And what is integrity?
Integrity is character.
It’s honesty.
Keeping your word.
Treating others with dignity and respect.
Taking responsibility for what you do.
Not betraying someone’s trust.
But we’re human.
Sometimes we find the courage to do what’s right, even when it’s difficult. And sometimes we don’t. We’re afraid.
We have too much to lose. We’re angry, or simply unable to see beyond ourselves.
We all have moments we’re proud of. And moments we wish we could take back.
Integrity isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being honest with ourselves about the choices we’ve made, forgiving ourselves without making excuses, and taking responsibility when we’ve hurt someone.
Life gives us these choices every day, large and small. What matters is what we learn from them—and what we choose to do next.
That’s where the conversation begins.
When No One’s Watching:
The Choices That Stayed With Me
Personal stories of difficult choices –
And what we understand now.
Nicholas Kristof
Journalist, columnist
“A choice I’m grateful I made.”
Brad Rourke
Civic organizer
“A choice I wish I’d made differently.”
Sometimes the choices that stay with us are the ones we wish we’d made differently.
Another person’s story can cast new light on our own choices.
What would I
have done?
SIX DEGREES OF
INTEGRITY
INSPIRED YOU
INSPIRED THEM
ABOUT US
2006 - Film Your Issue
Founded it with Walter Cronkite, who also served as founding Honorary Ambassador. Giving young people a voice about the issues that mattered to them.
2009 - What’s Your Issue Foundation
The nonprofit home for the work.
2011 - Everyone Matters
A global initiative built around a simple idea: everyone has the right to be who they are, as they are, without ridicule, abuse or discrimination.
2026 - The New Integrity Generation
Integrity underpins how we treat others — and how we live with ourselves. But integrity isn't something we simply have. We learn it, again and again, in the moments when we must decide what the right thing is — and whether to do it.
The New Integrity Generation is an initiative to spark a public conversation about integrity — how it is shaped through moments of choice, consequence, regret, reflection and growth.
We are honored to have the counsel of Hal Plotkin, former Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama administration, and Jim Kennedy, former Clinton White House Deputy Press Secretary and News Corp Chief Communications Officer.
Among those who have participated
in our earlier initiatives
Past partners and collaborators
have included
And some of the people whose talent, vision and passion helped bring those initiatives to life:
Kathi Sharpe Ross
Troy Hollar
Tom LaSusa
Patti McLain
Patrick Lockwood
Richie Vernillo
David Gaz
Where did this come from?
HeathCliff Rothman
Founder
Twenty years ago, I launched Film Your Issue with Walter Cronkite, followed by Everyone Matters. I believed then that every one of us has a voice, and every one of us matters. I still do.
But I understand something now that I didn’t understand then. Believing that everyone matters is one thing. Living as though everyone matters asks something more of us: integrity.
And integrity isn’t simple, because we’re human—with all our contradictions, fears, desires, blind spots and mistakes.
So maybe the deeper work is understanding ourselves: what shapes the choices we make, what happens when we get them wrong, and how we learn and grow from them.
The New Integrity Generation is an invitation to explore that together.