Colin Hortman
Founder and Speaker, The Cost of Our Words; Son of Melissa and Mark Hortman
2026
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.
The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
