How to Build a Flourishing Community

THIS SESSION IS LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS. Bring your lunch and join FLORIS founder Rosie von Lila for an energizing, insight-rich session on the lessons learned for what it really takes to build a flourishing, self-sustaining community. We’ll explore the concept of human flourishing—what it is, how to measure it, and how a shared commitment to flourishing can become the foundation for a powerful community of practice. Rosie will share practical perspectives for building and sustaining community, including financial fundamentals, leadership support structures, and how to navigate conflict with clarity and care. Drawing on lessons from both successful and failed communities this session offers a rare, practical, and inspiring look at what makes communities truly work. 

Community Week NYC (May 9-17) is a citywide celebration of belonging that spotlights the organizers, spaces, and communities connecting New Yorkers.

Presented by von Lila Creative, Sugary NYC, week nights, with generous support from Shelton Mercer III. Learn more at communityweek.nyc.

This event is part of Community Week NYC (May 9-17, 2026) -- a citywide celebration of social connection. Explore all events so you can find your people at communityweek.nyc.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: 

Rosie von Lila is a human flourishing expert, who wrote a framework on how to build participatory culture, and worked as a global community support leader within Burning Man headquarters, arguably the world’s largest community arts and culture organization. 

Rosie von Lila founded FLORIS — the adventure club for people who are into flourishing. Rosie co-authored The Practical Flourishing Assessment (TPFA), which, in a research study evaluated by NYU’s Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, was found to increase participants’ clarity and a sense of control in their lives. The evaluation found that participants were more willing to try again after setbacks and failure, and that use of TPFA strengthened their belief that they can reach their goals. The evaluation found that, overall, TPFA participants go from grasping the idea of flourishing to actually living it through their choices and actions.

Rosie weaves together the wildly unexpected from her professional experience: nearly a decade working in Wall Street finance, a long history of working with Burning Man globally, and engaging the US Army, Navy, and Marines with her framework on participatory culture. 

Rosie was featured in Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal's bestseller Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work, and she is a published essayist. vonlila.com