Big ideas don’t grow in isolation – they flourish through collaboration. The Foundation for Social Connection and Healthy Places by Design invite you to their 2025 Social Connection Conference – Seeds of Connection – taking place October 28-30th in Atlanta, Georgia.
Registration is now open! Click below to register, and sign up for conference updates to be the first to know about agenda and speaker announcements.
Under this year’s theme, we will explore how intentional relationship-building across sectors of society can transform communities and systems at every level. Featuring inspiring keynotes, dynamic panel sessions, meaningful moments of connection, and immersive community experiences, this event is designed to unite disciplines, spark new partnerships, and equip attendees with the relationships and tools needed to drive lasting change.
Join us as we bring together researchers, social innovators, and leaders from the corporate, nonprofit, government, faith, and civic sectors to exchange insights, co-create solutions, and catalyze a movement to advance social connection across neighborhoods and the country. This work requires all of us. The relationships we nurture and ideas we cultivate over these three days will transform communities for years to come.
Agenda
8:00 AM
Registration Opens
8:45 AM
Morning Movement
Trauma Informed Yoga with Resilient Georgia
10:15 AM
Pre-conference (Optional)
Kick off your conference experience with a dynamic morning of collaborative learning, open dialogue, and peer exchange. This pre-conference “unconference” is designed to spark new ideas, deepen relationships, and turn insight into action. The following sessions are confirmed, but we encourage participants to bring fresh ideas and spark new conversations. A community board will be available to post additional topics, with space set aside (rooms, tables, and open areas) for those discussions to take shape.
From Talk to Action: Conversations that Drive Change
Kira Hamman, Urban Rural Action
Phillipe Cunningham, Urban Rural Action
Coalition Building in Action: Wisdom from the Midwest
Suzanne Morley, Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging
Helen Sampson, Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources within the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Division of Public Health
Measuring Connection in Your Community: How to Leverage Data and Center Community Voice
Kimberly Burrowes, Urban Institute
Samantha Fu, Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute
AJ Calhoun, Leading on Opportunity
Come Propose Your Own!
While there are a few topics already going, we encourage attendees to come with a topic or conversation to propose.
12:00 PM
Opening Lunch: Seeds of Connection Welcome & Conference Kickoff!
1:45 PM
Opening Plenary
Planting Seeds of Connection: Cross-Sector Partnerships for Collective Impact
Special Guests to be Announced!
Grounding in Place: Belonging in the Peach State
Moderator: Elizabeth Brown, The Arthur Blank Family Foundation
Bem Joiner, Atlanta Influences Everything
Dr. Stan Sonu, Emory School of Medicine
City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office
3:45 PM
Concurrent Sessions
Transformative Service: Reimagining Volunteerism to Build Connection
Moderator: Frederick J. Riley, Weave: The Social Fabric Project
Asiaha Butler, RAGE (Resident Association of Greater Englewood)
Aaron Hurst, US Chamber of Connection
Shana Chaplin, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
Catalyzing Connection: How Architecture Can Address Loneliness
Moderator: Erin Peavey, HKS inc
Sanjay Patel, Soccer Streets
Sheba Ross, HKS Inc.
