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America in One Room harnesses the true potential of Democracy by rising above the noise of polarization. Our projects educate and involve the electorate, empowering Americans to contribute to meaningful solutions. In-person and online, we unite citizens to engage in thoughtful policy discussions, break out of ideological bubbles, and cultivate enduring civic engagement.

Featured Event July 19-22, 2024

Inspiring the Future of Democracy

America in One Room: The Youth Vote gathered 500 first-time voters for a groundbreaking political experiment to discover their political voice and influence.

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Here’s an interesting read—a reminder that behind every opinion lies a human being with real experiences and a story to tell. Sometimes we’ll agree and sometimes we won’t, but if we want our democracy work, listening to each other isn’t optional.

- President Barack Obama

These 526 Voters Represent All of America. And They Spent a Weekend Together.

“Intense Democracy”: How Two Academics Are Trying to Break the Outrage Cycle

Here's what happened when 526 people talked politics (CNN)

This Experiment Has Some Great News for Our Democracy

Events

America in One Room, a Helena project, was established in 2019.

Dallas, TX September 19-22, 2019

America in One Room

America In One Room was one of the most significant political experiments in U.S. history. For the first time, a representative microcosm of the entire American electorate was brought together to a single location. The result was an unprecedented, scientific look at "the will of the people" -- what Americans really believe when given the chance to think deeply and engage with different opinions.

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Virtual September 2021

America in One Room: Climate and Energy

A1R: Climate and Energy was convened online, aided by a Stanford-developed proprietary AI moderator. The event was the largest Deliberative Poll in history. 962 Americans, again recruited by NORC to represent a statistically accurate microcosm of the voting electorate, came together to discuss Net Zero policy pathways in multiple sessions over the course of 6 days.

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Virtual August 2023

America in One Room: Democratic Reform

Helena convened the third installment of America in One Room focused entirely on Democratic Reform initiatives. The results provided a surprising snapshot of the will of the people when given the chance to think deeply about the issues with fellow Americans – and demonstrated the discursive power of respectful fora for civic engagement.

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Washington, DC July 19-22, 2024

America in One Room: The Youth Vote

Close Up, the Deliberative Democracy Lab at Stanford University (DDL), Helena, the Generation Lab, and the Neely Center at the University of Southern California brought together a nationally representative and scientific sample of first-time voters from across the country—the people who will shape political discourse for decades to come—to deliberate key policy issues facing the nation.

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What I took home with me, aside from the knowledge I gained, was a confidence that no matter what, our country will survive. Having this confidence, I can listen to the other side with much less emotion and actually ‘hear’ what is being said.

Mary Krebs
A1R participant

Most people, regardless of party, seem to want the same things from our government and its people. I used to feel the parties had totally opposite views on some of the important issues we spoke about in our group, but we really do seem to have common views, just slight differences that can probably be discussed and compromised.

Alicia Janowicz
A1R participant

My biggest takeaway was really more of a confirmation: that most people don’t have or take the time to research and talk about the key issues before they vote. In our group discussion, it was readily apparent that none of us had all the facts we wanted to make an informed decision, but we all wanted to be able to. We knew what we’d heard but we knew that wasn’t the full story.

Jim Frederickson

Life affects us all very differently. We all have a story to tell and all of our views are important. There’s no right answer for everyone. But if people take the time to hear (and truly listen) to other people and their story, then just maybe you’ll discover something that you never considered before.

Kathleen Mierzwa