Episodes
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Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection catch up on Charlotte's second wedding anniversary weekend in Portland, where she and her husband reread their vows, and Aaron's trip to New York for his sister's 50th, the Knicks championship parade, and a Father's Day in the Yankee Stadium. Charlotte walks through her hunt for breakable Guinness World Records for Welcome Week.
This week's interview is with Maryam Banikarim, co-founder of The Longest Table, a free neighborhood potluck that turns a single city block into one long table where strangers become neighbors. It started during the pandemic, when everyone kept saying New York was dead and Maryam kept thinking we're all still here. She posted a photo of a shared street meal on Nextdoor, met eight neighbors over coffee, and put on a lunch that drew five hundred people the first year. It now draws more than two thousand in Chelsea alone and has grown into a movement of about 50 tables across the country.
00:00 Show Intro and Check-In
01:13 Weekend Stories
09:19 Welcome Week and World Records
15:59 Introducing Maryam Banikarim and The Longest Table
16:26 Origin Story: Always the New Kid
19:01 Birth of The Longest Table
25:06 Why It's Caught On
27:38 Planning a Longest Table for Seattle
30:08 How It Works: Table Captains and Community Tables
38:41 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Maryam Banikarim, The Longest Table
Maryam is a marketer turned community builder and the co-founder of The Longest Table, a free neighborhood potluck that turns a city block into one long table where strangers become neighbors. Born in Iran and raised moving from place to place, she arrived in the US during the hostage crisis and learned early that belonging is something you build rather than wait for. Across 25 years she led growth at Nextdoor, Hyatt, Gannett, NBCUniversal, and Univision, then during the pandemic co-founded the nonprofit NYCNext and helped launch the We Love New York City campaign. An Emmy Award-winning storyteller and host of The Messy Parts podcast, she's grown The Longest Table from one Chelsea lunch into a movement of roughly fifty tables across the country.
longesttablecommunity.org
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection discuss Charlotte’s weekend sorting childhood boxes and finding old party invitations and Aaron’s excitement about the New York Knicks championship, a Pittsburgh chapter launch, and a team retreat.
This week's interview is with Safi Aziz founder of Joust, a “play club” that uses curated, fast, easy-to-learn games and carefully designed ambiance to spark conversation. Missing pre-pandemic Sunday game nights inspired Safi to launch Joust after a year of hesitation, and the club has now hosted 2,000+ players in two years. Joust partners with hotels by driving weekday traffic and shares game staples like Codenames, Flip Seven, and Wavelength.
00:00 Show Intro and Check-In
02:27 Weekend Plans
12:17 Introducing Safi Aziz and Joust
12:36 Origin Story: Sunday Game Nights
15:09 Joust Philosophy: Play Club, Not Board Game Club
16:53 The Secret Sauce
24:21 From Idea to Sold-Out First Event
27:23 Hotel Partnerships and the Business Model
31:13 Expanding Joust and the Loneliness Epidemic
33:00 Co-Designing the Art of Invitation
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Safi Aziz, Joust
Safi founded Joust, a play club where fun-loving people meet to compete. The idea came to him during the pandemic, out on a run, when he realized how much he missed the Sunday game nights he used to host in his apartment building's lounge. He kept the idea to himself for 12 months before deciding to go for it, booking the back of a bar in Williamsburg. Two years later, Joust has welcomed more than 2,000 players to roving game nights at some of New York City's best hotels and lounges. Safi is quick to point out that Joust isn't a board game club. It's a play club that happens to play board games, with fast, easy-to-learn picks chosen to spark conversation and camaraderie.
Joust
joustsociety.com
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Photo credit: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episodes manquant?
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It's been a busy week for Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst at the US Chamber of Connection. Aaron joins from a San Francisco airport while touring with board.dev, his nonprofit board effort, as the two launch Welcome Week, a week built around one idea, inviting someone to do something. Charlotte shares her own bad art from a cabin in Colorado, made just for the process.
This week's guest is Jules Costa, founder of Bad Art Club in San Francisco, where the bad is a trick to get people through the door who'd never call themselves creative. She traces the path from a decade in software to the afternoon in the Panhandle when she and a friend drew the worst portraits they could and a club was born. Jules recounts quitting tech, walking away from corporate work, and finding her footing in pro bono workshops for people in early recovery, where failing is impossible and everyone belongs.
