From the US Chamber of Connection, Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey catch up after the Fourth of July. At the Chamber there’s planning for Welcome Week, the Best Day Ever program with five partner events, an August Seattle volunteer potluck, and Aaron’s National Night Out block party collaboration  In Memphis and Nashville, Aaron met leaders exploring a Nashville chapter and observed common tensions around newcomers and inequality. 

This week’s guest is Magalie Remy of Soul Sisters Hike Too, who talks about building a women-over-40 mindful hiking community during the pandemic. It’s focused on rest, forest bathing, meditation, and tree hugging, emphasizing small, intimate hikes that reduce overperformance/overthinking.

00:00 Catching Up

05:49 Charlotte's Block Party

09:01 Aaron's Memphis and Nashville Trip

16:10 Magalie Remy: Soul Sistas Hike Too

18:04 Starting Soul Sistas Hike Too

19:08 What is Mindful Hiking

20:13 The Art of Tree Hugging

28:38 Rest, Isolation and Overperformance

31:31 Inside a Hike: The Full Experience

35:34 Community Growth and Future Plans

40:28 Reflection

42:34 Rest vs Activity Reflection

45:23 Podcast Milestones

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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

Magalie Remy, Soul Sistas Hike too

www.heylo.com/g/f80507f9-e6d6-4b3c-a98c-1969598787cd

Magalie is the co-founder of Soul Sistas Hike Too, an Atlanta-based mindful hiking community for Black women that's grown to about 500 women. A Brooklyn native and self-described introvert who grew up reading in the corner at parties, she rediscovered nature during the pandemic, when a birthday hike with a friend turned into something she couldn't stop doing. Together they built a practice they call mindful hiking, where women slow down on two to four mile trails to meditate, hug trees, forest bathe, and reconnect with themselves and each other. The heart of it is making space for rest and sisterhood while pushing back on the "strong Black woman" narrative that leaves so many women overperforming and burned out. A photographer and fibre artist herself, Magalie keeps each hike intentionally small so the connection stays real, and the work now reaches into wellness workshops, retreats, and experiences for organizations.

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.

On this week's How We Connected, Aaron checks in from Memphis, where the Peabody has a duck parade and the tailor who once dressed Elvis, then heads to Nashville to meet leaders hoping to open a Chamber of Connection. Charlotte is off to see her grandma and family in Minnesota for the Fourth of July.

This week's guest, Erik Hillesheim, moved to Seattle from Minnesota knowing just one person and figured the fastest way to find his people was to build something. It started with Seattle Swim Club, a Friday cold plunge that grew to hundreds on TikTok. Paddle Rave followed last Fourth of July, when a group text for 20 people turned into 100, then 500, then 1,000 paddleboarders around a DJ on Lake Union.

Erik lays out the part nobody sees: six city offices, 15 partners, neighborhood associations, insurance, and federal permits filed 135 days ahead with the Coast Guard so others can be spontaneous. He believes water is a conductor of connection, and Paddle Rave stays free, a triangle of music, nature, and each other. This year it becomes Lake Union Concerts, adding Dock Rock, a rock series for a wider crowd.

As Erik says, "If it floats, it's invited."

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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

Erik Hillesheim, Seattle Paddle Rave

www.lakeunionconcerts.com

Erik created of Seattle Paddle Rave, one of the largest floating concert series in the country, which draws around 1,000 paddleboarders to Lake Union to dance to a live DJ spinning from a boat. Originally from Minnesota, he picked up a paddleboard during the pandemic and brought the habit with him to Seattle, where he set out to thaw the Seattle Freeze by building community on the water. Before Paddle Rave he started Seattle Swim Club, a Friday morning cold plunge that grew into a weekly ritual and he now runs the events under a broader banner called Lake Union Concerts, including a new rock series, Dock Rock. He is also the co founder of Abundant Social Club, a holistic social wellness community, and a frequent collaborator on gatherings like sauna raves and the Enchanted Forest. By day, Erik is a sustainability and social impact consultant who helps organizations use business as a force for good. His guiding belief is that water is a conductor of connection, linking people to music, nature, and one another. As he likes to say, if it floats, it's invited.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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