What if Hope is the strategy the world is missing?

Our small but mighty team did it

We just published a peer reviewed paper in the International Journal of Mental Health Systems, making the scientific case that Hope is a strategy the world has overlooked. We laid out the evidence: that Hope predicts stronger outcomes across health, education, safer communities, economic engagement, and even climate action, and that teaching it may be one of the most powerful, accessible tools we have.

This is a milestone for everyone who has believed in this work. Read it, share it, and let it remind you that Hope is grounded in evidence, not wishful thinking.

With Gratitude

This milestone belongs to more than one person.

To my co-author, Dr. Veronica O’Brien:
Thank you for the hard work, dedication, and heart you poured into making this a reality. It simply does not happen without you.

And to my advisor, Dr. Myron Belfer, a Harvard child and adolescent psychiatrist who led the World Health Organization’s global child mental health program and has spent his career fighting for the wellbeing of young people around the world. Early in his career, he worked for the Nobel Prize winning surgeon Dr. Joseph Murray. Dr. Belfer believed in me when few did, and that alone has made all the difference in my journey.

Why this matters now, more than ever

Here is the honest truth. Hope has not had the momentum it needs. The world is disengaging, and it is drifting in the wrong direction. When everything feels this heavy, it is easy to hold on to despair and to a sense of helplessness. That is exactly why we have to shine brighter.

Hope is misunderstood. It is not a wish, not blind optimism, not denial of how hard things are. Hope is the belief that the future can be better than today, and that I/we have the power to make it so. It is grounded in action. And because it is teachable, no one has to stay in the dark.

July 12: all hands on deck for Hope

The International Day of Hope is July 12, now in its first full year as a United Nations recognized global observance. This is not a soft ask. It is a call to everyone who refuses to stand on the sidelines while the world loses hope.

Here is what we need from this community:

• Partners on board. Bring Hope to your school, workplace, city, recovery community, or organization.

• People mapping their plans. Tell us what you will do, and put it on the global map of Hope.

• People teaching Hope. Carry these skills into your community, so others learn the how of Hope, not just the word.

If we want a world that turns toward the light, we have to be the ones who plant it. Join us.

Grow your own Hope

Hope is a skill, which means yours can grow. It starts with knowing where you are today. Take your Hope Score, find your starting point, and build from there. The sunflower turns toward the light no matter what. So can you.

A world stage for Hope: Sydney, this August

This August I will keynote TheMHS Conference 2026 in Sydney, one of the largest mental health conferences in the world. This one is personal. I studied in Australia, and returning to make the case for Hope on that stage is a full circle moment I will never forget. If you will be there, find me. Let us talk Hope.