00:00 Introduction
05:22 Welcome Week and the Culture of Inviting
10:20 How Many People Are Invite-Ready Tonight?
16:19 Welcoming Jules Costa, Bad Art Club
17:42 Leadership and the South Africa Trip
19:23 Origin of Bad Art Club
22:21 First Workshop, Going Full Time
26:07 Corporate Work and Pivoting to Nonprofit
29:10 Art in Addiction Recovery
33:20 Weekly Gatherings and the Fate Collective
38:33 Body Wisdom and Decision Making
51:33 Reflections
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Jules Costa, Bad Art Club
Jules is the founder of Bad Art Club, a San Francisco community built on the simple permission to make something terrible and enjoy every minute of it. A certified transformational facilitator and addiction recovery coach, Jules spent the better part of a decade writing software and traveling the world before she traded her tech career for a creative one. What began as two friends drawing the worst portraits they could in the Panhandle has grown into weekly workshops that draw dozens of people who'd never call themselves artists, along with public art projects, a summer retreat, and pro bono sessions for people in early recovery. Bad Art Club is fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts and Media, and Jules now spends her days designing spaces where failing is impossible and everyone belongs. Her guiding belief is that the only difference between you and an artist is the willingness to make bad art.
Bad Art Club
julescosta.substack.com
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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It’s been a busy week for Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst at the US Chamber of Connection. Aaron’s son celebrated a place at the University of Michigan and high school graduation with family storytelling prompts. Charlotte’s looks forward to the “Best Day Ever” downtown Seattle event with partners at Pike Place Market, including connection workshops and art activities.
This week’s guest is Daniel Padrnos of the Georgian Supra Society, a dinner tradition led by a Tamada, toastmaster, and a mekippe, wine pourer, where toasts structure conversation and wine is “for the words,” not drinking alone. He recounts discovering Supra through nonprofit work, co-founding a Georgian restaurant in South Carolina, launching Super Dinner Society in Seattle, training hosts, and building tools like an online course and “Toasting Topics.”
00:00 Introduction: What's Up at the Chamber
02:22 Aaron's Weekend Story
13:34 Best Day Ever Recap
23:49 Growing Up with Community Dinners
26:15 Discovering the Supra in Sierra Leone
27:56 What Is a Supra?
32:02 Live Toast Demonstration
43:18 Stories from the Supras
45:29 Future Plans and Toasting Topics
46:43 The Business Model
50:19 Toasting Tips for a Graduation
53:14 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Daniel Padrnos, Founder, Georgian Supra Society
Daniel is executive director of Supra Dinner Society, Daniel is dedicated to bringing the ancient Georgian feast to America. He played an integral role in creating the first restaurant in America that offered Supras, Keipi Restaurant in Greenville, SC. He has led numerous tours to Georgia, sitting in on the ancient feast with men and women who have opened up the heart of the Supra to him. He has studied and written extensively on the Supra. His favorite toast is to journeys and destinations.
Vibe Ride
www.heylo.com/blog/brandon-desjarlais-and-vibe-ride-la
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection open with Memorial Day week updates, including Charlotte's 22-hour Colorado-to-Seattle drive spent talking and listening to Gone Girl and Aaron's bittersweet last hurrah weekend with his son before graduation. This week at the Chamber, there's Seattle's Connection Council, Bellevue workshops, Best Day Ever, and a Workday symposium in San Francisco.
This week's guest is Vanessa Elias, who shares how moving 28 times across four countries shaped both her loneliness and her connection skills, including the pivotal moment when neighbors showed up after her infant brother died. She links rising youth anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues to over-scheduled lives and the loss of free play and makes the case that block parties build the village families need while restoring everyday civility through face-to-face contact. Vanessa offers practical tips for hosting block parties and challenges Charlotte and Aaron to publicly commit to throwing neighborhood gatherings this summer.
00:00 Introduction: Catch and Chamber Events
11:06 Vanessa Elias: Block Party USA
11:55 Growing Up Always Moving
16:30 Kids' Mental Health and Free Play
22:49 Block Party Tips: How to Start
26:15 Block Party Therapy with Aaron
35:05 Vanessa's Vision and Resources
43:22 Closing Reflections
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Vanessa Ellias, Block Party USA
Vanessa Elias is a mental health activist, certified parent coach, and founder of Block Party USA, a nonprofit working to bring block parties to every neighborhood in America. Having moved 28 times in her life, she understands firsthand what loneliness costs and what neighborhoods can heal. After her 2018 Big Block Party Weekend in Wilton, Connecticut drew 1,200 residents to roughly 40 parties, she founded Block Party USA in 2023, and the initiative has since reached 46 states and five countries. She is also a speaker for The Aspen Institute's Weave Social Fabric Project, a NAMI parent support group facilitator, and founder of the coaching practice Thrive With A Guide.
