When you help people find belonging, you boost your city's physical, mental, and civic health—and it's not hard to get started.
A small city of 95,000 people just an hour outside of NYC, Norwalk is an amazing place to call home—and a great opportunity to show other cities what's possible when you implement simple policies to foster social health and civic participation.
Create a community that's built to last—without burning out.
For the next three Tuesdays, I’m going to be leading a series of free workshops at the city’s new headquarters for the empowered—Fabrik in Tribeca—and the programs will be focused entirely on what I’ve found and what I can share with you.
Social health is tied to physical, mental, and civic health. As people spend more time alone at home and less time together, each of these areas suffers. Fortunately, even small interventions can make a substantial impact in reversing the trend.
Trash Bash is a volunteer‑driven community cleanup organized by the Rowayton Civic Association. Participants receive trash bags, are assigned specific zones to collect litter, and return to the community center to log their impact.
Deep Fun NYC is a two‑hour, facilitator‑led “playshop” that uses high‑energy physical games and exercises—drawn from theater, clowning, and improvisation—to stimulate collective joy, vulnerability, and self‑inquiry. Participants move through four categories of play (collective, competitive, pair, and individual) to experience peak fun, shared purpose, and the phenomenon of collective effervescence in an intergenerational, sliding‑scale environment.
The "One-Day Choir" event hosted by Gaia Music Collective is an opportunity for people of all singing experience levels to come together and sing in a choir for a single day. The event celebrates the joy and connective power of collaborative music-making, with no auditions, judgment or need for perfection - just the pleasure of creating something greater than oneself with a group. The event is led by a guest facilitator who provides learning resources ahead of time to help participants prepare, allowing the in-person time to focus on the richness of the music-making experience.
Today I interviewed Tara Giles of the Community Builders Hub in New Hampshire. Tune in here!
Last week, I led a conversation at BarCamp Philly—a place that holds a special spot in my heart. My wife and I made the journey from Connecticut just to be there. The talk was called “How BarCamp Can Save Democracy,*” and yes, that little asterisk is important. I'll explain.
Author of the wonderful books Ping and Spark, and the forthcoming People are My Favorite Place, Ani Castillo shared her personal journey overcoming social anxiety, the role of religious communities, the power of inner dialogue, and much more. Here, we delve into some of the major themes discussed.
Hope just became a strategy. Kathryn Goetzke, leading hope researcher and founder of The Shine Hope Company, unpacks the science behind cultivating hope and resilience in the face of adversity. In this conversation, we explore Goetzke's deeply personal journey, her research into America's hopelessness crisis, and practical strategies to design a more hopeful daily life.