Making Connections
A Series with Allison Gilbert on the Loneliness Epidemic
In this three-part series on the loneliness epidemic, learn about one of the greatest public health crises of the 21st century and discover opportunities for building meaningful connections that can be put to use immediately.
Join New York Times contributor and author Allison Gilbert for the latest 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. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy – a previous guest on Allison’s series – declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend.
The host of Making Connections is Allison Gilbert, one of the most influential writers and speakers on life’s deepest challenges, including grief and loss, caregiving and chronic illness, and the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. In partnership with Reimagine, she is hosting her latest series to reveal concrete strategies we can all use to build deeper connections. Allison 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 series kicks off with actor Alysia Reiner, renowned for her starring role as “Fig” in Orange is the New Black, but also for what she does off screen: Alysia serves as a real-life volunteer firefighter in her beloved community. She and other guests will discuss how acts of service have the capacity to help us feel a greater sense of well-being and connection.
The second session addresses loneliness at work. This discussion features Eddie Garcia, Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection; Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; and Ann Shoket, CEO of TheLi.st and co-author of the Ten Minutes to Togetherness Report and Tool Kit.
And in the final program of the series, we will forecast innovations to reduce loneliness in the year ahead with journalist Julia Hotz, author of the new book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging, and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.
Upcoming Events
The Making Connections series kicks off with author, activist, and innovator Rachel Cargle; Alysia Reiner, renowned for her starring role as Fig in Orange is the New Black but less so for her real-life role as a volunteer firefighter in her community; and author, playwright, and activist V (formerly Eve Ensler). These three remarkable guests will discuss how acts of service, advocacy, and activism can help us feel more connection.
Everyone is welcome. Bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
About the series Making Connections
Join New York Times contributor and author Allison Gilbert for the latest 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. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy – a previous guest on Allison’s series – declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend.
The host of Making Connections is Allison Gilbert, one of the most influential writers and speakers on life’s deepest challenges, including grief and loss, caregiving and chronic illness, and the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. In partnership with Reimagine, she is hosting her latest series to reveal concrete strategies we can all use to build deeper connections. Allison 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 series kicks off with actor Alysia Reiner, renowned for her starring role as “Fig” in Orange is the New Black, but also for what she does off screen: Alysia serves as a real-life volunteer firefighter in her beloved community. She and other guests will discuss how acts of service have the capacity to help us feel a greater sense of well-being and connection.
The second session addresses loneliness at work. This discussion features Eddie Garcia, Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection; Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; and Ann Shoket, CEO of TheLi.st and co-author of the Ten Minutes to Togetherness Report and Tool Kit.
And in the final program of the series, we will forecast innovations to reduce loneliness in the year ahead with journalist Julia Hotz, author of the new book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging, and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.
Speakers
Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is an author, activist, entrepreneur, and philanthropic innovator. She is founder of The Loveland Group; a family of companies including Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Centre, a literary space that celebrates marginalized voices and The Great Unlearn, an community learning space that centers the teaching of BIPOC thinkers. In 2018, she founded The Loveland Foundation, offering free access to mental health care for Black women and girls. Cargle is a regular contributor to Cultured Magazine, Atmos, and The Cut, and her work has been featured in Time Magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. Her debut memoir A Renaissance of Our Own published with Penguin Random House in May 2023 with the paperback released in March 2024.
https://thelovelandfoundation.org/
A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir & Manifesto on Reimagining
Alysia Reiner (she/her) is best known as Fig on seven seasons of Orange Is the New Black (SAG Award) and for originating Agent Sadie Deever in the 2023 Emmy and Critics Choice Award-winning Ms. Marvel. She is currently filming The Diplomat for Netflix. In addition to being an actress and producer, children’s book author, momma, and partner, Alysia is also a volunteer firefighter, foster mom, and an advocate for women's rights and climate change initiatives.
