Making Connections: 25 Innovators Tackling the Loneliness Epidemic

This live virtual event kicks off the Making Connections series with 25 innovators who envision 2025 as a year of more togetherness and less loneliness. These luminaries will present two-minute talks that share how their groundbreaking work is transforming lives.

In a time of disorientation, division, and social distrust, we need new ideas to get connected to one another. This gathering and the Making Connections series, hosted by Allison Gilbert and Reimagine, directly advances the urgent call to action from the 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in his Parting Prescription for America: the need to strengthen relationships is the most pressing challenge of our time.

In the two months that follow, Making Connections continues with events on May 22 and June 12 featuring more in-depth discussion of imaginative projects to reduce loneliness and social isolation.

Making Connections will showcase the following speakers and projects at the April 17th kick-off:

Chris Appleton, Art Pharmacy

Art Pharmacy bridges healthcare and the arts through social prescribing, connecting people of all ages to creative, community-based programs that reduce loneliness and improve well-being.

Jack Mayor, Best Buddies International

Best Buddies is the largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people worldwide with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). 

Vanessa Elias, Block Party USA

Block Party USA empowers neighbors to host simple, face-to-face gatherings that combat loneliness, foster connection, and spark healing in communities across the country.

Greta McAnany, Blue Fever

Blue Fever is a supportive digital space where young people can explore emotions, find community, and connect with relatable content that helps them feel seen and less alone.

Karl Schatz, Community Plate

Community Plate Story Sharing Potluck Suppers are free, themed gatherings that use food, storytelling, and shared recipes to foster connection and celebrate common ground, culminating in a community-created cookbook.

Lorenzo Lewis, Confess Project

The Confess Project of America trains barbers to become mental health advocates in communities of color, using trusted spaces to break stigma and promote emotional well-being.

Carla Fernandez, The Dinner Party

The Dinner Party connects young adult grievers to a supportive peer community, turning isolation into lasting companionship, shared healing, and meaningful cultural change.

Dana Griffin, Eldera

Eldera connects older adults with children for intergenerational mentorship, fostering purpose, wisdom-sharing, and meaningful connection through safe, virtual conversations.

Dixon Chibanda, The Friendship Bench

The Friendship Bench is a global mental health initiative that uses trained lay health workers to provide evidence-based, community-rooted therapy for people facing anxiety and depression.

Madeleine Hebert, Happy Cities

Tomo on Main is a housing project designed to foster social connection through shared spaces, intentional design, and community-building programming that helps residents thrive together.

S. Renee Mitchell, I Am M.O.R.E.

I Am M.O.R.E. empowers traumatized youth with a research-based, transformational process that helps them build resilience, purpose, and self-love in the face of adversity.

Jacob Cramer, Love for Our Elders

Love For Our Elders combats loneliness in older adults through handwritten letters, storytelling, and volunteer-driven programs that spread love and connection across generations.

Anne Basting, Memory Cafe Alliance / EMC2 Alliance

Memory Cafes offer welcoming spaces for those experiencing memory loss and their caregivers to connect, and the Memory Cafe Alliance is working to expand them nationwide to combat isolation and build community.

Caleigh Brace, Minnesota Play for All

Minnesota Play for All fosters connection, inclusion, and community through accessible, intergenerational play spaces and programs that bring people of all abilities together.

Ebele Onyema, One More Hour

One More Hour is Hinge’s initiative to combat the loneliness epidemic by encouraging Gen Z to reclaim in-person connection—one meaningful hour at a time.

Luke Wall, Only7Seconds

Only7Seconds combats youth loneliness by promoting intentional connection through media, education, and youth-led programs that highlight the power of small, meaningful moments.

Chris Doucette, Project Unlonely

Project UnLonely is a global public health initiative using arts-based programs to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and foster connection among those most vulnerable to loneliness.

Hana Lee Goldin, Reading Rhythms

Reading Rhythms creates communal reading experiences that blend music, mindfulness, and literature to foster deeper connection—with self and others—in a fast-paced, digital world.

Kelli Dunlap, Take This

Take This is the first mental health nonprofit dedicated to supporting the gaming community by reducing stigma and providing culturally relevant mental health resources for both players and developers.

Kevin Robb, The Heart of Los Angeles Eisner Intergenerational Music Program

The Heart of Los Angeles Eisner Intergenerational Program brings people of all ages together through music ensembles to build community, foster connection, and celebrate the power of shared creativity.

Jillian Richardson, The Joy List

The Joy List is a weekly newsletter curating connection-focused events and stories to help New Yorkers build friendships, find community, and discover meaningful experiences.

Orly Israel, The Listening Table

The Listening Table Project creates spaces where people use the simple gift of presence to foster raw human connection and offer belonging through compassionate listening.

Debra Jack, The Longest Table

The Longest Table NYC brings diverse New Yorkers together over a shared meal in public spaces to spark connection, foster empathy, and build a more united city.

Aaron Hurst, United States Chamber of Connection

The Chamber of Connection is a civic initiative piloting in Seattle to create scalable, city-wide systems that rebuild trust and social connection in communities across the nation.

Mark Winston, US Men's Shed Association

US Men’s Sheds provide community spaces where men can connect, create, and combat loneliness through shared projects, conversations, and purpose-driven activities.

Host

Allison Gilbert is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of the most influential writers and speakers on how to find the inner resources to overcome life’s biggest challenges. Through research and lived experience, Allison helps audiences transform grief and loss and find connection amid the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. She is co-author of Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s final book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life. The book stems from the article Allison wrote for The New York Times, “Dr. Ruth Saved People’s Sex Lives. Now she wants to Cure Loneliness,” about Dr. Ruth’s appointment as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the United States.

In collaboration with Reimagine, Allison hosts a monthly conversation series on overcoming loneliness, “Making Connections,” and previously hosted “Passed and Present,” named after her beloved book, about death and maintaining family bonds. Featured guests have included U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Anna Quindlen, V, formerly Eve Ensler, Rachel Cargle, David Kessler, Tembi Locke, Jean Chatzky, and Dr. BJ Miller.

Allison has been interviewed on the Today show, Good Morning America, and NPR, given a speech in front of the President of Iceland, appeared on stage with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Soledad O’Brien, and presented hundreds of talks to audiences at Amazon, Google, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and many other wellness retreat centers, companies, and organizations. She’s also enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Jay Shetty!

She serves on the Advisory Board of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.

Allison lives in New York with her husband and two children. 

https://www.allisongilbert.com/

@itsallisongilbert

About the series Making Connections

Join New York Times contributor and author Allison Gilbert for the Spring 2025 Making Connections series exploring ways we can reduce social isolation and increase feelings of belonging. 

Loneliness is an underdiscussed aspect of the grief experience and research shows that it can increase the risk of disease, mental illness, and shorten life expectancy. In a time of disorientation, division, and social distrust, we need new ideas to get connected to one another. The Making Connections series directly advances the urgent call to action from the 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in his Parting Prescription for America: the need to strengthen relationships is the most pressing challenge of our time.

The spring 2025 series kicks off on April 17 with a live virtual event featuring 25 innovators who envision 2025 as a year of more togetherness and less loneliness. In a lightning round, luminaries will present two-minute talks that share how their groundbreaking work is transforming lives. In the two months that follow, Making Connections continues with events on May 22 and June 12 featuring more in-depth discussion of imaginative projects to reduce loneliness and social isolation.

Past recordings from Making Connections are available here.