Colin Hortman is a speaker and civic advocate working to change how Americans talk to each other about politics, and to make political violence unthinkable rather than merely condemned.

Colin’s mother, Melissa Hortman, was Speaker Emerita of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She and his father, Mark, were killed in a targeted act of political violence at their home in June 2025. Colin does not treat that as his message. He treats it as his reason to open a conversation most people want and few know how to start: where is the line between vigorous disagreement and the rhetoric that makes violence possible?

He is the founder of The Cost of Our Words, through which he delivers keynotes, legislative workshops, and civic trainings on dignity in public life. His addresses have been built for state leaders, and civic organizations that want to lower the temperature without asking anyone to abandon their convictions.

His work draws on the Dignity Index’s eight-point framework for scoring contempt and dignity in political speech, the structured listening models developed by Braver Angels, and the National Governors Association’s Disagree Better initiative. He is currently developing a certification-pathway curriculum for legislators and public officials on responding to political violence with dignity, and is working with Braver Angels on efforts to build bipartisan norms against the dehumanization of elected officials and their families.

Colin has worked on legislation that helps victims navigate the insurance process and speeds up the timeline in which aid is given. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Alina.

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