As a producer, Alysia produced and stars in the motherhood dark comedy Egg with Christina Hendricks and Anna Camp. Additionally, Alysia conceived of, developed, produced and starred in the feature film Equity distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Equity was Alysia's first feature as both actress and producer, but she has acted in countless critically acclaimed and award winning films and shows, working with film masters like Alexander Payne, Jodie Foster, Richard Loncraine, Matt Weiner, Jenji Kohan, and Pamela Adlon. She currently has three television projects and two films in development as a producer/star, including Science Of A Slam Dunk, an IFP Fast Track supported project which won the Sloan Prize last year.
She serves on the board of the Geena Davis Institute and Earth Day Initiative. She also serves as an advisory board member for Air Protein, and as an ambassador for Project Dandelion, the Fossil Fuel Treaty, and Plastic Pollution Coalition. She is the face and zero waste eco-emissary for Izzy Beauty and started eco-fashion zero waste initiative, Livari. Alysia has been invited to speak and keynote at The White House, The United Nations, Google, Cannes Lion, Women's Media Summit, Collision, and countless film festivals and events about breaking barriers for women in all fields, specifically the entertainment industry.
V (formerly Eve Ensler) is the Tony award-winning playwright, author, and activist. Her play The Vagina Monologues is an Obie award-winning, Olivier-nominated theatrical phenomenon that has been translated into 48 languages and performed in 140 countries. She is the author of numerous books, including the recently released bestseller Reckoning, heralded by the Washington Post as “gutting and gorgeous.” Other best-selling books include The Apology, translated into 20 languages, In the Body of the World, and The New York Times bestseller I Am an Emotional Creature. She starred on Broadway in The Good Body and, most recently Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in the critically acclaimed In the Body of the World. She helped create That Kindness: Nurses in Their Own Words, presented by the Brooklyn Academy of Music in collaboration with theaters across the US, as a tribute to nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. V is currently writing the story and co-writing lyrics for the musical Becoming (formerly WILD), which made its world premiere in December 2021 at The American Repertory Theater. She recently wrote This is Crazy, a play about mental illness commissioned by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Her film credits include The Vagina Monologues (HBO), What I Want My Words to Do to You (Executive Producer, Winner of the Sundance Film Festival Freedom of Expression Award, PBS), Mad Max: Fury Road (Consultant), and City of Joy documentary (Netflix). She is the founder of V-Day, the 26-year-old global activist movement that has raised over 120 million dollars to end violence against women, gender-expansive people, girls, and the planet—and founder of One Billion Rising, the largest global mass action to end gender-based violence in over 200 countries, as well as a co-founder of the City of Joy, a sanctuary and revolutionary center for women in the Congo who have survived sexual assault. She writes regularly for The Guardian.
@eveensler
Photo: Kate Peters
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s Making Connections and Passed and Present conversation series and 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.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,
The Making Connections series continues with a discussion of loneliness at the workplace. Whether in person or remote, so many of us feel disconnected from colleagues, customers, or clients. How can organizations and businesses improve our sense of connectedness and feel greater support for our mental health and wellbeing? Guests include Eddie Garcia, Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection; Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; and Ann Shoket, CEO of TheLi.st and co-author of the Ten Minutes to Togetherness Report and Tool Kit.
Everyone is welcome. Bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
About the series Making Connections
Join New York Times contributor and author Allison Gilbert for the latest 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. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy – a previous guest on Allison’s series – declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend.
The host of Making Connections is Allison Gilbert, one of the most influential writers and speakers on life’s deepest challenges, including grief and loss, caregiving and chronic illness, and the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. In partnership with Reimagine, she is hosting her latest series to reveal concrete strategies we can all use to build deeper connections. Allison 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 series kicks off with actor Alysia Reiner, renowned for her starring role as “Fig” in Orange is the New Black, but also for what she does off screen: Alysia serves as a real-life volunteer firefighter in her beloved community. She and other guests will discuss how acts of service have the capacity to help us feel a greater sense of well-being and connection.
