Social
Roots
Studio
Creatively cultivating meaningful social connection to thrive together.
Imagine a world where everyone can be their authentic self and experience true belonging.
Social Roots Studio helps people grow social connection — and helps businesses and organizations build cultures where social health is rooted in their foundation. We create spaces to experience and practice compassionate belonging — belonging without performance, across our differences.
Meaningful connection is both where we're headed and how we get there — because everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, valued, and cared for.
The problem & the solution
In a world more technologically connected than ever, more people than ever feel disconnected, isolated, and alone. We feel this in our personal lives, at work, and throughout our communities.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Thriving communities buzz with life — places where everyone feels valued and safe, people engage meaningfully, and care flows naturally between neighbors and the place they call home. Economies thrive, wellbeing is elevated, and belonging is central to everyone's experience.
It may sound lofty, but it's possible. We know because we've experienced it. How we are in relationship matters: intentionally slowing down, building trust, and learning alongside each other through challenges and wins.
That's the work — and it's work anyone can be part of.
Be part of the movement
choose your
Connection adventure
What we offer
~ a full-service social connection studio - for everyone ~
For People & community
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Wild Belonging — monthly all-ages gatherings to practice connection through art, food, film, and conversation.
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Social Roots Book Club — read, gather, and dig into what connection really means.
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Speed Friending — a warm, structured way to meet new people and start real friendships.
The single greatest predictor of a long, happy, healthy life isn't money or status — it's the quality of our relationships.
for organizations, businesses, & community leaders
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Consultation — connection audits, strategy and roadmaps, research, and embedded advisory to make belonging intentional in your culture and services.
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Training — capacity-building so your staff, board, and volunteers can recognize and grow connection.
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Speaking & Workshops — talks and interactive sessions, including our signature Stretching Into Connection.
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Rooted Relationships— a unique service for organizations entering a new region or sector: trusted, regenerative relationship-building at the speed of trust.
69% of employees aren't satisfied with the connection they have at work — and those with low belonging are 313% more likely to want to quit.
for the field of social health
Vermont Social Connection Coalition —
A statewide peer-and-practitioner coalition we steward, bringing together the leaders who are growing connection across sectors. Ironically in this new field of work, connectors fight their own version of isolation and loneliness every day as they creatively and persistently apply the science of connection to their community connection projects across Vermont. We are excited to welcome founding members this Fall 2026! More information coming soon!
32% of Rutland County residents report feeling socially isolated.
A foundation of connection
root cause work. unique experiences & practice. regenerative solutions.
At SOCIAL ROOTS STUDIO, we are asking WHY aren't we getting together more? When we do, WHO is missing? WHAT is preventing people from experiencing community connection? WHERE do we gather and do those spaces truly encourage meaningful connection? HOW could we shift how we are in relationship with each other?
We aren't here to sell you a fast solution or to act like we have all the answers and know better.
We ARE here to help deepen our shared understanding of the very complex social connection experience and to actively practice incorporating intentional and thoughtful human connection into all aspects of our lives - together.
Why attend our events or hire our services? Find out more below!
personal + professional Experience
This work isn't theoretical for us, and we don't do it for people — we do it with them. It's grounded in personally living through long-term isolation and loneliness, and in the hard, essential work of learning to heal. That lived experience, paired with eight years building and leading a social connection nonprofit and the best available global research, is a rare combination in this field — and we'd love to share what we've learned with you.
local to Global Community
As a U.S. Regional Ambassador for the Social Connection Collective — tied to the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Connection — and a member of Weaving Us at the Aspen Institute, we bring world-class research and peers directly into Vermont work and beyond.
A root-cause, structural approach
We don't tell people to "just get out and socialize." We identify the cultural, systemic, and relational disconnections underneath isolation and loneliness, and build regenerative solutions with the people most affected.
Total Focus on Social Connection
Our sole mission is to help you grow social connection. Disconnection is a highly complicated issue that cannot be simply and quickly understood or solved overnight. With our focus on connection and your unique expertise on the specific impacts, together we create a super team to heal and reconnect our communities.
Testimonials
Hear from people we have served!
Joy Mortelliti,
Southwestern Vermont COuncil on Aging
"On behalf of the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA), I want to extend our heartfelt thanks for serving as the keynote speaker at our 2024 Annual Meeting. Your presentation on Aging and Connection was not only insightful but also deeply inspiring. You brought an important perspective that resonated with our team, community partners, and board members, and underscored the critical role of connection in supporting older Vermonters. Your expertise and passion for fostering meaningful relationships within communities truly made a lasting impression."
keshia anderson, meetup participant & volunteer with social tinkering
"I just wanted to let you know that community never really hit me as a priority or something meaningful. Maybe because I’m shy leaning on the introvert side so I was too nervous to check out events and always thought it would be people too different from me. I kind of had the mindset of 'community is important for a lot of people, just not me'. Of course I care about others around me, I just didn’t care about the aspect of planting myself into a community. But from going to these events, and the art stuff, I see now how nice it is to see people out and about that I know and can say hi to. I also have had so many people that I barely even know and haven’t been pretending to be someone I’m not around, who have still offered to help me with my current struggles. Like they come to me without me even saying anything. That’s amazing! I now plan on pushing my future kid(s) to be in these spaces to ensure they’re comfortable socializing and see the benefits of interacting with others. I wish I had learned this when I was younger, even with my shy young self being uncomfortable in those moments. I think it would have helped me in being more relaxed with others eventually and being more intentional with socializing and community, which I just know would have filled my world with just a little more. So thank you for setting these opportunities up and encouraging me to try them out! I needed that push and it has been a positive change for me!!"
jeremy gerber,
vermont
businesses for social responsibility
“Jeanette Langston led the ‘Connecting with Purpose’ session at the 2025 VBSR Annual Conference with remarkable warmth, clarity, and vision. Jeanette and her colleague created a space where every participant felt seen, heard, and empowered to make meaningful connections. They facilitated an experience that went beyond simple networking - it became a true exchange of values and purpose, while practicing human to human connection. The session left a lasting impression on participants and helped deepen our collective sense of community and mission.”
social connection meetup participant
“I watched the event announcements for months and finally decided it was time to try out one of the socials. I was really nervous but made myself go anyway, then made myself walk through the door when I got there. Jeanette was the first person I met, greeting me at the door and making it easy for me to ease into the room. I quickly got into a great conversation with another participant and we ended up talking the rest of the evening! I've been attending every month since as much as I can, even making myself go if I'm not in a great mood. I know that every month, just being in that space with all the other people who are so real and kind, really lifts up my spirits and helps me know I'm not alone."