Connect with Vanessa
blockpartyusa.org
Heylo
www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection discuss Charlotte's 24-hour screen-free experiment from a cabin in Colorado, reflecting on our technology addiction. Meanwhile, Aaron enjoyed a trip to Coney Island as a model of authentic, locally rooted connection. And the idea that you can throw a celebration for almost anything. This week at the Chamber, there's Seattle's Connection Council, an arts and culture club fair, and the upcoming Best Day Ever event.
This week's guest is Jenn Loving Wade, who shares how she went from a socially isolated newcomer in the DC area to co-founding Girls Who Hike Virginia, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that grew from a 2,000-person Facebook group to a statewide community, powered by a volunteer board and roughly 90 ambassadors hosting hundreds of hikes a year.
00:00 Introduction and Chamber Updates
16:52 Jenn Loving Wade: Girls Who Hike Virginia
19:23 From 2,000 to 35,000 Members
20:23 Secrets to Growing a Community
23:17 Ambassador Events and Programming
24:54 Jenn's Personal Hiking Journey
29:24 Building an Authentic Brand
35:21 Nonprofit Structure and Future Vision
42:58 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Jenn Loving Wade, Girls Who Hike Virginia
Jenn is co-founder of Girls Who Hike Virginia, a volunteer-runnonprofit that helps women and people who identify as women find community, confidence, and education in the outdoors. Her path into community building was almost accidental: after moving from Florida to the Washington, DC area, she felt the social isolation that so many people experience in a new place, and in 2021 she answered a Facebook post asking for help reviving a dormant hiking group. As someone who already spent her working days in social media and brand strategy, she figured she was online anyway, and she stepped in to help admin the group. Under her and the founding team's stewardship, the Facebook community grew from around 2,000 members to roughly 35,000, and the nonprofit was formally established six months later in 2022. Today Girls Who Hike Virginia runs on a small volunteer board and a network of nearly 90 ambassadors across the state, who together hosted almost 300 events in 2025. Jenn built the brand to be deliberately human-centered rather than another logo people scroll past, anchored in a teal palette and a Blue Ridge Mountains logo, and grounded in a culture where people do not have to perform to belong.
Connect with Jenn
www.gwhva.org
Heylo
www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst of the US Chamber of Connection discuss community-building efforts at the Chamber, including Charlotte’s Seattle Picnic Society, her involvement in women’s outdoor groups, and upcoming Chamber events. They reflect on takeaways from the Council on Foundations conference in Seattle, emphasizing funder interest in connection, a conference design that fostered relationship-building, and research on belonging during transitions. This week’s guest is Rachel Bambrick, who shares how dance, ultimate frisbee, and then Philadelphia running communities shaped her connection journey, leading to ultrarunning and her nonprofit Women in Ultrarunning, which builds chapters, provides education, offers grants, and supports women in a male-dominated sport.
00:00 Introduction and Host Updates
05:39 Council on Foundations Conference Recap
14:26 Welcome Rachel Bambrick
18:04 Rachel's Journey: Dance to Ultra Running
24:46 Hardest Races and Mental Resilience
29:36 Women in Ultrarunning: The Community Rachel Built
43:44 Advice for Community Builders
48:31 Reflection: Mission-Driven Communities
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Rachel Bambrick, Women in Ultrarunning
Rachel is an ultramarathoner, UESCA-certified running coach, and the founder of Women in Ultrarunning, a nonprofit she launched in Philadelphia in January 2024 to bring more women into one of the most male-dominated corners of endurance sport. By day, she works as a pediatric occupational therapist, and her path to ultras began almost accidentally after she moved to Philadelphia in 2016 looking for community and started showing up to local run clubs. She has since logged multiple 100-plus-mile finishes, including Cocodona 250, the Divide 200, and the Javelina Jundred twice, and she currently holds the female unsupported FKT for Pennsylvania's Batona Trail. Women in Ultrarunning has grown from a local event series into a national nonprofit with chapters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, and Montana, organized around three pillars: in-person community, educational programming on everything from nutrition to wilderness first aid, and grants that lower the financial barrier to entry for women new to the sport. Rachel's vision is one where the work she does eventually becomes less necessary, because the trail running community has finally caught up to what women are capable of in it.
