WWCMA WEBINAR
Strategies of Success for Social Connectedness and Mental Health
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 / 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Attendees joined us for a panel discussion with mental health and wellness experts and employee culture leaders focusing on the ways social connection and engagement directly affect employee morale, productivity, and physical health.
Learning Objectives:
- Review resources employers can utilize with virtual employees to improve social connection
- Understand how social connection impacts organizational productivity and engagement
- Learn strategies for increasing engagement with social connection tools
Brought to you by:
MODERATOR
SUSAN GLOVER
Manager, People and Culture at Boston College High School
Susan Glover is currently the Manager of People and Culture at Boston College High School. Susan received her certification as a Worksite Wellness Program Coordinator and became a wellness consultant for higher education clients, creating and managing award winning wellness programs for several colleges of the Boston Consortium for Higher Education. She brought those talents to the benefits consulting arena when she was hired as Director of Corporate Wellness and Client Relationships for 360 Corporate Benefit Advisors, serving the wellness and HR needs of clients large and small across a variety of industries. Next stop, CDM Smith, an international engineering firm in Boston, where Susan managed Benefits and Wellness for over 4,000 employees worldwide and garnered national and local wellness awards for her work. After years in the corporate world, Susan wished to return to the not for profit space, education in particular, for a role with more personal satisfaction and employee contact, and happily landed at BC High.
Susan is active in the New England Employee Benefits Council (NEEBC) and the Worksite Wellness Council of MA (WWCMA) where she has led a variety of workshops.
PANELIST
JOEL AXLER MD, FAPA
Partner, National Behavioral Health Leader
Strategic Benefit Advisors (SBA) / Brown & Brown
Strategic Benefit Advisors (SBA) / Brown & Brown
Dr. Axler is a board-certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist and will co-lead this project with Dr. Short providing behavioral health expertise. Dr. Axler has a wealth of experience addressing mental health and substance abuse issues that face employer groups and has a passion for helping employers develop innovative solutions to improve behavioral health access and quality of care. Dr. Axler has experience building effective integrated physical-mental health care solutions and developing and deploying innovative strategies to enhance member engagement and motivation to improve adherence with treatment, leading to better quality of life for employees and their families.
With more than 30 years of experience in health care, Dr. Axler has held leadership positions directing the psychiatric care of children, adolescents and adults in academic, private practice and insurance settings. Prior to joining SBA, Dr. Axler served as the Behavioral Health Managing Medical Director for Anthem Inc. for the Government Business sectors, including Medicaid and Medicare. At Anthem he was responsible for the administration of mental health and substance use disorder services for the health plans, overseeing the impact on health care quality, cost, and outcomes including managing the psychiatric health needs of members in the Georgia Medicaid program and the Georgia Foster Care program. Prior he served as chief medical director at Peachford Behavioral Hospital in Atlanta, one of the largest residential psychiatric facilities in the Southeast. Previously he was a Regional Medical Director for the commercial business for United Behavioral Health (UBH) for 15 years.
PANELIST
WENDY FISHER
Talent Lead, ZOLL Medical Corporation
Wendy Fisher is ZOLL Medical’s Talent Lead. Wendy supports leader and manager development so that all employees can contribute their full selves and best work to the organization. Wendy believes that life is too short to have work that is not meaningful and enjoyable. Wendy has worked in Human Resources for over 20 years, creating interactive development programs and experiences for all levels of leaders. Wendy writes about making the workplace a little happier at www.workyourhappy.life. She holds her MBA from Babson College and BA in Economics from Mount Holyoke College.
PANELIST
VALERIA S. TIVNAN, MPH, MED
Director, Population Health Strategy & Well-Being
EBS, Employee Benefits Solutions
EBS, Employee Benefits Solutions
Valeria Tivnan executes EBS’ longstanding mission of providing cutting-edge wellness programs and support for their clients. She advises EBS clients on how to develop and execute tactics that bring worksite wellness into their organizations and helps leaders transform employees into knowledgeable healthcare consumers. With over 20 years of experience, her passions lie principally in preventing and reversing chronic diseases through lifestyle transformation, and bringing lifestyle medicine into workplaces where employees can flourish and companies thrive. Val won EBA’s prestigious ‘Wellness Director of the Year’ award in 2017. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the health Science and Data Science Depts at Merrimack College. Val is a devoted student of mindfulness practices, including meditation. Val’s energy and results-driven attitude is a great asset to EBS clients.