OM DENNE EPISODE
Aaron's in France for his sister's 50th birthday, so this one was recorded ahead of time. Before the interview, he and Charlotte get into why life transitions are at the center of the Chamber's work. Transitions are when people are most at risk of drifting into isolation. They're also when people are most willing to build new relationships.
This week’s guest is Chip Conley, who founded MEA. Chip was a shy kid who preferred his imaginary friends to real ones and now calls himself a mixologist of people. After 24 years running a boutique hotel company and four years as Airbnb's head of global hospitality and strategy, he co-founded MEA, the world's first midlife wisdom school. MEA has drawn more than 9,000 people from 60 countries. He walks through the three vaults of communication: the head, which holds the facts of your life, the heart, which holds your stories, and the gut, which holds what's unfiltered and unplanned. Chip calls this his Roto-Rooter for the soul.
00:00 Introduction
04:03 Meet Chip Conley
05:22 Chip's Roots in Connection
07:41 Inside the Modern Elder Academy
11:01 The Three Vaults of Communication
17:05 Connection, Community, and Boundaries
26:40 Reflections and Closing Thoughts
29:33 Wrapping Up
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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
Chip Conley, MEA
Chip is a co-founder of MEA, the world's first midlife wisdom school, with campuses in Baja California Sur and on a 2,600-acre regenerative horse ranch outside Santa Fe. He founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality at 26 and spent 24 years building it into the second-largest boutique hotel operator in the United States. He later joined Airbnb as head of global hospitality and strategy, where the founders called him their modern elder, someone as curious as he is wise. He's a New York Times bestselling author, has given three TED talks, and writes a daily blog called Wisdom Well. He was a founding board member of Burning Man, serves on the board of the Esalen Institute, and spent nearly a decade on the board of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.
Heylo
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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