Tricia Maxfield and Ryan Bernsten with American Public Square (APS) discuss their program in general and their June 18 event on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence including "Self-Evident Truths".APS was founded by Allan Katz, who came to Kansas City after serving as US Ambassador to Portugal (2010-2013). They work to build stronger, more connected communities through civil discourse, engagement and education. They organize in-person and virtual events featuring expert panelists discussing complex social, political, and economic challenges shaping our nation serving a diverse member community. APS also works to improve civics education. Ambassador Katz is also a distinguished professor with the University of Missouri Kansas City Bloch School's Department of Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Science's Political Science Department and a Distinguished Professor in Residence in the Department of Political Science at William Jewell College.Tricia Maxfield is Program Director and Ryan Bernsten is Director of Brand & Partnerships for American Public Square. They are interviewed by Spencer Graves._______Sources (accessed 2026-05-22):* "Our Story" under "About APS" at AmericanPublicSquare.org.* "Allan J. Katz" on Wikipedia.Copyright 2026 Tricia Maxfield, Ryan Bernsten, and Spencer Graves, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 international license