Connect with Rachel
womeninultrarunning.com
Heylo
www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On this week's How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst kick off conference week at the Council on Foundations annual gathering in Seattle, where they're hosting a breakfast to make the case that connection is the next major frontier in philanthropy. They cover Charlotte's week in a Colorado cabin, an unexpected friendship struck up in a Pilates class, and Aaron's tequila-fuelled failure with balloon decorations for his son's 18th birthday. This week's feature interview is with Ethan Bryan, author of A Year of Playing Catch, who on January 1, 2018 was dared by his daughters to play catch every day for a year. He tells the story of how that single act unlocked a grassroots movement, why catch is uniquely human (it uses both sides of the brain at once, which lets the conversational gatekeeper drop), and the school mentee who had never held a glove. Aaron and Charlotte close the episode by going outside to play catch in an alley.
0:00 - Introduction
0:30 - Welcome and Conference Week
3:07 - Gifts, Outfits and Weekend Updates
12:56 - Introducing Ethan Bryan
16:11 - The Year of Playing Catch
28:15 - The Movement Grows
36:17 - Dreams for the Future
41:34 - Hosts Reflect on Playing Catch
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Ethan Bryan, Author and Storyteller
Ethan Bryan is a Springfield, Missouri-based author and storyteller whose work centers on baseball, play, and the people who make community happen. On January 1, 2018, dared by his daughters at the dinner table, he set out to play catch with someone every day for a year. The experience took him across ten states and roughly twelve thousand miles, throwing a ball with public school teachers, veterans, journalists, nurses, entertainers, athletes from every level, and members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The resulting book, A Year of Playing Catch, was a Casey Award finalist and is now the seed of a quiet grassroots movement of people doing the same thing in their own cities. Ethan lost his hair to alopecia at age six and has often described that early experience of being on the margins as foundational to the way he approaches connection now. He works at Community Partnership of the Ozarks, where he uses catch to mentor students, and he is building a curriculum to train others to do the same. His writing has earned him invitations to the White House and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He lives in Springfield with his wife Jamie and daughters Kaylea and Sophie, and still dreams of playing for the Kansas City Royals.
Connect with Ethan
ethanbryan.com
Read the book:
A Year of Playing Catch
Heylo
www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Welcoming, Structure, and the Party Within
On this week's How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst talk about a volunteer potluck party and brainstorming “National Welcome Week.” There's a recap on current work expanding partnerships and planning upcoming events. This week's feature interview is with Evan Cudworth, the world’s first “party coach,” who describes early connection through communal building, finding collective effervescence in raves, and defining a party as a temporary vibe shift with others. He outlines his “Party Within” process (detox, identity release, a 21-day wellness bender, tribe-building, hosting, and learning to receive) and offers tactics for inclusive events: roles, activity stations, clear structure, and guided dance instruction for a conference dance party.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
02:12 Volunteer Party Recap
17:50 Introducing Evan, the World's First Party Coach
18:13 Evan's Early Experiences with Connection
21:45 Defining Party: The Temporary Vibe Shift
32:03 Creating Structure at Parties
40:48 The Party Within: Evan's 7-Stage Framework
44:35 Designing a Dance Party at a Conference
51:43 Reflection
54:42 Takeaways and the Bat Signal App
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Evan Cudworth, Party Coach
Evan Cudworth is the world's first Party Coach, a Chicago-raised, Los Angeles-based coach and community builder helping people rebuild their social lives without numbing out or chasing nostalgia. After 15 years in the music, festival, and nightlife scenes, he pivoted to full-time coaching in 2020 and built The Party Within, a 7-stage method blending intention-setting, dopamine resets, and tools for authentic connection. He draws on eight years coaching elite college and MBA applicants, plus thousands of hours leading workshops and retreats. Evan founded KNOWFUN, a digital community mixing party culture and wellness, and his work has been featured in GQ, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, where he makes the case that connection is a skill worth practicing.
