For the John Templeton Foundation, I wrote a piece delving into how social and emotional well-being can guide us through crises.
How did you first get interested in the topics you address in Greater Good? How did the magazine come about?
My background is in both journalism and education. I’d always been drawn to reporting on big ideas and understanding social movements and in the practicalities of education — in understanding what works. For a few years I was at George Washington University working on a publication called The Responsive Community. It was founded by the sociologist Amitai Etzioni and had a mission to bridge the world of academia and the general public, especially around topics of civic engagement and volunteerism. When I moved out to California in 2002 and joined what became the Greater Good Science Center, I realized there was a tremendous opportunity to create a publication serving a similar function for the science of social and emotional wellbeing, connecting scientists with members of the public who could apply this research to their personal and professional lives. Greater Good launched as a print magazine in 2004 and I’ve been here ever since.