Meet the Authors
Natalie Kerr
Natalie Kerr, Ph.D., is a social psychologist and award-winning professor at James Madison University, where she studies social connection and loneliness. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, and Social Influence. She also writes for Psychology Today and designs workshops and retreats for people who want to cultivate deeper connection in their lives.
She feels most connected when she’s immersed in nature or having meaningful discussions about life’s biggest questions.
Jaime Kurtz
Jaime Kurtz, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at James Madison University, where she studies happiness and savoring. She is an award-winning teacher and researcher whose work has appeared in journals such as Psychological Science, Emotion, Affective Science, and the Journal of Positive Psychology. She is the author of The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations (Oxford 2017), Positively Happy: Routes to Sustainable Happiness, and two Audible Original programs: Personality Tests and What They Can Tell Us and The Psychology of Happiness.
She feels most connected when phones are away, talking with people who are curious and willing to be vulnerable.