Annual Wellness Summit

The Evolution of Wellness: Trends, Fads, and our Future

Wellness is a journey filled with highs, lows, and a fair share of hilarious missteps. From treadmills to the latest biohacking trends, we’ve tried it all—some with great success, others… not so much. Join us for an engaging, lighthearted - but also an insightful discussion on the evolution of wellness, the trends that shaped us, the fads that fooled us, and what the future holds. Expect real talk, relatable stories, and maybe even a few laughs as we explore the ever-changing world of well-being.

Strategies for Building Teams that Thrive in Uncertainty

In today’s unpredictable and fast-changing world, building resilient and healthy teams is more critical than ever. This session will explore how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help prevent burnout and promote well-being by fostering psychological flexibility and value-driven actions—essential skills for navigating uncertainty. You’ll learn evidence-based strategies to enhance confidence, self-efficacy, and team resilience, empowering individuals to thrive even in stressful conditions. Don’t miss this opportunity to equip your team with the tools to not just survive, but thrive, in an ever-changing landscape.

Build a Better Brain: A Well Worth It Workplace Health Initiative

The Power of Storytelling: Crafting Messages that Move and Motivate

This session will show how to leverage the innately human power of storytelling to inspire wellness, action and behavior change through workplace wellness and public health programs. Through interactive exercises and real-life examples, participants will learn how to transform facts, figures and objectives into meaningful, moving stories that excite and motivate. Attendees will learn why powerful storytelling – whether in 50 words or 500– is a differentiator in a crowded field that's increasingly AI-driven, and how to craft their message for maximum impact.

Guided Improvisation: Fostering Playful Partnerships for Connected and Empowered Communities

We hear buzzwords emphasizing the importance of interpersonal skills in creating and sustaining impactful partnerships, calling on us to “be compassionate, flexible, resilient, communicative,” to name a few. These sound great, but how do we actually put those skills into practice to collaborate and connect more effectively, while supporting wellness in our communities and within ourselves? In this highly interactive workshop, attendees will learn through direct experience how improvisation skills and exercises can support these goals in their professional and personal partnerships, supported by groundbreaking research connecting these activities with enhanced resilience, flexibility, and overall wellbeing. After highlighting three decades of research supporting applied improv as a highly effective training method for these skills, we will transition into playing games to practice thinking on our feet and working as a team to enhance our connections, build new worlds together, and collaboratively solve problems in a fun, low-stakes environment.

Nontoxic Positivity: Strategies for Resilience and Wellbeing

Positivity is often heralded as a solution to life’s challenges, but when it disregards genuine struggles or suppresses emotions, it can undermine resilience and wellbeing. This session delves into the concept of nontoxic positivity, exploring how a balanced approach to optimism can foster authentic connections and holistic wellbeing without minimizing life’s complexities. Participants will gain insights into the detrimental effects of toxic positivity and the transformative power of healthy optimism. Through guided discussions and actionable exercises, attendees will explore practical strategies to support resilience, nurture authenticity, and promote a culture of realistic hope in both personal and professional settings. This session equips participants with evidence-based tools to navigate adversity with empathy and honesty, fostering a balanced approach to sustaining wellbeing in today’s fast-paced world.

Wellness Wisdom – Blending Eastern and Western Practices for Health and Healing

Despite unprecedented access to health technology and medical advances, people are experiencing rising rates of chronic disease, stress, and disconnection from their own wellbeing. Research shows that stress contributes to over 75% of doctor visits, while chronic conditions affect nearly 60% of adults globally. At the same time, workplace culture and unhealthy social relationships exacerbate mental and physical health challenges. Meanwhile, the global digital health market has exploded to over $200 billion, yet these technological solutions often fail to address the fundamental aspects of holistic wellness that ancient healing traditions have understood for millennia. Integrating Eastern practices, like mindfulness and holistic approaches, with Western advancements, along with leveraging tech and startups, offers promising solutions. Audience members have a unique opportunity to explore and implement these integrative strategies in their personal lives, communities, and workplaces.

Online Oxygen: Your Guide to Digital Resilience

You may be wondering - how can my relationship with technology be healthier? How can I optimize my digital habits for better productivity, mental health, and communication? You’re in the right place! With the shift to hybrid and remote work, many of us have spent more time on tech than ever before and have learned a myriad of lessons about the connective nature of our devices. While they allow us to bridge distances, time zones, and can bring us together - we also acknowledge that devices can be an obstacle to self-care, stillness, and introspection as the rapid-fire urgency of the digital world beckons. Join us as we discuss navigating this balance and making the most out of your tech time in an era of hybrid and remote work.