Connect with Evan
partycoach.me
Heylo
www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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More members isn’t always better
Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst open How We Connected by reflecting on building community with the right goals, the importance of fun and resonance over sheer scale, and recent experiments in connection. This week’s interview is with Brandon DesJarlais, a world-renowned longboarder, based in Los Angeles and co-founder of Vibe Ride. He shares how a middle-school incident led him to leave a destructive friend group and how longboarding helped him face his fears. During COVID, DesJarlais shifted from competitive riding to teaching online tutorials and hosting free clinics that grew into a community of 700 active members. He describes Vibe Ride’s mission, leadership model, rituals, intentions, icebreakers, and “surprise and delight” rolling dance-party rides. A key insight? He argues that more members isn’t always better. Enjoy!
00:00 Introduction
14:22 Brandon DesJarlais: Early Life and Masking Authenticity
16:12 The Turning Point: Friends, Family and Diverging Paths
19:21 Wrestling, Skating and Facing Fears
24:33 Viral Tutorials and the Birth of Vibe Ride
27:42 What a Vibe Ride Looks Like
37:43 Sustainability, Identity and Vision for the Future
47:49 Reflections
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Brandon DesJarlais, Co-Founder, Vibe Ride
Brandon is a professional longboarder, coach, and community builder based in Venice Beach. He has competed across disciplines from downhill racing to longboard dancing, skated in 26 countries, and once stunt-doubled for Vin Diesel in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. In 2021 he founded Beyond the Board, a Los Angeles 501(c)(3) using skateboarding to build confidence and connection. Its flagship program, Vibe Ride, is the weekly sunset group ride he co-founded in Santa Monica and Venice Beach that now counts 700 active members and has been profiled by the LA Times. Brandon teaches community-building through his 4C's Framework.
Vibe Ride
www.heylo.com/blog/brandon-desjarlais-and-vibe-ride-la
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On this week's How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst discuss some recent connection experiments: Aaron hosted mostly male friends to watch Michigan win a basketball championship, while Charlotte attended a Seattle Community Builders Dinner where participants did simple drawing and collage activities about ideal “third places.”
The interview this week is with Yao Huang, founder of Wonder Women, a largely invitation-based “whisper network” that began as casual women’s dinners and has grown over 20 years to about 20,000 women leaders across 30 cities. Yao emphasizes humor, curated guest lists, repeatable hosting scripts, and women-only spaces to create trust, friendship, and mutual support.
00:00 Intro and Check-In
01:54 What's Been on Our Minds
13:00 Meet Yao
13:30 Yao's Origin Story
14:10 Standup Comedy and Finding the Real Yao
14:55 Wonder Women: How It Started
21:26 The Formula: Curating Connection
25:49 Community Ripple Effects and The Vouch Network
34:00 Secret Sauce: Extroverts, Energy and Fun
40:27 Reflections
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Yao Huang, Founder, Wonder Women
Yao is the founder of Wonder Women, an invitation-only global community that has grown over nearly two decades from a handful of friends gathering for dinner in New York into a whisper network spanning roughly 30 cities and 20,000 women across three continents. She is also the founder and managing partner of The Hatchery, one of the organizations most responsible for building New York's tech ecosystem, where she has helped hundreds of early-stage companies with product, revenue, and fundraising, and co-founded Division One Capital, a fund expanding access to capital for women and minority-owned small businesses. Her winding path through healthcare, tech, finance, and climate included a memorable detour into stand-up comedy at clubs like Carolines and B.B. King's, an experience she credits with pulling out the goofy, funny version of herself that her corporate days had been hiding. Recognized by Forbes as one of the women at the center of New York's digital scene and by TechWeek among the 100 most influential people in tech, Yao is above all a student of human behavior who has figured out how to make a room full of strangers feel like old friends by the end of the night.
Wonder Women
wonderwomen.hatchery.vc
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst open How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection with weekend updates - gardening, a Seattle Women’s Network gala, and Aaron’s son playing a high-school “assassin” water-gun game. At the Chamber there’s events planning, a branding refresh, and the Connected Cities Summit partnerships.
The featured interview this week is with Hanson Hunt, co-founder of the new San Diego chapter, who describes building communities from his marketing career while feeling personally lonely before sobriety. He points to the power of personal invitations into shared challenges such as marathon training and his various groups - the Bayside Racing Team, a neighborhood “hood hang,” and the 1,300-person global Connection Crew.
