Dr. Lydia Bean
Lydia Bean is a community leader, social scientist, and author based in Texas. Lydia is a Fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, as an expert on civic engagement, religion in public life, racial and economic inequality, efforts to overcome partisan polarization, and the relationship between state and local government. Lydia holds a Ph.D in sociology at Harvard University and a bachelors at Austin College. She is the author of The Politics of Evangelical Identity (Princeton University Press, 2014). Lydia previously taught at Baylor University and founded Faith in Texas, a nonprofit that brings communities together to work for justice and fairness in North Texas. In 2020, she ran for the Texas House of Representatives in Tarrant County. Lydia lives in Arlington, Texas with her husband, public artist Norman Lee, and son, Micah. Analysis and commentary on this site are her own.