Tending Our Future: Spirituality, Service, and the Art of Healing
with Vivek Murthy and Host Serena Bian
* Thursday, July 30 | 9 am – 10:15 am PDT
Virtual event only; join us on Zoom
$15 suggested donation, no one turned away
Register HERE (required)
Known for bringing loneliness and social connection into the national conversation, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins host Serena Bian at Commonweal’s New School to reflect on the deeper currents beneath his work. Beginning with his spiritual biography, we explore the questions, traditions, and experiences that shaped his understanding of service, healing, and what it means to belong.
From there, the conversation expands into an exploration and re-imagining of our collective future. How do we nurture meaning and purpose in an age increasingly defined by technology? What new forms of community, institution-building, and collaboration are emerging amid social fragmentation and uncertainty? Through stories, reflection, and imagination, Dr. Murthy will offer insights into how we might become more fully human while building a future rooted in connection, dignity, and care. | Art credit: Jon Marro
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Vivek Murthy, MD, served as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States. His service as the “Nation’s Doctor” has widened the lens through which we understand the forces shaping our health and well-being, particularly the epidemic of loneliness, mental well-being among youth, parents, and in workplaces, and the impact of social media on youth mental health.
Following his tenure as Surgeon General, he founded The Together Project, an initiative to prioritize social connection and community building in America. As part of this effort, he hosts Staying Human, a podcast and Substack community exploring how we can live truly fulfilling lives—grounded in belonging, joy, and meaning—while grappling with a world where powerful forces, especially technology, are edging out the very qualities that make us human. He is the author of the New York Times best-seller Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. His 2025 Parting Prescription to America, published as his last act as U.S. Surgeon General, lays out his vision for rebuilding community as the key to health, happiness, and fulfillment.
Dr. Murthy lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Dr. Alice Chen, and their two children. Find out more at his website.
Host Serena Bian is pursuing a life that remains attentive to the tenderness of a snail’s soft body and reverent to the miracle of its spiraled shell. She is a peacebuilder, writer, and community circulator and works with organizations, networks, and movement leaders at the intersection of intergenerational peacebuilding, collective trauma healing, social justice, and social transformation. She previously served six years as a Special Advisor in Design & Innovation to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, bringing a spiritual and systemic understanding to the public health crisis of loneliness and isolation. Serena serves on the board of Commonweal.