From Spectators to Players
American democracy faces a crisis of distrust. Millions of citizens watch from the sidelines as decisions are made about their communities, their schools, their futures. They see urgent problems but feel powerless to address them. Trust erodes. Polarization deepens. Ideological conflict paralyzes problem solving. At this critical moment, when engaged citizenship matters more than ever, most Americans remain spectators in their own democracy.
The Citizen Service exists to change that, and the need has never been more urgent.
For nearly three decades, The Citizen Service has worked in urban communities to prove that regular citizens, properly trained, possess real power to solve problems and shape their communities and the country. Founded in 1997 by Harry and Caroline Pozycki as The Citizens Campaign, the organization operates from a straightforward premise: citizens aren’t powerless, they’re untrained. When trained in Pragmatic, No Blame Problem Solving, they can discover both their own power and a non-ideological common ground for action, even across deep differences.
The Citizen Service focused early efforts in Newark, Trenton, and Perth Amboy, working-class cities with complex challenges. Harry Pozycki used his connections as a government law expert and former leader in local government and politics to assemble a volunteer team of municipal attorneys, policy specialists, and former mayors who became the Citizen Service Law and Policy Task Force. Together, they led the passage of major reform laws: including, for example, the Open Public Records Act in 2001, the Citizen Service Act in 2009, and the Party Democracy Act in 2009. These victories opened doors, but citizens still needed training to walk through them.
Building the Training Model
The Citizen Service developed “Pragmatic No-Blame Problem Solving,” a step-by-step methodology that moves beyond political finger-pointing. Citizens learn to identify specific problems, research solutions that worked elsewhere, adapt them locally, and present them to decision makers in ways focused on results rather than blame. The approach is deliberately non-ideological: it asks not whether a solution comes from the political left or right, but whether it works. This pragmatic focus creates common ground for action among people who might disagree in some areas but can unite around doing the doable to address specific community problems.
Harry Pozycki wrote Citizen Power: A Citizen Leadership Manual, published by Rutgers University Press, which became the foundation for everything that followed. The manual explained how citizens could exercise political power and leadership without running for public office. Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University, endorsed the work and joined the organization’s board.
From the manual came Power Civics, a curriculum embedded in high school social studies and taught at several colleges and universities, including Rutgers University. In 2018, Power Civics was adopted into social studies curriculums across Newark, Trenton, Plainfield, and Perth Amboy.
The Citizen Service next created Power Civics Online, a self-paced digital program offering ten video classes with corresponding chapters in Citizen Power and downloadable notes and quizzes. Upon completion, participants receive a college certificate issued by participating institutions across the country.
To date, more than 15,000 people across the country have completed the training. All who engage with The Citizen Service take the Citizen Service Pledge, committing to service, mutual respect, and pragmatism. These values and the strategies and tactics for exercising them guide how trained citizens approach public problem solving. Pre and post surveys indicate an increase in civic self-confidence and the skills and abilities participants need to make a difference in their own communities and beyond.
Newark: The First Civic City
Newark proves the Citizen Service model works at scale.
Under Mayor Cory Booker, Newark residents trained in No-Blame Pragmatic Problem Solving successfully passed seven reform ordinances addressing “pay-to-play” corruption and government transparency. These weren’t reforms handed down from city hall. Citizens researched them, proposed them, and won them.
The work deepened under Mayor Ras Baraka. In November 2018, Mayor Baraka and The Citizens Campaign jointly announced Newark as “The First Civic City in the Nation.” This designation recognized Newark’s commitment to creating a pipeline of principled leaders and practical solutions, giving all Newarkers access to citizen leadership training and the opportunity to serve.
At the heart of Newark’s transformation sits The Citizen Service’s Newark Civic Trust. This group of approximately 24 residents, including Newark’s youth, meets monthly for Pragmatic No-Blame Problem Solving sessions. Civic Trustees commit to at least one year of service and pledge to leave their community better than they found it. Each month, they search nationwide for successful solutions to Newark’s challenges, adapt those solutions to local circumstances, and work to gain their adoption. The Newark Civic Trust shows up close how the Citizen Service’s pragmatic process creates common ground for collective action.
The results are clear. Civic Trustees secured the creation of Newark’s first Environmental Commission, giving residents a powerful voice in the city’s environmental policy. Civic Trustee graduates also went on to serve in leadership positions on the city’s Planning Board, City Council, and School Board.
