Executive Director, Common Ground USA
Nealin Parker
Nealin Parker leads Common Ground USA as its inaugural Executive Director. A leader in identifying solutions to polarization and political violence in America, Parker brings to this new role decades of experience in senior domestic and international positions dealing with conflict, poverty, and social change. Before joining Search for Common Ground, Parker founded and co-directed the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University, where she helped to create the first near-real time national database of political violence in the United States.
She previously served in the U.S. government as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she oversaw more than $45 billion in federal programs, and as Acting Director of the Office of Transitional Initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development, an office charged with rapid response to emerging violent conflict and political transitions in more than two dozen countries around the world. Parker also held leadership, policy, and program positions with the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, Interpeace, The Carter Center, and the International Foundation for Election Systems. Her writing on American politics and elections has been featured on CNN, PBS, and USA Today. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University.