Ian Marcus Corbin joins Capita as a Senior Fellow

Ian Marcus Corbin has been appointed nonresident Senior Fellow at Capita. The co-director of the Human Network Initiative at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Ian’s work focuses on building cultures of solidarity that support the flourishing and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. 

“We are delighted to support Ian’s work and welcome him as our first Senior Fellow,” said Co-Founder + CEO  Joe Waters. “The last several decades have shown us that our social fabric is stretched beyond its capacities to support our children and families, and more must be done to build a culture of solidarity both here in the United States and around the world. Our efforts on behalf of children and families will only be as strong as the cultures and communities  in which children develop.” 

Underscoring the urgency of this work, a 2019 survey by YouGov, reported that 22% of millennials — the largest cohort of parents with young children — say they have no friends and a majority of Americans report declining trust in both government and their fellow citizens (Pew). 

Dr. Corbin is a researcher and writer from the North Shore of Boston, currently residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to his arrival at Brigham and Women’s / HMS, he studied politics, religion and philosophy at Gordon College, Oxford University, Yale University and Boston College, with an eye to the ways that deep human values affect the formation and evolution of human communities. He has taught at a number of colleges in the Boston area, and published widely in venues such as the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He is currently writing a book about friendship.

“Capita's work trains a humane and powerful lens on some of the most fundamental issues facing the contemporary world” said Corbin. “We need this kind of thinking if we're going to find our way out of the mess we're in, to a better world characterized by deep solidarity and human flourishing. I'm excited and honored to contribute to this work.”

In his first official outing as a Senior Fellow, Ian recently joined the American Enterprise Institute’s Tim Carney for a discussion on how we can more incisively identify the aspects of American life that need to be reformed in order to strengthen social cohesion and support the most vulnerable in our society. You can view a replay of their conversation.