Spark Impact Symposium 2025 : Recap
Ahead of Milken, we gathered for a day focused on personal development, reflections on mental health, and shared intention. We’re still feeling the ripple effects of what it meant to be in a space that was equal parts ambitious and deeply human.
From the quiet grounding at Remedy Place to conversations that stretched us in all the right ways, this gathering wouldn’t have been the same without you.
A heartfelt thank you to Aaron and Evan Nehmadi for opening their home and creating space for connection in its truest Spark form.
A Handful of Moments Stood Out to Us
Remedy Place - We took the morning to reset
Whether you opted for an infrared sauna, lymphatic massage, or took the plunge (literally), we hope that experience gave you a rare moment to just be and pause ahead of the week. A huge thank you to Dr. Jonathan Leary for hosting us!
Emmanuel Acho’s powerful storytelling and presence captivated the room. He shared the origin story of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man and Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew, a project born from a simple 9-minute monologue filmed by a wedding videographer, which went viral with over 25 million views. That video led to conversations with Matthew McConaughey and Oprah Winfrey, bestselling books, and a platform grounded in education, empathy, peace, and compassion. Emmanuel’s transition from the NFL to media and advocacy was a compelling reminder of the impact of leaning into purpose and using your voice amidst discomfort. His reflections on the importance of empathy, catalyzing cross cultural gatherings and active listening deeply resonated with our community.
Dr. Jenn Mann shared powerful sports psychology tools to strengthen mental resilience. She emphasized the importance of present-tense, positive mantras to rewire limiting beliefs, especially those internalized from early authority figures. Visualization is another essential practice: “If you can’t visualize it, you probably can’t do it.”
During her talk, Mann explored how we often recreate patterns from our childhoods in our primary and familial relationships and the importance of self awareness and therapy to help us overcome these patterns.
She also introduced a creative, content-based incentive system she built with her twin daughters to foster meaningful learning at home, rewarding engagement with articles, documentaries, and podcasts.
Dr. Mann is currently diving into the connection between the microbiome and mental health through a certification at Mass General, furthering her work at the intersection of wellness, nutrition, and psychology.
Dr. Matt Biel encouraged us to look at systems pertaining to youth mental health and the importance of familial health and opportunities to shift systems in our society that impact our youth.
Matt encouraged us to rethink the youth mental health crisis by challenging the common belief that the youth mental health crisis began with the pandemic, highlighting data that shows its roots go back over 15 years. Drawing from his clinical work at Georgetown with families across the socioeconomic spectrum, he underscored that symptoms like depression, loneliness, self-harm, and disordered eating are often the results - not causes - of deeper family-level stress.
The two primary sources of that stress?
Economic instability that makes meeting basic needs a struggle
Future-focused anxiety, where parents try to “optimize” their child’s every opportunity
Dr. Biel called for a fundamental shift away from individual treatment models toward systemic family support. Rather than ask what’s wrong with our kids, we need to ask what do families need in order to thrive?
His message was clear: Address the conditions families are living in, and we’ll create the conditions kids need to flourish.
Dr. Jonathan Leary spoke about how we can reframe pain, stress, and discomfort. Not as problems, but as invitations to build strength and resilience.
He encouraged a mindset shift:
Stop labeling yourself as “stressed.” Instead, see stress as resistance. A moment of tension that, like lifting weights, can help you grow.
Movement is medicine. Pain often lessens when you move your body. Physical activity can be a release, not just a chore.
Ice baths as practice for life. He recommended tools like cold plunges and breathwork as ways to train your nervous system to stay calm under pressure. It’s not about the ice,it’s about how you breathe through the discomfort.
Resilience is a habit. Like brushing your teeth, you build mental and emotional resilience by showing up consistently. Start small. Invite someone to join you. Keep going.
Routines beat motivation. Waiting to “feel like it” rarely works. Routine builds momentum.
Dr. Leary framed all of this not as optimization, but as grounding. As ways to feel more human, more present, and more capable in the face of life’s inevitable stressors.
Mark Gober spoke about the profound impact of near-death experiences on how we understand connection, purpose, and emotion. He shared research by Dr. Bruce Grayson. Specifically, stories of people who relived their lives in a "life review" during near-death experiences. One man re-experienced his time as a soldier in Vietnam, feeling the emotional pain of those he had harmed. That experience transformed him, leading to a less materialistic life and ultimately, becoming a hospice volunteer.
Mark emphasized that these moments point to an underlying natural law of human connection, that we’re deeply linked to each other, whether we’re aware of it or not.
He encouraged us to:
Set a clear life intention - and revisit it often.
Fully feel your emotions instead of resisting them. Suppressed emotions tend to linger; acknowledged emotions tend to move.
Reflect on your impact - not just through achievement, but through connection and presence.
Seek expert guidance on your wellness or life journey, rather than going it alone.
He also referenced insights from Dr. David Hawkins, reinforcing the idea that our emotions are signals, not problems, and when we stop resisting them, we start to heal.
We’ve pulled together a list of resources shared by our speakers, including:
Emmanuel Acho
Website | Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew | Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits | Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Dr. Jenn Mann
Website | The Relationship Fix: Dr. Jenn's 6-Step Guide to Improving Communication, Connection & Intimacy | Super Baby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years | The A to Z Guide To Raising Happy Confident Kids
Recommended by Dr. Mann
10% Happier by Dan Harris | Fed Up Documentary
Dr. Jonathan Leary
Remedy Place – The world’s first social wellness club
Dr. Matt Biel
Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities | Innovation Hub Accelerator
Mark Gober
Website | An End to the Upside Down Thinking
Other
Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting / Dr. Lisa Damour
A Few Things to Carry Forward
→ Stress doesn’t always mean something’s wrong. Sometimes it just means you’re growing.
→ Movement is medicine. For pain, for grief, for getting unstuck.
→ Intention matters. Take time to name it. Revisit it often.
→ Feel the feelings. Even the sticky ones. Especially those.
→ Community helps us stay accountable. To change, to new habits, to ourselves.
Here’s a link to the full photo gallery if you’d like to revisit any moments from the day.
