MEA Co-Founder and Chief Innovation & Education Officer Jeff Hamaoui presents…
Human Connections for Life:
Find Your People
Sep 29 - Oct 4, 2025 in Santa Fe, USA Led by: Jeff Hamaoui, Amie Tullius
Financial aid is available. Apply Here.
Loneliness isn’t just emotionally painful – research shows it can shorten your lifespan.
According to Harvard researchers, chronic social isolation increases the risk of early death by more than 25%.
And midlife is a time when many of us become increasingly more vulnerable to that risk.
As old friends move away and life circumstances shift, we find ourselves with fewer close friendships, fewer invitations to gather, and a lingering sense that something’s missing.
We know we need deeper, more meaningful relationships — but building them in the second half of life takes more than hope. It takes intention, skill, and practice.
And that kind of work – the kind that opens us up, shifts old patterns, and fosters real trust – happens most powerfully in person.
… Because some connections simply can’t be forged through a screen.
That’s why beloved MEA co-founder Jeff Hamaoui invites you to join him in Santa Fe for a five-day workshop on how to cultivate deeply human connections that enrich your life, shield you from loneliness and isolation, and sustain your health and happiness for years to come.”
This life-changing 5-day retreat will transform how you relate to others and to yourself. You’ll gain practical tools for cultivating friendships that support your wellbeing far more than wealth, diet, or even exercise. These are the bonds that help you live longer — and feel more alive while you do.
More than Friendship or a Cure for Loneliness – It’s a Practice for Life
Here’s what people who have joined Jeff for this five-day in-person experience have to say.
What You'll Walk Away With
(Besides new friends)
By the end of your five days with Marc Freedman, Chip Conley and the MEA faculty, you’ll walk away with:
The tools you’ll gain won’t just deepen your friendships in your personal life. They’ll help you foster more genuine relationships at work with your colleagues and clients – and cultivate the kind of trust, collaboration, and social capital that helps you grow and succeed.
Meet your faculty
Jeff Hamaoui
MEA Co-Founder | Chief Innovation & Education Officer | Facilitator | Community Builder
Jeff is the creator of the MEA curriculum (on and offline) and one of MEA’s most beloved facilitators. He’s a teacher, writer, speaker and community builder who started his career as a sustainability geek in the 1990s and spent decades working globally as an investor, grant maker, and innovation consultant.
In 2017, Jeff traveled to Baja to start the next chapter of his career and soon found himself partnering with Chip Conley and Christine Sperber as a co-founder to develop MEA, the world’s first midlife wisdom school. His work at MEA unexpectedly led him to become a content expert in midlife and wellness – and building healthy connections and communities.
Jeff will show you how to cultivate intentional friendships that become your most powerful tools for health, happiness, and longevity.
This workshop is for you if...
Your calendar is packed with work commitments, but you’re lacking other kinds of meaningful social connections that fill your cup.
Screen fatigue has set in, and you long for real-world relationships with the depth and presence that truly sustains your spirit.
You're curious about the science showing that friendship can be more important for your longevity than diet or exercise.
You have lots of casual acquaintances but can't seem to turn those "we should catch up sometime" texts into actual connections.
You're ready to move beyond surface-level chitchat and create the kind of vulnerability that builds genuine bonds.
You've realized that friendship doesn’t "just happen" anymore, and you're ready to approach it with the same intention you bring to other important areas of your life.
Meet your MEA facilitators
Our trailblazing facilitators guide transformative journeys across our Santa Fe high desert sanctuary and Baja beach haven. From sunrise mountain hikes and meditations to collaborative experiences – each experience is designed to inspire growth, connection, and lasting change.
Amie Tullius
MEA Experience Facilitator
Amie Tullius is a New Mexico-based writer, gallerist, and creative collaborator. She’s spent over a decade as a gallery director, helped launch an international dance company, and has profiled and promoted artists and creators from around the world. She has an MFA in writing and is currently working on a book about place, home, and how our bodies keep time.
Amie has a deep passion for the mountains, history, and cultures of New Mexico. You will appreciate her creative perspective and the deep passion for the mountains, history, and cultures of New Mexico.
Santa Fe, USA
Rising Circle Ranch
An upscale regenerative ranch featuring traditional Pueblo architecture and spanning nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails in the arroyo, with ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. Close to historic Santa Fe, an artisan’s mecca.
Don't wait for "someday" to invest in the relationships that will sustain you.
We all know how it goes – life gets busy, and suddenly those "let's catch up soon" messages sit unanswered for months.
If you've been feeling that tug for deeper connection, join Jeff and the MEA team this fall in Santa Fe. Over five days together, we'll explore friendship as a skill you can practice and develop – not just something that happens by chance. Because the relationships that can make you happier and extend your life shouldn’t be left to luck.
