Belonging and building something new

From Central Texas to Southern Denmark, researcher-turned-founder Elisabeth McClure shares a deeply personal journey of transformation. From the quiet woods of her childhood to the soul-searching pivot that led her to launch a unique online community.

Photographs: Raimonda from Lotus Photography & personal images

Text: Lyndsay Jensen

When Elisabeth McClure speaks about belonging, it’s with the steady clarity of someone who’s both lost it and found it again - across continents, careers, and life chapters. A Texas native now firmly rooted in Denmark, Elisabeth’s story is one of following opportunity, sitting with discomfort, and ultimately crafting a mission-driven life far from where it all began.

Growing up among oaks and quilts

Elisabeth grew up just north of Austin, Texas, surrounded by cedar groves and oak trees, in a landscape that shaped both her imagination and her values. Her childhood memories paint a vivid picture: four older siblings, a best friend across the street, and her grandmother, a master quilter, living next door.

“My grandmother would stretch the quilt layers across a giant wooden frame,” she recalls. “We kids would crawl underneath, helping pass the needle through the quilt as the adults stitched above. It was magical - a real community effort.” That early exposure to creativity and intergenerational collaboration stayed with her. Today, Elisabeth makes modern improvisational quilts, often reflecting on those moments while she sews.

Texas, she says, is a place of open conversations and warm cultural mashups. “People strike up conversations in the grocery line. And the blend of Spanish and English, the food, the music - there’s just this rich, vibrant energy, especially near Austin.” Still, she admits it’s no longer a place she feels at home. Rising heat, political polarisation, and social injustice have made returning feel emotionally complex. “Home has become a confusing concept as an international person,” she says with quiet honesty.

From policy to play: A new life in Denmark

Elisabeth didn’t set out to move to Denmark. After a stint living and teaching in France, she returned to the U.S. and built a career in research and policy, focusing on children and families. She earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Public Policy from Georgetown University, where her doctoral research explored how infants and toddlers engage in video-mediated interactions, such as video chat.

Her academic pursuits led her to the Joan Ganz Cooney Centre at Sesame Workshop, where she served as a research fellow from 2015 to 2017. There, she co-led an NSF-funded project aimed at integrating technology in early literacy and conducted research on how families select apps for their young children. Her work on early STEM learning and children's use of digital media caught the attention of major outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and Scientific American.

But when the Trump administration came into power, everything shifted.

“I had been using research to improve federal policies for young children. Then Trump was elected, and suddenly I was watching migrant families being separated at the border. It was excruciating. I felt powerless.” That sense of helplessness sparked her decision to leave - and when a job at The LEGO Foundation appeared, she took the leap.

Moving to Denmark in 2017, Elisabeth landed softly: the job was a great fit, the work environment was English-speaking, and her transition was smoother than she’d anticipated. “I had to adjust to the Danish accent in English at first,” she laughs. “Now I don’t even notice it at all.”

But arriving in Denmark also came with unexpected emotional weight. “I cried more than once in those early days. There was this powerful mix of gratitude and grief. I felt so safe for the first time - no guns, no medical bankruptcy, real parental leave, but also sadness and anger that my home country didn’t offer this.” She’s since found that many Americans abroad recognise that same emotional paradox. “It’s a kind of expat grief, and guilt.”

"Now nearly eight years into life in Denmark, Elisabeth has found her rhythm - building nabo, her online community, advising on belonging-centred design, and continuing to sew pieces of her past and future into something entirely new."

Designing for belonging

At LEGO, Elisabeth worked at the intersection of creativity, technology, and childhood development. She contributed to initiatives like the Play for All Accelerator programme, supporting playful learning innovations for neurodivergent children. But it was a collaboration with MIT’s Media Lab that sparked her deeper calling. “The people there welcomed me with a kind of unconditional delight. I didn’t have to prove anything - I just belonged, that was breathtaking.”

It was also transformative. “I realised that belonging can be designed into a space, a culture. It shouldn’t be contingent on achievement, fitting in, or being ‘accepted.’ It should be unconditional.”

That realisation led her to launch nabo - a digital community space hosted on Mighty Networks and designed specifically around that principle. “I wanted to build a place that tells you again and again: You are enough. You belong, right now. You don’t have to earn it.”

The challenge, though, is marrying that mission with the realities of running a business. “I believe belonging is a human right, so charging for it feels wrong,” she says. After testing different social innovation models, Elisabeth is looking at the possibility of making nabo a social enterprise or non-profit. Entry is free. She’s not yet earning income from it, but is seeking grant funding and plans to offer consulting on “Design for Belonging” to sustain herself.

Navigating this dual language - speaking the metrics-driven talk of business stakeholders while preserving the soul of her community, has required a lot of code-switching. "Externally, I talk about 'retention of international talent.' Inside nabo, we don’t see people as 'talent to be retained.' They’re neighbours. People. Whole human beings.”

Starting fresh: Advice for new internationals

Elisabeth is open about the emotional terrain that comes with starting over in a new country. “Even if everything goes well, under the surface, you’re asking yourself, ‘Do I belong? Am I safe? Am I seen?”

Her advice: Seek out people and places that reflect your worth back to you. “Belonging isn’t about being accepted by others - it’s about knowing you’re enough exactly as you are. Whether or not you speak the language. Whether or not you have a job.”

And for those just beginning the journey: “Never be ashamed of being from somewhere else. Your background makes you a gift to this place. Share it generously, and you’ll unlock that same generosity in others.”

One of the places where Elisabeth experiences that generosity firsthand is an unlikely setting: a local Warhammer figure-painting group at her library. “The man who runs it, Adam, lights up with joy whenever someone new walks in. You don’t have to do anything to earn his enthusiasm, it’s just there. That kind of welcome is what we all need more of.”

Building community, building a life

Now nearly eight years into life in Denmark, Elisabeth has found her rhythm - building nabo, her online community, advising on belonging-centered design, and continuing to sew pieces of her past and future into something entirely new.

She hasn’t yet found a way to earn a living from the work she loves most. But she remains hopeful - and grounded. “This is what I want to do. Not because it’s profitable, but because it matters. Because we all deserve to feel that we belong.”

In a world where many internationals feel like they’re constantly striving to prove their value, Elisabeth McClure is creating something quieter, deeper, and more radical: a reminder that you already are.

Nabo helps internationals navigate life in Denmark not just through practical tools, but through intentional community design. From events to cultural exchange, from shared rituals to everyday neighbourliness, nabo is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves to feel like they belong. If you’d like to learn more about nabo, explore the app, or connect directly with Elisabeth, here’s where to find info:

Website: mynabo.dk

Instagram: @nabo_denmark

LinkedIn: Elisabeth McClure