MEET KASLEY
Social scientist by training, innovative leader in practice, human connector at heart.
Your guide to social health and connection
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Kasley Killam is a leading expert in social health and author of The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier. As a Harvard-trained social scientist, 2X TED speaker, sought-after advisor, and award-winning founder, Killam has been dedicated to improving well-being through human connection for nearly 15 years. Globally recognized for her thought leadership on social health, Killam’s collaborations with top organizations like Google, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the World Economic Forum contribute to building more socially healthy products, workplaces, and communities. Discover her insights in outlets like The New York Times, Forbes, NPR, CNBC, and The Washington Post and join her newsletter community at www.kasleykillam.com.
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Kasley Killam is a leading expert in social health and author of The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier. As a Harvard-trained social scientist and award-winning innovator, Kasley has spent nearly 15 years dedicated to improving well-being through the power of human connection.
Globally respected for her thought leadership, Kasley partners with teams across industries as a trusted advisor and sought-after keynote speaker on social health, connection, and loneliness. A 2X TED speaker, 4X Google speaker, and 5X Stanford speaker, Kasley was entrusted with delivering the SXSW 2025 opening keynote and the WIRED Health 2025 closing keynote. With groundbreaking insights and practical strategies, Kasley inspires audiences to live more meaningfully connected lives.
Her collaborations with top organizations like the US Government, the Aspen Institute, and AARP contribute to building more socially healthy products, workplaces, and communities. She is an Impact Fellow at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, serves on the Board of Directors for the Community Living Campaign and the Scientific Advisory Board for Only7Seconds, and founded the national nonprofit Social Health Labs in 2020.
Kasley earned a master’s degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Queen’s University in Canada, and professional certificates from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Columbia University. Previously, she led a nationwide community engagement strategy for Verily (Google Life Sciences), conducted research on positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and launched an initiative to promote empathy and kindness that won an award at Stanford University.
An influential public voice and prolific writer, Kasley’s insights are regularly featured in major media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes, NPR, The Guardian, CNBC, Scientific American, The Globe and Mail, Fortune, Health Affairs, The Washington Post, Vox, WIRED, The Boston Globe, and Psychology Today. She pens the popular Substack newsletter, Social Health with Kasley Killam.
For her trailblazing impact, Kasley received the prestigious Eudaimonia Award from UCLA in 2024 and was named one of the 100 Women to Know in America by J.P. Morgan Chase in 2025. She has been recognized as an Aspen Institute Health Fellow, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Encore Public Voices Fellow, Columbia University Age Boom Fellow, and Mind & Life Institute Visiting Scholar. Kasley was invited to the White House during the Obama presidency and has had the honor of meeting with world leaders, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Bhutan.
Born and raised in Vancouver, she now calls California home and travels the world championing social health.
Join the Social Health Newsletter Community
If you are new to the idea of social health or looking for practical tips and inspiration, you’re in the right place! Sign up for regular updates to learn more and discover how to strengthen your social muscles.
Partner with Kasley to Amplify Your Team
As a strategic advisor and member of boards, taskforces, and committees, Kasley collaborates with teams across healthcare, technology, education, government, and other sectors in the US, Canada, and internationally.
Invite Kasley to
Inspire Your Audience
From corporate events at Fortune 100 companies to intimate gatherings at local nonprofits, Kasley engages diverse audiences with actionable keynotes, panels, and workshops personalized for your needs.
A Personal Note from Kasley
Hi there, I’m excited to explore social health with you.
I’ve experienced firsthand the soaring joy of connection and community—and also the deep sorrow of relationship challenges.
You probably have too. We all go through highs and lows in our social lives.
I’ve come to understand that cultivating meaningful relationships is as vital as exercise, nutrition, and sleep—and that social health is as important as physical and mental health.
That’s why I’ve spent over a decade developing and refining ways for us all to be more socially healthy.
My Professional Journey
When I first came across the term “social health” buried in an academic journal, a lightbulb went off. Naturally building on the language of physical and mental health made perfect sense—helping me understand that social experiences influence not only my mood, but also the inner workings of my body.
But when I went to learn more, the search came up almost blank.
I realized that whereas the physical and mental pillars of health have been developed over decades, social health has been overlooked and underappreciated.
Until now.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General
My mission is to elevate the idea of social health and share practical ways that individuals, communities, organizations, and our society as a whole can be more socially healthy.
Together, alongside a growing number of researchers, nonprofit founders, government leaders, corporate executives, and everyday people around the world, we are elevating the conversation on social health.
Now it’s your turn.
Are you ready to join the social health movement?
Join us today.
Fun Facts from Kasley
I was born in Vancouver, Canada, have lived in 12 cities and 3 countries, and am now based in Southern California with my husband and our two bunnies, Sherbert and Sorbet.
When I was 15 years old, my mom and I spent a year living in a small fishing village on the Mediterranean Sea. I’ve loved traveling and experiencing different cultures ever since.
I took a gap year halfway through college to study method acting in Paris, meditation at a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu, and positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Donald O. Hebb, the psychologist who coined the saying “neurons that fire together wire together” was my grandma’s cousin. Although I didn’t inherit his genius, I’m proud to call him a relative!
Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan
My hobbies have included guitar, fencing, hip-hop, pottery, sailing, painting, taekwondo, sewing, camping, softball, and poetry. I love trying new things.
I have given hugs to hundreds of strangers (and written about it here).
One time, the Dalai Lama sneezed on me.
Learn a simple yet powerful framework to understand, evaluate, and bolster your social health.
Discover the exact strategy or habit you need and research-backed tips to cultivate and sustain meaningful connection now and throughout your life.
Glean actionable insights to develop a sense of community in your neighborhood, at work, and online from a spirited group of neighbors in Paris, the CEO of a major healthcare company, and an artificially intelligent chatbot.
Get an insider look at the innovative ways that doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, architects, government leaders, and everyday people are catalyzing a movement toward a more socially healthy society.
