BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CoDesign Collaborative - ECPv6.6.4.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:CoDesign Collaborative X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://codesigncollaborative.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for CoDesign Collaborative REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260616T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260616T124500 DTSTAMP:20260509T044211 CREATED:20260504T185238Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260504T185247Z UID:33841-1781611200-1781613900@codesigncollaborative.org SUMMARY:CoDesign LIVE: Critical Connections and the Importance of Community and Belonging with Dr. Tracy Brower\, PhD and Jess Klay DESCRIPTION:CoDesign LIVE: Critical Connections and the Importance of Community and Belonging with Dr. Tracy Brower\, PhD\, and Jess Klay\nJoin us for a virtual lightning talk on Critical Connections and the Importance of Community and Belonging\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Join CoDesign Collaborative and Jess Klay\, Workplace Experience Leader with Red Thread\, as she chats with Dr. Tracy Brower\, PhD sociologist\, author of Critical Connections\, and VP of Workplace Insights with Steelcase. We are lonely\, under pressure\, and overwhelmed. In the face of this\, Jess will speak with Dr. Brower about how to rebuild relationships\, create community\, and build belonging. They’ll discuss fascinating research and fresh perspectives about the power of community in work and life. \nTune in for CoDesign LIVE: Critical Connections and the Importance of Community and Belonging\, a virtual lighting talk on June 16\, at 12pm ET / 9am PT. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About Dr. Tracy Brower:Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist studying happiness\, work-life fulfillment and the future of work. She is the author of three books\, Critical Connections\, The Secrets to Happiness at Work and Bring Work to Life. She is the vice president of workplace insights with Steelcase and a senior contributor to Forbes and Fast Company. Tracy’s work has been translated into 25 languages\, and her TEDx talk has been viewed 8.6 million times. In addition\, she is an award-winning speaker with over 25 years of experience working with global clients to achieve business results. Tracy is on the advisory board for Kids Food Basket and for the Co-Design Collaborative. In addition\, she is a coach and advisor for the Center for Leadership at Hope College and an advisor to the Michigan State University Master of Industrial Mathematics Program. She is an award-winning faculty member CoreNet Global and for Hacking HR. Tracy’s work has been featured on CBS News\, TEDx\, The Wall Street Journal\, Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century (book)\, Globe and Mail (Canada)\, InsideHR (Australia)\, HR Director (UK)\, T3N (Germany)\, Morning Wave in Busan (South Korea)\, Real Estate Review Journal\, Fortune\, Inc. Magazine\, HBR (France)\, multiple podcasts and more. Tracy holds a PhD in Sociology\, a Master of Management in Organizational Culture\, and a Master of Corporate Real Estate with a workplace specialization. You can find her on LinkedIn\, X\, TikTok\, Instagram\, Goodreads\, Unsplash (photography)\, or at tracybrower.com. You can sign up for Tracy’s mailing list here and Tracy’s LinkedIn Newsletter\, Connecting the Dots\, here. \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n About Jess Klay:Jess Klay is an award-winning workplace strategist\, experiential designer\, and AI-focused workplace innovator\, and founder of Jess Klay Design\, based in Greater Boston. She specializes in aligning space\, brand\, and culture through human-centered\, sensory-driven design and emerging technology. \nShe currently serves as a Workplace Consultant at Red Thread\, where she helps organizations translate workplace strategy into actionable\, design-forward solutions. Jess contributes to Work Design Magazine and Built In Boston\, is a keynote speaker\, and serves on the Advisory Council for the CoDesign Collaborative. She is also a former mentor with AIGA and a juror for art exhibitions through Juniper Rag. She was a finalist for The Ad Club Women We Admire Awards 2025. \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n June 16\, 2026\n12 pm ET / 9am PT\nVirtual Lightning Talk\n \n \n \n \n \n Registration is required. \nFREE for Members\, Partners & Students! Email the Membership team for help with the promo code. \n \n Register Now\n \n \n \n \n \n Speaker \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Dr. Tracy BrowerAuthor\, Critical Connections\, The Secrets to Happiness at Work and Bring Work to LifeVice President of Workplace Insights\, Steelcase \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Jess KlayWorkplace Strategist\, Experiential Design Leader\, and AI-Driven Workplace Innovator\,Red Thread \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Become a member to attend special events free of charge\, and get Unfold Magazine mailed twice a year.\nMembership starts at just $5/month.\n \n Join URL:https://codesigncollaborative.org/event/live-critical-connections/ CATEGORIES:Lightning Talk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://codesigncollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Critical-Connections-angle-cover.png END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR