We're volunteers uniting America one conversation at a time.
Our Story
Our story begins in 2016 with two groups starting independently of one another — on opposite coasts of the United States. Coincidentally, both founders chose the same name “Crossing Party Lines.” Their shared vision led them to create a volunteer platform to unite Americans through warm and engaging conversations.
Lisa Swallow, an author and educator living in Portland, Oregon, was inspired by political conversations with a cousin to design simple process for engaging in respectful conversations about politics of the day.
Kareem Abdelsadek, a management consultant living in New York City, was driven by a sense of civic duty to apply his skills to uniting America through conversations among people from all walks of life.
Prompted by a time of unprecedented political polarization, these two visionaries, their energetic team of volunteers, and over 3,000 CPLs members are uniting America one conversation at a time.
Our Volunteers
Behind each of our meaningful cross-party-line interactions, there is a team of committed volunteers:
- Facilitating conversations
- Running Zoom
- Researching topics
- Designing this website
- More!
Our Leadership Team
Crossing Party Lines is led by a small group of individuals who are passionate about exploring our unique and shared values as a national community.
Kareem Abdelsadek
Co-founder, Chairman of the Board