Odetta MacLeish-White, J.D., LLM, AAMC Center for Health Justice Fellow
Bridging Generations in the Age of AI: A Live Dialogue on Youth, Tech and Trust – Part 1 of 2
Alison Lee, Rithm Project
Cyra Alesha, Rithm Project
Brinleigh Murphy-Reuter, Digital Wellness Lab
Now What? Policy, Design, and the Future of AI & Youth Well-Being – Part 2 of 2
Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute
Atiksh Bahn, Lookupp
5:00 PM
Live Music to Power Connection
Presented by the Levitt Foundation
6:00 PM
Evening Reception
7:15 PM
Closing of Day 1
7:30 AM
Optional Morning Movement
8:00 AM
Breakfast & Time for Connection
9:00 AM
Opening Plenary
25 Year Survey on Social Connection in America
Moderator: Edward Garcia III, Foundation for Social Connection
Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Foundation for Social Connection Scientific Leadership Council, Brigham Young University
Dr. Katherine Bruss, TrueVision Psychotherapy & Consulting
10:00 AM
Concurrent Sessions
Flamboyant Futures: Slow Salon Gatherings Through Art, Identity, and Kinship
Moderator: Chris Joseph, Thyrd Space
Laila Kabongi, Arizona State University
Adam Phillips
A New Roadmap: Structural Investment in Relationships to Build Social Capital and Economic Mobility
Moderator: Tom Kenyon, Royal Society of Arts
Shamichael Hallman, Urban Libraries Council
Dr. Danielle Varda, Visible Network Labs
Kevin Howard, Gates Foundation
Edna Ishayik, Formerly of the US Surgeon General’s Office
Measuring What Matters: Tools for Evaluating Connection in the Real World
Moderator: Dr. Ashwin Kotwal, Foundation for Social Connection Scientific Leadership Council, University of California – San Francisco
Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Foundation for Social Connection Scientific Leadership Council, Texas A&M University School of Public Health
Maureen Feldman, Foundation for Social Connection Older Adult Working Group
Amber Carroll, Front Porch
Parks and Public Spaces as Hubs for Community Collaboration and Connection
Moderator: Cary Simmons, Trust for Public Land
Daniela Paz Peterson, Trust for Public Land
11:30 AM
Concurrent Sessions
Connection in the Digital Age: A World Café on Designing Tech for Human Thriving
Moderator: Jen Lipsey, Sunny
Dr. Iain Smith, Sunny
Betsy Parker, Sunny
Public Designs that Spark Belonging and Community: Confluence, Reflection, Connection
Moderator: Draven Pointer, Better Block Foundation
Jordan Bowman, Journeymen Triangle
Zac Feltoon, Zac Feltoon Design
Nnenia Njoku, Nnulo Adaeze
From Seeds to Systems: Local Leaders Growing Connection in Community
Moderator: Dr. Frances Kraft, Foundation for Social Connection
Jonna Johnson, Community Works, Isabella County Michigan
Billie “BJ” Woods, The Village Place
Additional Speakers to be Announced
12:45 PM
Community Lunch
1:45 PM
Concurrent Sessions
Can Intergenerational Connection Heal Us?
Moderator: Janet Oh, CoGenerate
Arielle Galinsky, The Legacy Project
Karen Morris, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Social Prescribing: Bridging Systems to Advance Social Connection
Moderator: Lucy Rabinowitz Bailey, ArtPharmacy
Dr. Emily Pinto Taylor, Emory University School of Medicine
Christopher Moses, Alliance Theatre
Dr. Carla Perissinotto, Foundation for Social Connection Scientific Leadership Council, University of California San Fransisco
Dr. Alan Siegel, Social Prescribing USA
Fostering Economic Connectedness: Action For Community Leaders
Moderator: Calista Small, More in Common
Kelsey Ensign, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
David Jay, Integrity Institute
The Corporate Call to Connection
Special Guests to be Announced!
3:15 PM
Concurrent Sessions
We All Need to be Needed: Disability, Mattering & Loneliness
Moderator: Bryan P. McCormick, Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of People with Psychiatric Disabilities
Krys Standley, University of Montana, RTC on Disability in Rural Communities
Medha Saharya, Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion of People with Psychiatric Disabilities
Percent for Place: Advocating for the Places that Connect Us All
Moderator: Kelly Humrichouser, Main Street America
Bridget Marquis, Reimagining the Civic Commons
Kristina Cannon, Main Street Skowhegan
Beyond the Chair: Barbershops and Beauty Salons as Hubs of Healing and Connection
Moderator: Dr. Abeni El-Amin, Project Ricochet, Inc, University of Kentucky, Bellevue University
Dr. Quinton Marks, Project Ricochet, Inc
Anthony Burdette, Project Ricochet, Inc, Well Groomed Barbershop Parlor and Barbershop
Building the Aging Ecosystem: Cross-Sector Roles in Advancing Social Connetion
Moderator: Rani Snyder, The John A. Hartford Foundation
Meredith Hanley, USAging
Andrew MacPherson, Foundation for Social Connection Action Network
Welcome, Breakfast and Community Field Visits Kick-off
On our final day together, we’ll venture into the Atlanta community to explore real-world examples of social connection in action—from neighborhood-led initiatives to cross-sector collaborations. Attendees will be asked to rank their top three site choices from the options below and will be assigned to one visit. Transportation will be provided.