The second session addresses loneliness at work. This discussion features Eddie Garcia, Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection; Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; and Ann Shoket, CEO of TheLi.st and co-author of the Ten Minutes to Togetherness Report and Tool Kit.
And in the final program of the series, we will forecast innovations to reduce loneliness in the year ahead with journalist Julia Hotz, author of the new book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging, and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.
Speakers
Edward Garcia III, MPH (he/him) offers thoughtful and expansive expertise in health and social policy development and advocacy for low-income and other vulnerable populations. Eddie is a partner at Healthsperien, a nationally recognized, Washington, D.C. – based policy and health care consulting firm focused on strategic, regulatory, legislative, and implementation issues. He's the Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection, a non-profit organization in the U.S. aiming to foster evidence-based solutions addressing social isolation and loneliness and is Board Vice-Chair to the Coalition to End Social Isolation & Loneliness, a multi-stakeholder organization whose focus is to create awareness and to advocate for policy reform to combat this issue. Eddie’s 20 years working in government health and social services programs has made him knowledgeable in a multitude of policy issue areas. He brings a wealth of knowledge and passion for policy and program development to expand access to social determinants of health and health equity programs and services. Eddie is a sought-after speaker on issues of social isolation and loneliness and social health as showcased before the American Public Health Association, the World Health Organization, and the European Commission, and numerous national governments and organizations around the globe.
Prior to joining the private sector, Eddie held positions in both the Executive and Legislative branches. From 2007 – 2012, Eddie worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services where he oversaw the development and implementation of quality measurement strategies across all CMS quality programs. From 2012-2015, Eddie served the House Energy and Commerce committee as a professional staff member under Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) overseeing their Medicare finance and quality portfolios.
https://www.endsocialisolation.org/
https://www.social-connection.org/
Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. She is the author of The Lost Art of Connecting (McGraw-Hill). Susan has 30+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, speaking regularly at industry events including Massachusetts Conference for Women, BSR, DLD, Worth Women and Techonomy, and contributing to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. She has appeared on NPR, CNN, USA Today, The New Yorker, New York Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
Susan is the recipient of Forbes magazine’s 50 over 50—Impact 2021 award and Worth Media’s Worthy100 award. She has also won numerous accolades for her voice on social impact from Fortune Magazine, Fast Company and Elle Magazine. Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led start-ups, including: iFundWomen,Inc., The Meteor, Our Place, Spicewell, The June Group, Hint Water, The Helm, Apolitical, The Muse and has recently begun investing in women-led Broadway productions including Like Water for Elephants and SUFFS. She previously served on the boards of USA for UNHCR, Bpeace, The Lower Eastside Girls Club and presently serves on the 19th News board. She is on the advisory boards of the Apolitical Foundation, Lebec Consulting and Just Capital. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador and a member of the New York Women’s Forum and Extraordinary Women on Boards. She resides in Brooklyn.
https://www.mcpstrategies.com/
Ann Shoket is a trailblazing senior media executive who has launched and reimagined legendary brands and has devoted her career to help women step into their power and to redefine ambition and success for a new generation. As the past Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen and one of the launch editors of CosmoGIRL, she led both major young women’s media brands to number one across every category. Most recently, as owner and CEO of TheLi.st, a nationwide community of high-impact women and non-binary leaders, she is using her platform to shine a light on the impact of the loneliness epidemic on women at work—and the solution, 10 Minutes to Togetherness. She is the author of The Big Life, and a speaker for corporations and conferences, including SXSW, Cannes Lions, and a popular TEDx speech. She has been a consultant and a regular contributor for Good Morning America, leading provocative conversations about millennials, burnout, the power of creating connection and #MeToo. She also appears regularly as an expert on TV, including Today, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, CNN, and she was a guest judge for four seasons on America’s Next Top Model. Forbes has named Shoket one of the “10 Most Powerful US Fashion Magazine Editors.” Folio: named her one of the “Top Women in Media”.
https://www.10minutestotogetherness.com/
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s Making Connections and Passed and Present conversation series and 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.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,
The Making Connections series wraps up the season with a forecast of 2025: What challenges and opportunities are we facing next year in addressing loneliness and social isolation? Guests include Julia Hotz, The Making Connections series wraps up the season with a forecast of 2025: What challenges and opportunities are we facing next year in addressing loneliness and social isolation? Guests include Julia Hotz, a journalist and author of the new book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging, and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project.
