Social Connection Fellow
Blake is currently a Social Connection Fellow with the Foundation for Social Connection. In addition to her fellowship role, Blake is also pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the Yale School of Public Health, where she is focused on loneliness and building social connection, with a particular passion for exploring how we can build cities to better facilitate social connection.
Blake’s professional background is rooted in political organizing, having spent the majority of her career working on campaigns at all levels of government, from local to federal across the country. On these campaigns, she specialized in community mobilization, engaging everyday citizens and volunteers or community leaders and elected officials. She has also gained valuable experience in the public sector, working on both policy and legislative matters at the state and federal level, as well as in the nonprofit sphere.
Outside of work and school, Blake volunteers as a crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line, providing vital support to individuals navigating difficult personal circumstances. In her free time, she is (slowly) teaching herself to play the guitar and sew her own clothing. Blake can often be found taking photos of her friends with her vintage Pentax MX film camera. She also enjoys skiing, reading fiction, and spending time in nature, finding particular joy in watching a good sunset. Blake’s love of connecting with others extends to hosting lively dinner parties for her friends, where she can share her passion for building meaningful social connections!
What drives you to work on addressing social isolation & loneliness and fostering social connection?
A few years ago, I experienced profound loneliness following the loss of my mom to cancer. This extremely difficult experience led me to build a supportive community of other young women in New York City who had lost someone and were also navigating grief. Building connections with the women in that community changed my life and helped me find joy again after losing my mom. This has inspired my commitment to work on addressing social isolation and loneliness, fueling my passion to help others find joy and resilience through meaningful social connection. I’m so excited to be able to do that with the Foundation for Social Connection!