Crave, Consume and Connect: A Science-backed Exploration of Food Choice

Crave, consume and connect discusses the importance of eating the food you crave, why you crave those foods and how to honor these cravings without guilt. This session will explore and explain the gut/ brain connection, its role in cravings, will also be explored and how to impact the health of the gut microbiome. The role of hormonal shifts and the long-term impact of fad diets will be introduced. Understanding the science behind how people make food choices will prepare health and wellness professionals for a deeper understanding of how to address the challenges their target populations face.

Beyond the Lunch and Learn - Engaging Employees Through Experiential Learning

Lunch and Learns have long been a workplace staple, but in today’s fast-paced environment, is another PowerPoint presentation the best way to engage employees? Enter team building—more than just trust falls and icebreakers, it’s a hands-on approach that strengthens collaboration, problem-solving, and workplace relationships. This session dives into the research behind experiential learning, explores best practices for designing impactful team-building experiences, and provides a step-by-step guide to structuring effective sessions. Whether you’re looking to refresh professional development initiatives or create a more connected workforce, you’ll walk away with actionable strategies to transform the way your teams learn and grow.

Beyond Carewashing – A Systems Approach to Workplace Wellbeing

Many organizations invest in wellbeing programs, yet employees continue to struggle with stress, burnout, and disengagement. Why? Because systemic issues—such as workload expectations, leadership culture, and lack of psychological safety—are not often associated with wellbeing. This session provides a roadmap for embedding wellbeing into the core of organizational culture using principles of Organizational Development (OD) and Change. Attendees will gain tools to identify and address systemic barriers to wellbeing, ensuring sustainable, meaningful change.

Exploring Spiritual Wellness: The Most Misunderstood Dimension of Wellness

Spiritual wellness is one of the most overlooked yet essential dimensions of overall well-being. This session will guide participants in understanding the deeper aspects of spiritual wellness beyond religious frameworks, offering practical insights from various cultural, philosophical, and spiritual traditions. Through interactive discussion and hands-on practices, attendees will explore self-reflection techniques, resilience-building strategies, and diverse global wellness traditions to integrate spiritual well-being into their daily lives.

Strains, Pains, and Injury: Assessing Movement Ability to Reduce Risk

Musculoskeletal(MSK) disorders and injuries are one the leading causes for work days missed. In many cases these problems can be avoided with proper risk factor management. However, too often the one risk factor that is not considered is a person's movement ability. During this session Dr. Lee Burton will discuss and share data on how a person's ability to balance, bend, rotate and reach impact MSK health and should be considered along with other lifestyle risk factors. Dr. Burton will offer an evidence-based, quick and efficient way for qualified professionals to screen for movement pattern dysfunction and how to integrate this into MSK health management.

Finding Our Way Forward

Being human isn't always easy. Let's face it: we have endured numerous challenges over the past few years, including environmental issues, human rights concerns, health crises, and financial uncertainty. How can we learn to view these adversities as our greatest teachers, helping us to grow and develop?

Join Jeff Jenkins, an award-winning travel writer and host of NATGEO's "Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins," along with Dr. Mark A. Campbell, a human performance expert and host of the "Nature of Wellness Podcast," for a thought-provoking session on how we can be better for ourselves and those we serve. Together, they’ll explore how we can navigate the challenges of modern society and uncover ways to create the lives we truly desire.

Using Health Literacy to Overcome Hidden Barriers to Employee Health

Many employees struggle to improve their health, not because they lack motivation but because hidden barriers work against them. Health unawareness, cognitive biases, misinformation, and reluctance prevent employees from making informed decisions, leaving wellness programs underutilized. This session explores how health literacy improves health outcomes by guiding employees to recognize these barriers and take meaningful action. This approach enables employees to see their health through a fresh lens, empowering them to take meaningful action and choose the best path to reach their health goals.

Putting Your Mask on First: Harnessing Emotional Intelligence and Lifestyle Medicine

The roles and responsibilities of well-being professionals are increasingly difficult and complex. In a hustle to meet heightened demands and help others achieve their personal and professional goals, wellness professionals often neglect their own wellbeing. Tapping into the synergistic power of emotional intelligence and lifestyle medicine can help wellness professionals reframe and prioritize self-care. This session is designed to empower wellness professionals with the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate challenging roles and maintaining their own wellbeing. Attendees will leave with practical tools to enhance their overall effectiveness in their roles.