Dan Vallone is senior director of strategic initiatives in the Office of the President, focusing on the foundation’s strategy to reduce polarization and strengthen the democratic fabric of the United States. He leads Carnegie’s initiatives focused on national service and libraries.
Vallone has worked on efforts to reduce polarization for close to a decade. He served as founding executive director for More in Common US, a research nonprofit focused on polarization, from 2019 until 2023. During this time, he led research that was widely cited in media outlets, including The New York Times, Fox News, Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, and The Washington Times. Subsequently, Vallone founded his own consulting practice where he advised businesses, nonprofits, and philanthropic institutions on a range of efforts to build common ground in communities across the country.
He started his career as an Army officer, serving six years, including one tour in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2020, he cofounded the Veterans and Citizens Initiative, an effort to connect the military and veteran community more deeply with the broader American society.
Vallone holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MA in contemporary China from Nanyang Technological University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and a BS in East Asian studies from the United States Military Academy (West Point), where he graduated with honors.