00:00 Introduction and Weekend Check-In
05:20 Assassin Game & Senior Spring
13:23 Introducing Hansen Hunt
14:34 Hansen's Origin Story
17:19 Sobriety and Finding His Tribe
22:13 The Communities Hansen Runs
35:21 The Art of Invitation
42:22 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Hansen Hunt, Co-Founder, San Diego Chamber of Connection; Founder and Team Captain B-Side Racing Team
Hansen is a born-and-raised San Diegan whose career in marketing and community organizing has always centered on one thing: bringing people together. In 2019 he joined the San Diego Track Club to train for his first marathon, found his running family, and never looked back, eventually founding the B-Side Racing Team, an all-ages, all-paces crew open to everyone. That same conviction led him to co-found the San Diego Chamber of Connection, bringing the movement for human connection to his hometown.
B-Side Racing Team
www.instagram.com/bsideracingteam/
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst introduce How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection. On the show this week: Aaron’s Seattle-to–San Francisco trip for Yankees games, a surprise reunion, and reflections on organizing local “connection” leaders into a collective “us” rather than isolated efforts. This week’s featured guest is Shaka Mitchell, based in Nashville, who leads the Come Together music project. He started a “song swap” during the pandemic, scaling it into the Come Together Music Project and podcast, using guided song prompts to deepen relationships and bridge polarization, with live sessions, audience participation, and plans to measure impact and train facilitators.
00:00 Intro and Welcome
01:57 Weekend Recaps
12:49 Chamber Updates
17:03 Meet Shaka Mitchell
17:42 From Connector Kid to Song Swap
22:38 Birth of Come Together Music
31:11 How It Works
48:25 Vision
51:41 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Shaka Mitchell, Founder, Come Together Music
The Come Together Music Project, founded by Shaka Mitchell, is a unique initiative that uses music as a catalyst for storytelling, connection, and civil discourse. Each session pairs guests from differing backgrounds to share songs linked to personal experiences, providing an opportunity to build new relationships, deepen existing ones, and bridge divides. Shaka Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children, advocating nationally for K–12 school choice and educational equity
Come Together Podcast
podcasts.apple.com/sn/podcast/come-together-podcast/id1691123150
Come Together Music Project
www.cometogetherpodcast.com
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst debrief Seattle’s first “Best Day Ever” event in South Park, organized with Cultivate South Park and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. The neighborhood has a tight-knit, majority-Latino character and some unique challenges. Best Day Ever brought people together from across the community for a day of fun, chocolate tasting, pizza-making and a stilt-led walking tour. This week’s featured interview spotlights Jennifer Yonda, founder of LA Skate Hunnies, detailing its beginner-friendly, all-wheels skate community, pandemic-era growth, and the organising realities, including safety, permits, and liability.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
04:35 Best Day in South Park
22:31 Introduction: Jennifer Yonda, Skate Hunnies LA
25:57 Early Roots in Community Building
29:24 Starting Skate Hunnies
32:09 The First Meetup and Fear of Failure
36:09 Growth: From 4 People to 100s
47:38 Permits, Insurance and the Unglamorous Side
50:27 Going Full-Time with Skate Hunnies
52:38 Upcoming Events
55:43 Community Impact
56:41 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
LA Skate Hunnies
laskatehunnies.com
Jennifer Yorda, Founder, LA Skate Hunnies
Jennifer is the founder of LA Skate Hunnies, the largest roller and inline skating community in Los Angeles. Originally from upstate New York, she moved to LA chasing year-round outdoor life - and discovered she could skate nearly 300 days a year. After finding the city's existing skate scene too advanced for beginners, she hosted her first meetup in July 2020 with four people on the boardwalk. By spring 2021, weekly attendance had exploded to over 100. Today, Skate Hunnies hosts its signature Thursday Night Skate in rotating LA neighborhoods alongside pop-up events, skate lessons, and retreats - all wheels welcome.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On this week’s How We Connected, hosts Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey reflect on what’s going on at the US Chamber of Connection. There’s a pi(e)-themed, math-costume birthday gathering and a Seattle potluck for Thomas J. Watson Fellowship alumni. On the horizon, a health and wellbeing welcome night and a “Best Day Ever” neighborhood field trip. This week’s featured guest is Brian Robinson, who talks about 25 years organizing to keep and then bring back the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics.