Everyone is welcome. Bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
About the series Making Connections
Join New York Times contributor and author Allison Gilbert for the latest 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. Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy – a previous guest on Allison’s series – declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend.
The host of Making Connections is Allison Gilbert, one of the most influential writers and speakers on life’s deepest challenges, including grief and loss, caregiving and chronic illness, and the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. In partnership with Reimagine, she is hosting her latest series to reveal concrete strategies we can all use to build deeper connections. Allison 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 series kicks off with actor Alysia Reiner, renowned for her starring role as “Fig” in Orange is the New Black, but also for what she does off screen: Alysia serves as a real-life volunteer firefighter in her beloved community. She and other guests will discuss how acts of service have the capacity to help us feel a greater sense of well-being and connection.
The second session addresses loneliness at work. This discussion features Eddie Garcia, Founder and Board Chair of the Foundation for Social Connection; Susan McPherson, author of The Lost Art of Connecting; and Ann Shoket, CEO of TheLi.st and co-author of the Ten Minutes to Togetherness Report and Tool Kit.
And in the final program of the series, we will forecast innovations to reduce loneliness in the year ahead with journalist Julia Hotz, author of the new book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service and Belonging, and Frederick J. Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute.
Speakers
Julia Hotz is a solutions-focused journalist and author of The Connection Cure—the first book chronicling the science, stories, and spread of social prescribing. With inspiration from Indigenous wisdom, positive psychology, holistic healing, lifestyle and integrative medicine, palliative care, and all kinds of therapies, social prescribing is a rapidly spreading practice through which health workers “prescribe” community resources and activities—like art classes and sea swimming lessons—the same way they prescribe pills and therapies. It’s been operationally defined as a way for clinical and community professionals to connect people to “non-medical supports and services … to improve their health and strengthen their connections.” She works at the Solutions Journalism Network, where she helps other journalists rigorously report on what’s working to solve today’s biggest problems.
Before becoming a journalist, Julia worked as a teacher, bartender, pizza server, and summer camp “forest ranger”. She enjoys hiking up mountains, biking around New York, riling up dance floors, running around parks, budget traveling around the world, and building the ‘longest road’ around Catan.
https://www.socialprescribing.co/
Frederick J. Riley grew up in a tough neighborhood of Saginaw, Michigan where he didn’t have a lot, but he did have a community. His mother taught him that when times were tough, you shared what you had, offered emotional support, and showered love abundantly on everyone.
That’s what he gave and received from his community. His pastor convinced him he could grow up and be somebody. His high school English teacher regularly sent notes of encouragement with fifty dollars tucked inside while he was in college. She knew it was not an expected or easy rite of passage for someone like him. This network of people helped him weave a life path.
Now Riley leads the Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project, which supports people in communities everywhere who are weaving trust, connection, and hope. To pay forward the love of weavers in his life, Riley spent 16 years at various levels of the YMCA organization around the country. He helped build and fund programs that gave youth a sense of value and belonging while helping them prepare for life beyond high school.
Riley has nurtured community wherever he has lived – Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, and now Washington, DC – yet he remains a proud son of Saginaw, Michigan. Among his many roles in professional and civic groups, he covets most the time he spends with his own family as a son, brother, uncle, and godfather, and with all the people who became family because of their care.
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s Making Connections and Passed and Present conversation series and 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.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,Past Events
June 20, 2024
Long before COVID, people in the U.S. and across the world have struggled with loneliness, isolation, and lack of social connection. In 2023, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend. And months later, journalist Allison Gilbert reported for the New York Times about the appointment of world-renowned therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the country. Reimagine and Allison are co-hosting a new series to learn about strategies to build deeper connections, particularly among the most vulnerable.
