Auburn conference spreads hope for health care, environment

“We want to turn hope into a verb,” said David Connelly, adjunct professor at Cayuga Community College. “If you don’t have hope, you don’t even try.”

The forum, “Applying the Science of Hope,” featured Dr. Barbara Connor and Elijah Murphy on the intersection of hope and medical care, and Dr. Karim-Aly Kassam on the importance of hope in addressing environmental challenges.

Connelly said the idea began when he placed “hope” in the title of his upcoming biography, “Rattling the Cage: The Incredible Hope of Thomas Mott Osborne.” He realized he didn’t know what the word actually meant. He began reading and researching and was “blown away” when he found what scientists were saying about hope.

When Connelly mentioned a “hope movement” to three friends — Sharon O’Connell, Jim Loperfido and Adam Birtwell — they were inspired. O’Connell mentioned it to Gretchen Messer and Sharon Peyus, and a committee of six was formed.

Peyus became the movement’s chair. As a retired chief of a federal program using a victim-based approach to investigations into crimes of victimization and exploitation, she is more than aware of what hopelessness looks like.

The group worked to build on strengths in the community and allow a forum for discussion of areas where hope is needed.

“This year, hope in medical settings and hope in thinking about the environment emerged as most relevant,” O’Connell said.

Dr. Barbara Connor and Elijah Murphy discussed the power of hope in medical settings. Connor, who has spent four decades as a central New York emergency room physician and health care researcher, has also worked with patients in the isolated villages of South Sudan and El Salvador.

She told the audience that she sees her job as much more than medicine. It is always also about transmitting hope.

Murphy, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Houston, described why hope is so important.

Research shows how hope increases one’s well-being — and how that sense of well-being impacts relationships, overall life satisfaction, and an individual’s ability to reach their full potential, he said. The good news is that being hopeful can be learned.

“Hope is a choice,” he said, outlining ways to build a high hope mindset. He specifically wants to extend hope to populations facing the stress of discrimination.

Dr. Kassam, international professor of environmental and Indigenous studies at Cornell University, spoke about a methodology of hope, sharing his thinking about how to address “wicked” problems by working together.

He outlined a changing world that makes it harder for people in extreme climates to live.

Kassam conducts research that focuses on the complex connectivity of human and environmental relations, addressing indigenous ways of knowing, food sovereignty, sustainable livelihoods, stewardship and climate change.

He shared details of decades-long work in the coldest regions of the world, where people have long noticed the impact of climate change on their ability to grow food.

For millennia, humans have tracked time and planned behavior to assure themselves of food based on seasonal indicators in their habitat — the first to bloom, the arrival and departure of migratory birds, the start of the rainy season, the first day of frost.

“In a growing number of places around the world today” Kassam said, “climate change is disrupting seasonal cycles and making such time-honored observations unreliable.”

While the change may be devastating, the hope is in how people have been adapting: finding ways to continue hunting and farming as ice melts and seasons change. Kassam exudes hope when telling how the collaborative work that he and others are doing is helping to document the environmental changes in a way that will help the people adjust by altering their ecological calendars.

He said “where there is acknowledgement of a problem and subsequent work towards a solution, there is hope. Being unable to do anything is the cause of hopelessness.”

Just as the Indigenous people in these regions have been at the vanguard of dramatic changes (showing how important it is for humans to alter behavior on this earth), “they have agency and do not see themselves as mere victims by showing how humans can steward their habitat and adapt to change,” he said.

He showed how all regions of the world are connected and interdependent on each other in both time and space. He noted that the alarming changes that have unfairly impacted people in these regions (who are the least responsible for changes in the environment) will eventually impact us all.

Kassam quoted philosopher and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl on how a vision for the future informs practical outcomes. Frankl, a physician who later became a psychiatrist, practiced hope science before researchers advocated for it in the late 20th century.

Kassam, echoing Frankl, said his advice to the audience was, “Never attack the darkness directly; because if we engage the darkness; we will take on the very qualities we oppose. Our responsibility is to infuse light and insight when addressing dramatic challenges.”

Participants asked questions from different perspectives revealing hope and despair in various degrees. Quotes that define hope were quietly displayed around the room and on the big overhead screen throughout the day.

Caitlin Choberka, one of several young people who attended the conference, said, “It was nice to be in a room with people who had similar concerns. It brought me hope that so many people care about these issues.”

Sharon Peyus summed it up: “Hope has a profound impact on virtually every phase of life. It sharpens our minds, fortifies our spirits, and enables us to face adversity with confidence. With hope, we can build upon our capacities for understanding and compassion, creating a more just and loving world.”

Dr. Connor said, “You could feel the spiritual energy in the room. There were so many magical moments.” Then, she added, “Mark your calendars for the next conference, Oct. 18, 2025.”

Jimmy Drancsak concluded the conference with some hopeful songs on his violin dating from the 12th century to the current one. Drancsak, who grew up in Skaneateles, is a Juilliard-trained violinist and violist living in New York City, performing all over the world. He said it was an honor to attend and play at the conference.

The event was videotaped and will be available online soon. Visit hopemovementevent.com for updates on the committee’s work.