00:00 Welcome to How We Connected
01:48 Weekend Stories
07:53 AI, Future of Work and Chamber Plans
17:55 Introducing: Brian Robinson, Save Our Sonics
18:22 Origin Story
23:31 Building the Community
32:52 What Success Looks Like
40:38 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Brian Robinson, Founder, Save Our Sonics
Brian is a lifelong Seattle resident and co-founder of Save Our Sonics, the grassroots nonprofit he launched in 2006 after Oklahoma investors purchased the SuperSonics – fighting to keep the team in the city and, when that failed, to bring it back. When the Sonics moved in 2008, Robinson didn't stop. He co-founded ArenaSolution.org, served as associate producer of the Webby Award-winning documentary "Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team," and executive produced the Iconic Sonics Podcast with former head coach George Karl. Today he leads Seattle NBA Fans, a grassroots coalition building community support for what he believes is an inevitable NBA return to Seattle.
Seattle NBA Fans
seattlenbafans.com
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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On this week's How We Connected, hosts Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey catch up after Seattle’s successful club fair at the National Nordic Museum and there’s an update on the “Best Day Ever” event. Aaron has spent the week at spring training in Florida, while contemplating rebranding bars as “social clubs” to reset social norms. The featured interview this week is the return of Liz Cahill of Decentered Arts in San Francisco. Aaron and Liz talk about launching Decentered Studio, a 1,700-square-foot, plant-filled, modular community space that opened in September 2025.
00:00 Introduction and Chamber Updates
14:06 Decentralized Arts: The Space
17:21 The Crisis: Losing Four Venues
21:54 Creating a Physical Space
25:26 Building Community Through Consistency
28:19 Tools for Growth
32:26 Future Vision: The Mycelium Network
37:33 Closing Thoughts
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Decentered Arts
decentered.org
Liz Cahill, Co-Founder, Decentered Arts
Liz Cahill is a poet, producer, artist and curator based in the Mission, San Francisco. Her writing explores the impacts of late stage capitalism, income inequality and waste, while trying to find beauty in the garbage age. She’s the co-founder of Decentered Arts, a non-profit building community through art of all mediums and the Piles Collective. Her first book Garbage Age lady is fourthcoming on Decentered Press.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This week on How We Connected hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst reflect on Charlotte's reality-TV-competition-themed 30th birthday weekend: structured games, fondue dinner toasts, and life advice at midnight. Over at the U.S Chamber of Connection, they prepare for this week’s Seattle club fair at the Nordic Museum, the upcoming neighborhood “Best Day Ever” event in South Park, and a webinars on Main Streets and community service with Workday. The interview this week features Eric Leslie, Founder of Union Capital in Boston, who has built a relationship-driven “loyalty program” that rewards unpaid community participation with points and gift cards, hosts network nights with meals and childcare, and tracks outcomes like employment, voting, and credit-score awareness. It raises broader questions about money’s role in social connection.
00:00 Introduction
01:45 Charlotte's 30th Birthday Party
10:59 Chamber of Connection Updates
17:00 Interview: Eric Leslie from Union Capital
17:39 Eric's Origin Story
21:06 How Union Capital Works
25:22 Member Journey
33:02 Points System and What Counts
37:00 Measuring Impact and Success
42:09 Sustainable Models for Connection
47:16 Closing Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Union Capital
unioncapital.org
Eric Leslie, Founder, Union Capital
Eric is the Founder and Lead Organizer of Union Capital, a nonprofit he launched in 2014 to transform social capital into opportunity by rewarding community engagement. Eric began his career as a community organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation before joining Teach For America and teaching in North Philadelphia. He went on to serve as principal of KIPP Philadelphia Charter School from 2008 to 2012, then returned home to earn his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Under his leadership, Union Capital has grown to serve thousands of members across Boston and Springfield, awarding over $1.8 million in rewards for community involvement and hosting more than 120 Network Nights annually.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode of How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst catch up on their weekends - Charlotte's elaborate reality-TV-themed 30th birthday party planning and Aaron's dinner debate about whether vampires are cannibals. Aaron shares updates on the upcoming Connected Cities Summit in Seattle, including plans for a "Declaration of Interdependence.” They welcome guest Ren Yu, co-founder of the New York Philosophy Club, who shares how he went from being an only child to building a community of over 6,000 members in New York City.
Ren describes how the club works: attendees receive a sheet of questions exploring a single word - topics like suffering, longing, or death - and discuss in small groups of four or five, rotating through three 30-minute sections before heading to a jazz bar or park for informal after-party. He talks about keeping moderation light, costs low, and the format intentionally accessible - no philosophy degree required. Ren shares the club's vision for expanding to other cities, piloting in high schools, and potentially adapting the model for other settings, while preserving the quality and magic of the experience.