At the final conversation of this series, Allison will be joined by Anna Quindlen (bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) and Dr. Tasha Golden (former Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) for a special conversation about the impact creativity has on our mental health and overall wellbeing. Everyone is welcome and to bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and–at our own pace– actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
Speakers
Anna Quindlen’s latest book, After Annie, is a novel about grief and connection, family and friendship, and the power of love to transcend feelings of isolation that often follow the death of a loved one. She is also the author of many bestselling books including the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Rise and Shine, the #1 bestselling memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life. Her other novels include Object Lessons, Blessings, One True Thing, the Oprah Book Club Selection Black and Blue, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller’s Valley, and Alternate Side. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.
Her national bestseller, Write for Your Life, explores the many ways putting words to the page is healing and transformative and a critical means to find community. Using examples from past, present, and future — from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison, from love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today — Write for Your Life vividly illuminates the ways in which writing connects us to ourselves and to those we cherish. Drawing on her personal experiences not just as a writer but as a mother and daughter, Quindlen makes the case that recording our daily lives in writing is essential.
Tasha Golden, PhD is a singer/songwriter turned public health scientist, and an internationally-recognized leader in the science of “Creativity x Wellbeing.” From SXSW to the US Conference of Mayors, from POLITICO to state arts councils, from industry summits to universities, Golden’s storytelling and game-changing insights motivate and inspire audiences.
Previously the Director of Research at the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Golden has led pivotal research into art’s influence on health. Now a full-time speaker, author, and consultant, Golden has guided thousands of clients and audience members to reimagine their work, purpose, and potential.
Golden’s work is shaped by her early experiences as a career artist and entrepreneur. As singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Ellery, she toured internationally, with songs in TV and film (ABC, SHOWTIME, FOX, NETFLIX, etc). But when severe burnout and depression ended her music career, she began raising questions about mental health, creativity, and wellbeing that led to her PhD, ongoing research, and global work as a speaker and consultant.
Golden is a published poet (Humanist Press), founder of Project Uncaged: a trauma-informed creative writing program for incarcerated girls, and developer of “How We Human”: a training in Mental Health and Trauma-Informed Practice designed for creatives. She is also the lead author of "Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities."
With extensive publications in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Golden combines scientific knowledge with professional experience, personal storytelling, and a dynamic presence honed over years of performing. Leveraging her unique research and background, she helps clients and audiences raise their own new questions—linking science and creativity to grow their work.
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s “Making Connections” and “Passed and Present” conversation series and co-author with Dr. Ruth Westheimer of the forthcoming book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life (Rodale: October 22, 2024). Pre-order The Joy of Connections here.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,Zoom
May 23, 2024
Long before COVID, people in the U.S. and across the world have struggled with loneliness, isolation, and lack of social connection. In 2023, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend. And months later, journalist Allison Gilbert reported for the New York Times about the appointment of world-renowned therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the country. Reimagine and Allison are co-hosting a new series to learn about strategies to build deeper connections, particularly among the most vulnerable.
At this session, Allison, educator Isaias Hernandez, and sociologist Pamela Prickett discuss systems and inequities that isolate people throughout the arc of the life cycle? What role does nature, the built environment, and public infrastructure have in forming stronger connections among families and communities? Everyone is welcome. Bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and–at our own pace– actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
Speaker
Isaias Hernandez is an educator and creative devoted to improving environmental literacy through content creation, storytelling, and public engagements. Isaias is more commonly known by his moniker, Queer Brown Vegan: the independent media platform he started to bring intersectional environmental education to all. His journey to deconstruct complex issues, while centering diversity and authenticity, has resonated with a worldwide audience. He also collaborates with other leaders from the private and public sectors to uplift and produce stories of change for his independent web series, Sustainable Jobs and Teaching Climate Together. Isaias has been featured in several noteworthy publications, including Vogue, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Yale Climate Communications. His social media advocacy earned him recognition as a top climate creator by Harvard C-CHANGE. As a public speaker, he’s presented for New York Times, Nike, Environmental Media Association, Billie Eilish’s Overheated Summit, Harvard University, Deloitte, and more. He recently co-produced the Symbiocene event series in London and New York City.
