MEET LYDIA

Lydia Bean is a mother, small business owner, and community leader who has worked across partisan lines and brought people together to make real change. As the daughter of a teacher and a pastor, Lydia’s parents taught her to stand up for what she believes in. Lydia put that lesson to work when she founded a nonprofit organization that brings faith communities together to work toward change in their schools, cities, and state. Lydia organized faith leaders to protect Texas families from payday lenders who trap people in high-interest loans. 

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Lydia owns a small consulting firm that helps nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises. She graduated from Austin College and holds a PhD in Sociology from Harvard University. She is the author of The Politics of Evangelical Identity and is a former professor at Baylor University who has written about faith, politics, and civic engagement for the Washington Post, Vox, and Washington Monthly. 

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Lydia is married to public artist Norman Lee and they have two young children. They live in Arlington and are members of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth.