About Us

The “Threads of Texas'' is a year-long project launched by More in Common in 2020 to understand the story of change within Texas through the identification of main points of division, areas of shared values, and through a new framework to understand Texans beyond the traditional scope of demographics. 

The Threads of Texas project includes three main branches:

• Through a mixed method approach, More in Common conducted two large scale and representative surveys (in English and Spanish), interviewed thousands of Texans on key issue areas (race, economy, education, immigration, democracy, COVID-19), and defined seven unique segments of Texans that capture the full breadth of the state’s population. The Threads of Texas final research report is published as of April 2021.
• More in Common will conduct message testing with the identified segments, create issue-based toolkits, and support communications training efforts. Please subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about our resource releases.
• Since March 2020, More in Common has built a core group of partners– from individuals to organizations who have informed various phases of the research project through feedback, expertise, ideas, and aligned work. In 2021, More in Common will continue this partnership work, co-creating impact-driven efforts with Texan communities.

More in Common US is a nonpartisan nonprofit that seeks to strengthen democratic culture by bringing Americans together around shared values, beliefs, and identities. We are part of an international initiative to build societies and communities that are stronger, more united, and more resilient to the increasing threats of polarization and social division. More in Common works in partnership with a wide range of civil society groups, as well as philanthropy, business, faith, education, media and government to connect people across the lines of division.

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In building out segmentation and project direction, our research team collaborated with: 

• Researchers and academics at Texas institutions 
• Leadership within prominent Texas nonprofit organizations
• Local leadership across different fields (interviews and feedback ranging from leaders in arts and cultural hubs in Dallas to key representatives in the state’s oil and gas industry)

For media inquiries, please email media@moreincommon.com

If you’re interested to partner with us, please email partnerships@moreincommon.com

For inquiries regarding speaker requests, or other questions about the Threads of Texas research project and More in Common, please email contact@moreincommon.com

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Noelle Malvar, PhD

Noelle holds a masters degree in psychology from New York University and a PhD in applied social psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. Her research centers on intergroup relations, with a focus on examining effective interventions to foster dialogues between different groups. She was previously a research fellow for the Vera Institute of Justice and the Girl Scouts Research Institute.

Kelly Clancy, PhD

Kelly holds a PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on social movements and race and politics with a focus on Europe. She is the chair of the political science department at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Kelly lived in Houston and Austin for more than 15 years before starting graduate school, and has an MA from Texas State in Communication Studies with a focus on political rhetoric. She still calls Austin home. 

Paul Oshinski

Paul is a doctoral candidate in government at the University of Texas at Austin. His research explores the intersections between political disagreement, the media and rhetoric. He has previously worked in political polling on local, statewide and presidential campaigns, focusing primarily on the Southern United States. Paul lives in Austin, Texas.

Dan Vallone

Prior to joining More in Common, Dan worked on community-building efforts at the state and national level. Previously, Dan served six years active duty as an Army infantry officer, with one tour in Afghanistan. Dan was proud to call Texas home when he served with the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in 2012-2013. Dan graduated from West Point and earned an MA in Contemporary China from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on a Fulbright Scholarship and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Dan lives in New York City. 

Christiana Lang

Christiana is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, a Rotary Peace Fellow alumni, and brings a decade of experience from six countries on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, community development, and violence prevention work. She earned her Master of Social Science from Uppsala University in Sweden, and graduated from the University of Hartford studying Politics, Government and Sociology. Christiana is based in Washington D.C.

Coco Xu

Coco holds a dual master’s degree in History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics. She specializes in US immigration history, with her research focusing on Chinese immigrants in the US. She previously worked as a researcher and writer at Asia Society. 

Jazmin Kreimer 

Jazmin is an attorney with experience working with private, nonprofit, government, and multilateral organizations on humanitarian, civil rights, and human rights issues. She began her career with the U.S. Department of State managing grant programs and advancing policy to protect and assist refugees in countries across Africa. Most recently, Jazmin worked for International Justice Mission, where she led the development of grant proposals for criminal justice reform projects combating human rights abuses around the world.