Nourish Your Heart. Expand Your Mind. June 30 – Register here.

Friends, this is a first. I have never ever shared an event from my job on this site. And here’s why I am sharing it–this upcoming day represents the intersection of all that you read on my blog and how I earn my living. It’s what my mentor Lindsay Pera (and Buddhist tradition) calls Right Livelihood.

I will be speaking at the beginning of the conference about my personal experience in  Resilience Mapping: Transforming Trauma into Joy. This is what we call a #viewsmyown kind of talk offering approaches that you can use to thrive, especially during these times.

You can register for this free event here.

Coming Together While Living Apart is a free virtual conference focused on creating hope and connection and providing practical tools and knowledge you can use right away. And you’ve read about Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, How We Meet and Why It Matters in a previous post of mine. She is one of our speakers! I’ll be hosting her in a fireside chat at the culmination of the day.

When you visit the registration page, you can view the schedule for this live event (as well as the bios of the panelists, moderators and speakers) which runs from 12:00pm ET-3:45pm ET with a break in the middle. Find your local time zone here.

Here’s the journey

12:00 PM Welcome 
Audrey Grove, Director of Community Services & Social Accountability, Masonicare 
 
Resilience Mapping: Transforming Trauma into Joy  
Rebecca Villarreal, AARP Advisor, Office of Community Engagement  

Connecting Mind, Heart, Body & Soul through the Expressive Arts  
Moderator: Gary Ware, Breakthrough Play
Jennifer Fijal-Brevik, Instructor for the Adult Chamber Choir at the University of Hartford’s Community Division 
Juan Brito, Artist, Composer, Musician, Editor and Social Worker
Susan Holmes, Expressive Arts Facilitator for Masonicare Home Health & Hospice 
Marissa McInerney Expressive Arts Therapist Center for Discovery

Creating a Path for Zero Isolation  
Nicholas R. Nicholson Jr., PhD, MPH, RN, PHCNS-BC, Associate Professor, Quinnipiac University School of Nursing 

1:45 PM 10 minute BREAK  
1:55 PM Gather

Thriving in Troubled Times: How We Can Normalize Acute Stress 
Dr. Richard Kamin MD, FACEP University of CT Health Center 
 
Unlocking Creativity: Your Path to Joy & Mastery  
Gary Ware, Breakthrough Play 

The Presence of Absence: An Intergenerational Response to Grief 
Moderator:  Claudia E. Oakes, PhD, Department of Health Sciences, University of Hartford
Mala Matacin, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Hartford
Samaria Williams, Licensed Psychotherapist/Adjunct Professor, Co-Founder, Hey Girl, Thrive podcast
Beverly Bryda, MSW, ACSW – Director of Social Work, Masonicare Healthcare Center 

How to Be Together Apart Virtual Fireside Chat
Priya Parker, Author, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Rebecca Villarreal, Community Organizer, AARP

Wrap Up and Gratitude 
Rebecca Villarreal, AARP 

I hope that you will make time to join all or part of the conference!

Personally, I’ve been on a journey to health after illness, grief after the passing of a family member and rage and anguish over the collective suffering of people due to the pandemic and the ongoing injustice and suffering of our black community. Check out my resources of support on my new page Will You Take My Hand?

I think this conference will be healing for me and for so many. Let’s come to the table, learn and celebrate a future where we can be together, together.