Tracking connection, strengthening communities

We’ve long known that loneliness and isolation harm our health, but inconsistent surveys have made it difficult to understand the true scope of the issue or track change over time. Social Connection in America has just released the first report from a new 25-year survey, designed to consistently benchmark social connection across the United States and provide data practitioners can use to effectively drive change.

Early findings underscore the powerful role that neighborhoods and local communities play in fostering connection — particularly through belonging, trust, and mutual support. These are the building blocks of healthier, more resilient communities and point to local action as a promising foundation for addressing loneliness as a public health challenge.

RSA US is honored to partner with Social Connection in America for a live session featuring Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Katie Clark Wheeler, Dr. Nichole Argo and moderated by Dr. Kim McLear FRSA to explore what the survey measures, what the findings reveal, and how this data can support work on the ground — from strengthening community-based programs to making the case for investment in social connection. The session will include time for questions, reflection, and discussion with fellow practitioners.

Speakers

Dr. Kim McLear (Moderator)

Kim McLear is a movement strategist and artist with over twenty years of US-based and international experience across security, crisis response, civil rights and liberties, and education. With a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Kim applies systems thinking in service of courage, care, and collective liberation. A widely recognized former whistleblower, Kim has appeared on an Emmy-nominated CNN series and has been featured by the New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, and a cover issue of Glamour. Kim’s career in public service was honored with formal Congressional recognition, including representing Connecticut’s 2nd District as a State of the Union guest of honor. Kim also serves on the board of the American Psychological Association.

 Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, is Social Connection in America’s Director and Chief Science Lead. She is an international scientific expert whose research has been seminal in the recognition of social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for early mortality. She is also the director of the Social Connections Lab, LLC and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University. She was the lead scientific editor for a US Surgeon General’s advisory on social connection, served as a member of multiple National Academy of Sciences consensus committees, the UK Cross-Departmental Loneliness Team, European Joint Research Council, the World Health Organization, and many others. Her award-winning work has been widely recognized and regularly featured in major media outlets.

Katie Clark Wheeler

Katie serves as the Administration for Community Living’s subject matter expert on social connection as a key part of chronic disease prevention and health promotion for older adults and people with disabilities. She coordinates efforts across the agency, with federal partners, and supports the aging and disability networks with strengthening social connection in their delivery of supportive services. Katie also leads Commit to Connect, ACL’s cross-sector initiative addressing social isolation and loneliness of older adults and people with disabilities. In addition to her work on social connection, Katie also leads ACL’s housing work and the interagency Housing Services Resources Center. Prior to her work at ACL, Katie worked at the National Institutes for Health in extramural research grants. Katie also served as a Community Health Advisor in Madagascar from 2017-2020 with the U.S. Peace Corps where she focused on community capacity building, maternal/child health, and youth development. Katie holds a B.A. in American History from Kalamazoo College and a Master of Public in Health Policy from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. Nichole Argo

Nichole is the Founder and Executive Director of the TogetherUp Institute, a “think-and-do” tank partnering with communities to rebuild the connective tissue of civic life through civic hubs. These permanent, locally-representative networks build relationships across silos and collaborate on a solution to a local challenge. A social psychologist by training, Nichole spent her early career researching intergroup conflict, conflict transformation and social reconstruction in Africa and the Middle East. Turning her focus homeward, she co-authored The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in the U.S. and founded TogetherUp’s award-winning pilot, the Needham Resilience Network—honored in 2025 as one of five national winners of the Listen First Project’s Bridge Building Innovation Showcase Award. Nichole holds degrees from Stanford, MIT, and The New School. She has published in leading political science and psychology journals, and currently serves on the World Federation of Scientists’ Permanent Monitoring Panel on Conflict and Polarization. She co-hosts the podcast Reimagining Us with Scott Hutcheson of E Pluribus Unum.

Taking part in RSA US online events

At RSA US, we host interactive online events designed to foster connection, dialogue, and community among Fellows. We use Zoom for these gatherings, and you’ll receive joining details by email after registering. Some events may be recorded, and by attending, you acknowledge that your name or image may appear in public recordings. If there are any accommodations we can provide to support you in participating fully, please reach out to the RSA US team at general.us@thersa.org and we will be happy to support in whatever ways we can.

Our online events, especially our monthly Virtual Salons, typically held on the third Thursday of the month, have been developed as a space to have meaningful, inclusive dialogue across geography and perspective, and are often supported by volunteer moderators. We invite all Fellows to join us in showing up at our events with care and curiosity, and encourage all participants to review our Rules of Engagement so that we can best support one another in these spaces. We also warmly welcome Fellows who are interested in co-creating an event with us to reach out via email at general.us@thersa.org.