Marisa G. Franco

Marisa G. Franco is a bestselling American author of Platonic: How to Make and Keep Friends As An Adult (2022), on the science of making friends. She is also an assistant clinical professor and motivational speaker.

Marisa G. Franco holds a bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology from New York University and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland. She is a licensed counseling psychologist and writer for Psychology Today, The New York Times, The Telegraph, and Vice.

While a doctoral student at UMD, she won numerous research awards, including the 2013 Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award and the 2015 Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

In 2022 she debuted with Platonic, published by Penguin Random House. Platonic became an instant New York Times bestseller. It explores the science of attachment and its role in building lasting friendships in a fragmented world. In this book, Dr. Marisa G. Franco delves into the challenges of making and maintaining friendships amidst distractions, burnout, and chaos, especially in a society that favors romantic relationships over other connections.

In 2023, her TED talk, The Secret to Making New Friends as an Adult, was viewed by more than 2 million people.

She was previously an Assistant Professor at Georgia State University and an AAAS fellow at Millennium Challenge Corporation. Marisa's research on human connection and systemic loneliness was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Marisa G. Franco currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Photo credit: Twitter @DrMarisaGFranco