00:00 Introduction
02:29 Birthday Plans and Sexy Vampires
12:51 Connected Cities Summit
18:36 Interview: Ren Yu of NY Philosophy Club
24:30 What is Philosophy Club?
31:40 Growing to 6,000+ Members
33:40 Future Expansion
41:49 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
New York Philosophy Club
https://philosophy.club/
Ren Yu, Co-Founder, New York Philosophy Club
Ren is a co-founder of the New York Philosophy Club, a free public gathering where strangers discuss a single word, ike suffering, longing, or beauty, in small groups across three rotating rounds. Featured by Vogue as one of New York's hottest gatherings, the club has grown to over 6,000 subscribers and hosts hundreds of guests each week across multiple neighborhoods. Ren finished high school early, attended Brandeis at 16 on a merit scholarship, and later transferred to NYU, where he balanced studies with a career in finance. What started as informal discussions in his apartment merged with two other small salons to become one of the city's most in-demand community experiences. The club is now expanding to other cities and piloting in high schools.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode of How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst discuss what’s happening at the Chamber. They welcome guest Haley, a community builder in Pittsburgh, who shares her background growing up in a small town, studying sociology and psychology, and moving to Pittsburgh during the pandemic. Dog walking helped her explore the city and meet people, leading her to start a transplant meetup that grew from 14 attendees to a much larger community. She describes how her work evolved into Pittsburgh Social Health, focused on third spaces, offline meetups, and interactive programming.
Haley talks about her upcoming “Connection Expo,” a college-style club fair for adults on Pittsburgh’s South Side, featuring 80 organizations and roughly 400 RSVPs - and the challenges in sustaining community work, including time demands on volunteer leaders, keeping events accessible and low-cost, using partnerships with local business. She shares how she measures success through participant sentiment, feelings of safety and belonging, and actionable next steps.
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Weekend Catch-Up
09:11 Conference Strategy
18:54 Introducing Haley Ingersoll
20:09 Growing Up in a Small Town
21:36 Moving to Pittsburgh During the Pandemic
23:53 From 14 People to 400: Growth Story
25:14 The Connection Expo
29:20 Building Community Between Events
36:01 Economics and Sustainability
41:34 Reflection and Takeaways
46:44 Closing Thoughts
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Pittsburg Social Health
www.instagram.com/pghsocialhealth
Haley Ingersol, Founder, Pittsburg Social Health
Haley Ingersol is the founder of Pittsburgh Social Health, a grassroots initiative dedicated to helping people build meaningful connections in the city. With a background in social work and experience spanning human services, academia, government, start-ups, and hospitality, she brings a cross-sector lens to community building. Haley believes social connectedness is essential to overall well-being. Through social and sightseeing meetups, she creates welcoming spaces for new and returning residents to find belonging. Her work centers on equity, comprehensive wellness, and reducing social isolation. Above all, she is committed to shaping a more connected social future.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this episode of How We Connected, hosts Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey discuss the importance of building connections and the role of repetition in forming strong friendships. They welcome guest Darilys, a community builder who shares her experiences and challenges in creating social groups in Boston. Darilys touches on the cultural differences between Puerto Rico and mainland U.S. and the impact of hostility towards immigrants on her Latino-focused group. She also discusses the strategies she employs to foster connections, including hosting coffee socials and leveraging technology platforms.
00:00 Introduction: The Mission
14:59 Welcome Darilys
16:10 Origin Story: Moving to Boston
20:48 Starting Friends Beyond Boston
23:20 Platform Changes & Moving to Heylo
27:03 Coffee Socials
30:49 Cultural Differences: Puerto Rico vs Boston
35:16 Advice for Community Builders
38:17 Reflection
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
Connect with Us
www.chamberofconnection.org
Raices Latinas / Friends Beyond Boston
raiceslatinas.walthamsocial.com
walthamsocial.com
Darilys, Founder, Raices Latinas/Friends Beyond Boston
Darilys is the Founder of Raíces Latinas and Friends Beyond Boston. A Puerto Rican community leader based in Boston, she focuses on building belonging and cultural pride. Her work centers Latino voices while creating bridges across communities. Through events, storytelling, and partnerships, she strengthens civic connection and mutual support.
Heylo
https://www.heylo.com
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Montre plus