Blueprint 58
Blueprint 58 is a hub for community building in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. For nearly 15 years, the organization has strived to foster a village-like culture, with community members collectively taking care of each other and raising future generations. This involves youth mentorship programs, job readiness services, and small groups focused on personal development. In 2023—five years after the organization’s founders purchased a property in the heart of Pittsburgh, which had to be completely rebuilt—Blueprint 58 opened its new community building. With a desire to feel less like a center and more like a home, the space includes a kitchen, a classroom, a library, and more. Learn about how Blueprint 58 supports neighbor-led events and community partnerships that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together.
Civil Bikes
Much of our sense of connectedness to people in our community can be derived from how connected we feel to the place we all call home. Through biking and walking tours, Civil Bikes helps people create and deepen their relationships with Atlanta by understanding its history, culture, and stories. These immersive experiences shed light on the city’s role in the Civil Rights movement, current efforts to uphold human and civil rights, and how specific groups were—and continue to be—integral to Atlanta’s story. This site visit will take participants on a biking tour, demonstrating the power of deepening your understanding of your own community’s history and how it helps address social isolation and loneliness today. Stops along the way will highlight bright spots in the local economy, which plays a vital role in any community’s social connectedness. *This site visit will be on bikes!*
The Supermarket
Join The Bakery Atlanta team for a tour of The Supermarket, an in-town arts and creative event space! This organization is committed to growing and sustaining the city’s vibrant arts scene. Through art exhibitions, community programming, and more, The Bakery Atlanta serves as a platform for bringing the city together through creativity, experimentation, and play. The Bakery Atlanta is the anchor tenant and programming partner at The Supermarket, a 12,500 square-foot space with various venues for events all within one building. In this site visit, The Bakery Atlanta will share the history of the space, how it is activated today, and what lessons have been learned along the way about fostering social connection through the arts. The space will also be getting ready for its annual Halloween event, so get ready to connect with fellow participants over making Halloween decorations!
The Atlanta Beltline
The Atlanta BeltLine is a 22-mile loop of trails, parks, and future transit that connects 45 neighborhoods in the city of Atlanta. With local businesses, new residences, office spaces, art galleries, and restaurants along the way, Atlanta has repurposed what was once a network of railroad tracks into a vibrant public space for all. However, the initiative has not been without its challenges. Shifting political priorities, changes in neighborhood demographics, and gentrification are just some of the issues the BeltLine has wrestled with to ensure that all Atlantans are truly able to reap the full benefits of this generational investment. Join Kevin Bacon, an urban designer whose career has intersected with the project from different perspectives over the years for a walking tour of the BeltLine’s Eastern Trail. Participants will learn about the history of its planning and development, its challenges, and how transformative infrastructure projects can be a powerful tool for fostering social connection at a citywide level.
Refugee Women’s Network
For more than 20 years, the Refugee Women’s Network has inspired and equipped refugee and immigrant women to become leaders in their homes, businesses, and communities. Many of these women live in Clarkston, located just outside of Atlanta and long been considered the “Ellis Island of the South,” given that it is the most diverse square mile in America. People from over 40 countries now call Clarkston home, including refugees fleeing wars and persecution. Through a variety of programs, the Refugee Women’s Network seeks to support immigrant and refugee women in having a sense of community in their new home. One such initiative is a women’s hiking group, which challenges the notion that immigrant and refugee women are not traditional audiences for outdoor activities. Through a walk near the Refugee Women’s Network’s office and a circle discussion, participants will unpack their perceptions of refugees and learn about how they can build a sense of belonging for people from diverse backgrounds in their own communities through nature and physical activity.
12:00 PM
Closing Reflections & Lunch
1:30 PM
Closing of 2025 Conference
Hotel Accommodations
Enjoy a discounted rate at The Candler Hotel, conveniently located near the conference venue. Reserve your room by October 7th to secure this rate.
We believe in the power of collective action, and with your sponsorship, we can amplify our efforts and create positive change. If you would like to support our work, we invite you to explore sponsorship opportunities and reach out to us below.
