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Manu Meel joins NY-based Braver Angels board
The BridgeUSA CEO joins depolarization nonprofit’s board, highlighting youth-led dialogue across political divides in America.
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Pranavi Sharma - Thu, 09, Apr 2026
- 02:01 EDT
- 6
Manu Meel / Braver Angels
Manu Meel, an Indian-origin leader and CEO of BridgeUSA, has been appointed to the board of directors of Braver Angels, a nonprofit focused on political depolarization in the United States.
Braver Angels, a New York-based 501(c)(3) organization, works to reduce partisan divisions by bringing together conservatives and liberals through workshops, debates, and structured conversations. The group aims to foster mutual understanding and identify shared values across political differences.
The organization announced Meel’s appointment in a post on X, noting his role as co-founder and CEO of BridgeUSA, which it described as the largest and fastest-growing student movement focused on encouraging dialogue across political divides. Meel, 27, has previously collaborated with Braver Angels.
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“Braver Angels and BridgeUSA are leading a counterculture of dialogue and curiosity in America,” Meel said. “I am excited to join the Braver Angels board because we don’t have a democracy if we can’t talk to each other—to me it’s that simple.”
We're so excited to welcome @ManuMeel_ to the Braver Angels Board of Directors!
— Braver Angels (@braverangels) April 8, 2026
Only 27 years old, Manu is the CEO and Co-Founder of @BridgeUSA_, the largest and fastest-growing student movement empowering young people to engage in conversations across political differences.… pic.twitter.com/7d7vvlWz8Q
In a separate post, Meel said he was “honored” to join the organization’s board and called Braver Angels “an essential institution for our democracy.” He added that he looked forward to working toward “building the counterculture to secure the next 250 yrs of American democracy.”
BridgeUSA describes itself as a multipartisan student movement that promotes viewpoint diversity, responsible discourse, and a solution-oriented political culture. The group traces its origins to February 2017 at the University of California, Berkeley, where protests over a conservative speaker turned violent, shutting down campus activities.
In response, a small group of students organized discussions between those supporting and opposing the protests. Those conversations expanded into a broader initiative, eventually forming chapters across campuses nationwide. The organization now operates more than 125 chapters across the United States.
Braver Angels was founded after the 2016 United States presidential election by David Blankenhorn, Bill Doherty, and David Lapp. Originally named Better Angels, the group draws inspiration from Abraham Lincoln’s call for unity in his first inaugural address.
The organization says its approach centers on small-group engagement, encouraging participants from across the political spectrum to listen to one another with empathy and understanding.
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