Young Guys Thrive Conference

What This is About

Young Guys Thrive - Conference Panels:

The Crisis of Male Connection:

How early socialization shapes male identity, and what relational shifts can steer young men away from isolation and toward healthy connection.

Speakers:
Chris Germer, PhD (Harvard Medical School)
Andrew Smiler, PhD ((Author, Clinical Work with Men)
Christopher Willard, PsyD (Harvard Medical School)
Boysen Hodgson (ManKind Project USA)

The Allure of the Manosphere:

A look past the headlines to understand why these narratives exert such a powerful pull, and how to offer young men a more compelling path toward belonging and purpose.

Speakers:
Pasha Dashtgard, PhD (PERIL Lab, American University)
Kaitlyn Tierney (Diverting Hate)
Saed Deryck Hill, PhD (Yale University)
Sean Harvey (WCI Advisory Group)

The Power of Relationship:

The critical role of fathers and mentors as stabilizing forces, and how presence and compassion serve as the foundation for healthy development.

Speakers:
Warren Farrell, PhD (Author, The Myth of Male Power)
Ashanti Branch (Ever Forward Club)
Aaron Bart (Leadership Coach)
Danny Singley, PhD (Center for Men’s Excellence)

The Skills Required for Modern Strength:

The teachable skills, from emotional awareness to relational intelligence, that allow young men to stay grounded and build purpose in a complex world.

Speakers:
John Schinnerer, PhD (GuideToSelf.com)
Tyler Bradstreet, PhD (Performance Psychology, MLB)
Fredric E. Rabinowitz, PhD (University of Redlands)
Joe Conrad (Cactus & Grit Digital Health)

What You'll walk Away With

The Path Forward: How do we raise young men who are both strong and compassionate?

Outdated scripts often leave boys and young men drifting toward isolation, anger, or confusion about their place in the world. We believe there is a better path forward: creating a culture of ‘Strength with Heart’ where character is defined by integrity and compassion, not dominance.

Building this culture requires a collective effort. This conference, an initiative of the Men and Boys Compassion Coalition, brings together leading experts and mentors to share the grounded approaches needed to help the young men in your life navigate the modern world with purpose and connection.

Moving beyond competing narratives, we will focus on the real question:

What kind of men does the world today require, and how do we help the next generation become them?

This conference is proudly supported by:

About The Speakers

Chair - Daniel Ellenberg, PhD, is the founder of Strength with Heart and a past president of the APA Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities. He is the founder and director of the Men and Boys Compassion Coalition and a principal in the Rewire Leadership Institute. Daniel serves on the boards of the Global Compassion Coalition and the Wellspring Institute.

Aaron Bart is a leadership coach and ICF New England board member specializing in helping men navigate career and life transitions. With over 16 years in men's group work and a graduate degree from Yale, he brings both professional expertise and a father’s perspective to the conversation on modern masculinity.

Ashanti Branch is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club, a non-profit dedicated to eliminating the student dropout rate through youth mentorship. A featured speaker at TEDx Marin on "The Masks We All Wear," Ashanti is a leading voice in helping young men achieve emotional social intelligence.

Tyler Bradstreet, PhD, is a psychologist with 15 years of experience working with collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes. He currently serves as the Director of Performance Psychology for a Major League Baseball team, focusing on building the psychological architecture of elite performance and high-functioning team cultures.

Joe Conrad is a creative entrepreneur and digital health pioneer. He is the Founder and CEO of Cactus and Grit Digital Health, specializing in behavioral health technology. Joe and his team created Man Therapy, a groundbreaking approach to men's mental health, and he recently published Man Therapy: Therapy the Way a Man Does It.

Pasha Dashtgard, PhD is an Assistant Professor and Director of Interventions for the PERIL Lab at American University’s School of Public Affairs. He oversees the implementation and scaling of prevention-based resources designed to reduce polarization and extremism through both online and in-person educational interventions.

Warren Farrell, PhD, has been recognized by the Financial Times of London as one of the world’s top 100 thought leaders. His international bestsellers, including The Myth of Male Power and Why Men Are the Way They Are, have been published in 19 languages. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women.

Chris Germer, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He co-developed the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, currently taught in 30 languages worldwide. Chris has authored or co-authored six influential books on the integration of self-compassion into psychotherapy and daily life.

Sean Harvey is a strategic advisor and founder of the WCI Advisory Group. He teaches Men, Masculinity & Extremism at American University and authored Warrior Compassion: Unleashing the Healing Power of Men. His work serves as a roadmap for men’s healing as a vital catalyst for broader systems change.

Saed Deryck Hill, PhD, is a counseling psychologist and Harm Reduction Specialist at Yale University. He specializes in promoting pro-social masculinities and innovative approaches to violence prevention. Saed is the President-Elect of the APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities and has advised the White House Task Force.

Boysen Hodgson is the Director of Operations for the ManKind Project USA, a nonprofit supporting men’s groups serving nearly 10,000 men weekly. Co-creator of the ManKind Podcast and author of The New Macho, he has over two decades of experience facilitating transformational programs for emotionally mature masculinity.

Fredric E. Rabinowitz, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Redlands. He has authored five books on psychotherapy with men, including Deepening Group Psychotherapy with Men and has led men's groups since 1986. He was the lead author of the APA’s Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men.

John Schinnerer, PhD, is a psychologist, executive coach, and founder of GuideToSelf.com. He hosts the podcasts The Evolved Caveman and Love Isn’t Enough, where he teaches emotional mastery and conscious relationships. John helps men and couples build the self-awareness and communication skills required for lasting, evolved connections.

Danny Singley, PhD, is a board-certified psychologist and widely recognized thought leader in men’s mental health and perinatal psychology. As the Founding Director of The Center for Men’s Excellence in San Diego, he specializes in men’s issues, new fatherhood, and the vital transition to parenthood.

Andrew P. Smiler, PhD, is a licensed therapist in Winston-Salem, NC, serving males aged 15-85. He is the author of Clinical Work with Men (2026) and the award-winning Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy. A past president of the Society for the Psychology of Men and Masculinities.

Kaitlyn Tierney is the CEO and Founder of Diverting Hate, an organization dedicated to pulling young men away from hate and toward purpose, connection, and belonging. She brings deep expertise in understanding how radicalization takes hold and how to offer young men a meaningful path toward a healthy identity.

Christopher Willard, PsyD, is a father, clinical psychologist, author, and consultant based at Harvard Medical School. He has spoken in forty-two countries and is the author of twenty-two books. His work focuses on bringing mindfulness, mental health, and resilience to young people, educators, and families worldwide.

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If you believe young men are capable of more than the narrow roles offered to them today, join us for a serious, hopeful, and action-oriented space to help them build a future rooted in integrity, resilience, and heart.