Pamela Prickett is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam, where she teaches and conducts research on urban inequality, community-building, death/dying, religion, gender, and mental health. She has written two books about Los Angeles, including Believing in South Central: Everyday Islam in the City of Angels (Chicago 2021) and The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels (Crown 2024), coauthored with Stefan Timmermans. Before academia, Pamela worked in television as a producer and host. She earned her PhD in sociology from UCLA.
https://www.pamelaprickett.com/
Host
Allison Gilbert is the host of Reimagine’s Passed and Present conversation series and author and co-author of numerous books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief.
A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,Zoom
April 18, 2024
Long before COVID, people in the U.S. and across the world have struggled with loneliness, isolation, and lack of social connection. In 2023, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared loneliness an epidemic and announced a strategy to help reverse this alarming trend. And months later, journalist Allison Gilbert reported for the New York Times about the appointment of world-renowned therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer as New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, the first such position in the country. Reimagine and Allison are co-hosting a new series to learn about strategies to build deeper connections, particularly among the most vulnerable.
This session offers insights on loneliness from two leading grief experts and writers: psychotherapist Meghan Riordan Jarvis and veteran journalist and author Leslie Gray Streeter. Everyone is welcome and to bring your most pressing questions!
About Reimagine
Reimagine is a nonprofit organization catalyzing a uniquely powerful community–people of different backgrounds, ages, races, and faiths (and no faith) coming together in the hopes of healing ourselves and the world. We specifically support each other in facing adversity, loss, and mortality and–at our own pace– actively channeling life's biggest challenges into meaningful action and growth.
Speakers
Meghan Riordan Jarvis, MA, LCSW is an author, podcast host, two-time Tedx Speaker, and psychotherapist specializing in trauma and grief and loss. After the deaths of both of her parents within two years of each other Meghan began speaking on a larger scale about the importance of supporting grievers. Founder of MRJ Consulting, Meghan and her team consult regularly with companies addressing grief in the workplace. Meghan’s podcast “Grief is My Side Hustle” and grief writing workshop “grief mates” can be found at www.meghanriordanjarvis.com. Meghan’s memoir, The End of The Hour, published with Zibby Books in November 2023, and Can Anyone Tell Me Why: Essential Questions About Grief and Loss publishes with Sounds True Media in 2024.
Leslie Gray Streeter is an author, veteran journalist and speaker. whose memoir Black Widow was published in March 2020 by Little, Brown and Company. She is the lifestyle columnist for the Baltimore Banner, and the co-host of the pop culture podcast “Fine Beats and Cheeses.” Leslie was the longtime entertainment and lifestyle columnist and writer for the Palm Beach Post. A native of Baltimore, Md and a University of Maryland graduate, she and her work have been featured in The Miami Herald, the Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlantic, CNN, the Today show, SiriusXM, O, The Oprah Magazine and more. She lives with her son Brooks in her hometown of Baltimore. She’s a slow runner, an amateur vegan cook and a true crime and “Law and Order” enthusiast.
https://lesliegraystreeter.com/
Host
Allison Gilbert is host of Reimagine’s “Making Connections” and “Passed and Present” conversation series and co-author with Dr. Ruth Westheimer of the forthcoming book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life (Rodale: October 22, 2024). Pre-order The Joy of Connections here.
Allison is also author and co-author of numerous other books, including Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-Read Woman; Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive; and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and is a past Board Member of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. A regular contributor to the New York Times and other publications, Allison launched Pub Day, a literary consultancy, to help women writers best-position their book ideas for publication.
Track:
Wellness, COVID-19, Isolation & Connection,Zoom