Newark’s “Civic City” designation came with specific civic leadership training components. Power Civics, the 10-hour teaching tool, is now offered to all Newark public high school students. Power Civics is also offered to both students and employees at Rutgers-Newark and is available to all residents online via their continuing education platform. Finally, Mayor Baraka’s grassroots Newark People’s Assembly trains its ward leaders in Power Civics.
As the late civic activist, Wilhelmina Holder, noted at the “Civic City” announcement, the Newark Civic Trust ensures all residents can learn practical problem solving and advance solutions that benefit the whole community.
Proven Results and National Expansion
The Citizen Service’s track record is measurable. Trained Citizen Leaders have secured the adoption of more than 300 local laws and policies. Harry Pozycki received a Doctorate of Humane Letters in Civic Innovations from Monmouth University. He also received the New Jersey Governor’s Jefferson Award for Civic Innovation and was named Citizen of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
National civic leaders recognized the significance. Rogers M. Smith, past president of the American Political Science Association, praised Citizen Power as providing “proven, practical guidelines for how Americans from all backgrounds can work together.” Former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean, Sr., who chaired the 9/11 Commission, said The Citizens Campaign was “laying the foundation for a new chapter in American democracy.”
While rooted in New Jersey, the work is expanding outward. The Citizen Service is deeply involved in the community college sector. In 2025, for example, Guttman Community College in New York City partnered with The Citizen Service to provide Leadership and No-Blame Problem Solving training to its staff and students. Guttman is just one of many community colleges currently working with The Citizen Service, including the two largest in the country, Miami Dade College and Houston Community College. The Citizen Service has also established partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) such as Prairie View A&M University, Florida A&M University, Wilberforce, and many others. These partnerships demonstrate that the model, proven in Newark, translates effectively across diverse institutions and geographies. For example, Guttman, a federally designated Hispanic-serving and minority-serving institution with over 90% students of color, recognized the urgent need to equip its students with practical citizenship skills for navigating and shaping their communities.
Citizen Service is governed by an active board of former elected officials, civic leaders, and academics, including Michael Delli Carpini, former Dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. A volunteer group of law and policy experts provides technical assistance to Civic Trustees nationwide.
Becoming The Citizen Service
In 2025, The Citizens Campaign changed its name to The Citizen Service, reflecting an evolution in mission and scope. For nearly three decades, the Citizen Service has been building toward a new model of national public service where regular Americans can contribute to solving challenges without blame, on a common ground, and without running for public office.
The timing matters. At a moment when Americans feel increasingly alienated from political institutions, when distrust and division threaten democratic functioning, The Citizen Service offers a practical alternative. The name captures this vision: service is not limited to those in uniforms or with elected titles. It’s something every American citizen can do.
In March 2025, The Citizen Service appointed Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. as its first president, marking the beginning of the organization’s next chapter. As former President of Morehouse College and a senior leader at MIT, Harvard, and the White House, Wilson brings exceptional credentials and understands how to expand opportunity and scale mission-driven work.
Under Wilson’s leadership, The Citizen Service launched a new, nationwide campaign to recruit, train, and deploy grassroots problem solvers through community-based partnerships with colleges, corporations, unions, high schools, faith-based institutions, and youth organizations.
The Urgent Path Forward
The current moment demands what The Citizen Service provides. Democracy requires more than voting every few years. It requires citizens who are empowered for lifelong engagement and understand how to identify problems, develop evidence-based solutions, and exercise power beyond the ballot. The Citizen Service has spent decades proving this model works.
Regular citizens, properly trained and supported, can be extraordinary leaders and problem solvers. They’ve passed over 300 laws and policies. They’ve created government bodies like Newark’s Environmental Commission. They’ve gone on to serve in elected and appointed positions, bringing evidence-based problem-solving leadership to their roles.
With John Silvanus Wilson Jr. as president and a national campaign underway, The Citizen Service aims to scale its proven model across America. The Citizen Service envisions training bases in cities nationwide, with millions of Americans ready for citizen leadership, moving from spectators to players in the arena of government problem-solving.
The stakes are clear. Democracy weakens when citizens feel powerless and disengage. It strengthens when people understand their agency and use it. At this critical juncture, when the health of American democracy hangs in the balance, The Citizen Service’s mission is more vital than ever: building an America where everyone who wants to serve has the knowledge and opportunity to do so, where citizens can meet on the common ground of pragmatism, and where citizen-driven, solution-focused leadership strengthens our democratic institutions.