Grouper

Strengthening Our Mission with New Leadership! 📣 We are thrilled to welcome Theresa Soriano, MD MPH to the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Social Connection Action Network! Dr. Soriano is a board-certified general internist, palliative medicine physician, and Adjunct Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Currently serving as Chief Health Officer of Grouper, she champions the social fitness movement, encouraging meaningful connections and shared experiences to improve health and well-being. With over 20 years of nationally recognized expertise in home and community-based care, interdisciplinary leadership, and innovative healthcare models, Dr. Soriano’s philosophy integrates medical, behavioral, and social needs to drive healthier communities. Her impressive career spans academic institutions, start-ups, and major health systems, including Mount Sinai, Cityblock, and Optum. Dr. Soriano’s dedication and achievements have earned her accolades such as AAHCM’s Physician of the Year and the Hastings Center-Cunniff Dixon Physician Award for Excellence in Palliative Medicine. We are honored to have Dr. Soriano join us as we advance our mission to combat social isolation and foster meaningful connections for all! Learn more about us here https://lnkd.in/dgRGnbid #SocialConnection #Leadership #WelcomeToTheBoard

It is said that making room for playtime with friends throughout life is a key to staying young. Did you know there’s a network of thousands of model railroad enthusiasts spread across the country, many of whom congregate around basement layouts for extensive operating sessions?! In this month’s Member’s Corner, I invite you to spend a few minutes visiting with Grouper member Roy Masterson and his neighborhood of make-believe in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a member of the National Model Railroad Association, Roy, 78, is on track for many more years of friendship, fun and accomplishment through model railroading. (Spoiler: You can get a Master’s in Model Railroading!) And before my DMs get flooded with questions about how to find a basement play session near you: The NMRA has been supporting their community of over 150 divisions and thousands of members for 90 years. They will be happy to assist you, too! #socialfitness

Some exciting news: JOIN OR DIE — our film about why you should join a club…and why the fate of America depends on it — just launched on Netflix! In this feature documentary, follow the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary Harvard social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. Flanked by influential fans and scholars as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly… What can we do about it? Stream the film now at: Netflix.JoinOrDieFilm.com Watch the trailer at: Trailer.JoinOrDieFilm.com While we’re excited about the launch on Netflix, the center of our focus remains JOIN OR DIE’s in-person community screening tour, which we’ll be continuing throughout 2025. This is a film meant to be watched together — so we hope you can host a community screening in your neighborhood or at your institution. To start the process, head over to Host.JoinOrDieFilm.com. So much of the national conversation these days is intensifying our civic ills: polarization, screen addiction, alienation, distrust, and distraction from local community problem-solving. We hope JOIN OR DIE being more widely available can expand our efforts to offer critical counterprogramming: an urgent message that the fate of our democracy depends on our real-world engagement with our neighbors and routine participation in our local communities.