity to connect with neighbors, share your experiences, and explore project ideas for a stronger, more resilient community.

This event is free & open to the public. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available. Help ensure we have enough room, so tell us you are coming!

What You’ll Experience

• Interactive Conversations: Join facilitated discussions designed to include all voices and explore complex ideas together.
• Interesting People: Connect with others who are curious about community and want to get to know you.
• Connections & Civic Engagement: Share perspectives, strengthen community ties, and contribute ideas about a community-building experience.
• Creative Reflection: Artist Marek Bennett will use his signature style to record the main themes of each conversation.

Meet Your Facilitators

Kiki Berk: Kiki Berk is a Professor of Philosophy at Southern New Hampshire University. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the VU University Amsterdam in 2010. Her current research interests are Philosophy of Death and Philosophy of Meaning in Life.

Joshua Tepley: Dr. Joshua Tepley is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Saint Anselm College, where he has taught for the last decade. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Bucknell University (2004) and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame (2013). His research interests include free will, personal identity, ontology (the study of being), and the intersection between philosophy and science fiction.

Mohamed Defaa: Mohamed Defaa is certified by the International Center for Educational and Cultural Consulting in Lyon, France. He earned an MA in Communication and Expression at the University Mohamed V in Rabat, Morocco, and a BA in French Language and Literature from the University Ibn Tofail in Kénitra, Morocco. Defaa has served as an assistant professor of Communication and Cultural Expression at the University Hassan the Second in Casablanca, Morocco, and a college instructor in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He is a French and Arabic teacher at Merrimack High School, and an Arabic instructor at Southern New Hampshire University.

Discussion Themes

Preview the key topics that will be explored during the event. Your insights about these themes will be essential to keep the conversation flowing.

• Community
• Change
• Resilience
• Place
• Identity
• Belonging

 About the Portsmouth Community Campus

The City of Portsmouth’s Community Campus is a vital resource for families, nonprofits, and essential services in the Seacoast region. Housed in a 72,000-square-foot facility, this community center provides space for childcare, after-school programs, and community services that support hundreds of local families.

With funding from CDFA’s Community Center Investment Program, critical upgrades will ensure that this dynamic space remains secure, accessible, and equipped for the future. The ongoing renovations will improve building security, technology, infrastructure, and renovations to program spaces to sustain and expand the facility’s central role in community life.

The addition of a new, inclusive and financially equitable full-time after-school program run by the Portsmouth Recreation Department, AIDS Response Seacoast, and the Robert J. Lister Academy, will further strengthen the center’s impact, ensuring that more residents can access the resources and support they need.

What’s Next? Turning Conversation into Action

The city of Portsmouth has already received grant funding to bring ideas from the discussion to life. By attending this event, you will help shape community-led projects launching later this year.

CTA: Join Us & Share Your Voice