Resilient Employees/Resilient Organizations:
Trauma-informed Workplace Practices that Meet Employee Needs and Help Organizations Excel
June 21, 2022
9:00am – 2:15pm CST
Virtual Conference
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The average person will spend over 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. This means that organizations have a tremendous opportunity to make a positive impact. Although not all employees have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, nearly everyone experiences mental or emotional challenges that employers can help support. Supporting the mental health needs of employees is both good for people and good for organizations. Resilient employees tend to be more engaged, more productive and more innovative.
Conference focused on the benefits of adopting resilience-based workplace practices and ways to enhance systemic drivers of resilience.
CO-CONVENERS
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The average person will spend over 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime. This means that organizations have a tremendous opportunity to make a positive impact. Although not all employees have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, nearly everyone experiences mental or emotional challenges that employers can help support. Supporting the mental health needs of employees is both good for people and good for organizations. Resilient employees tend to be more engaged, more productive and more innovative.
Conference focused on the benefits of adopting resilience-based workplace practices and ways to enhance systemic drivers of resilience.
CO-CONVENERS
Welcome Address and
A Modern Modern for Well-being
Panel 1: 10:00am – 11:00am CST (11:00am – 12:00pm EST)
Resilience on the Front Lines
This panel will explore the skills, resources, and needs of those working in our First Responder spaces from their own perspectives. Those engaged in work in these spaces are coming off of two years of varying degrees of chronic stress, trauma, and anxiety driven by this health crisis and, in turn, their roles as essential workers. While we would not expect all of their experiences to be the same, we do know that the ultimate flexible work arrangements available to some workers, is often not afforded in these jobs. We will explore the kinds of policies, practices, and supports needed to buoy the natural resilience of this amazing group of people. Click on the play button below to view a video of the panel.
Moderator
Alexa James
Chief Executive Officer of NAMI Chicago since 2014. Alexa has made NAMI Chicago the leading voice on mental wellness in Chicago and beyond.
Panelist
Tyra Bynum
Tara A. Bynum, PhD is an Assistant Professor of English & African American Studies at the University of Iowa. Her book, Reading Pleasures (fall 2022), examines how black people experienced pleasure in the eighteenth-century U.S.
Panelist
Melinda Linas
Melinda Linas is a 22 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department where she currently serves as Commander of the Community Safety Team, a Unit tasked with patrolling some of the most violent – and vulnerable – areas of our city.
Panelist
Faith Townsell
Faith Townsell is a rising senior at Whitney M Young Magnet High School. She currently serves as the Chair of Neighborhood Development on Mayor Lightfoots Youth Commission. She also is the Co-President and founder of Feud for Food, an initiative which aims to teach students on the persistent issue of food deserts as well as their roots in systemic racism.
Panel 2: 11:15am – 12:15pm CST (12:15pm – 1:15pm EST)
The Impact of Mental Health on Workplaces: Ending Stigma and Opening Up Access
This session will focus on the importance of opening up conversations about mental health in the workplace. The panelists will each discuss, from their positions and viewpoints, how mental health stigma is not only harmful but not a good business decision. Each of the panelists will discuss how their workplaces are dealing with ending stigma and opening up access to resources in a safe and comfortable manner for employees. Click on the play button below to view a video of the panel.
Moderator
Bernie Dyme
President & CEO, of Perspectives, a company he co-founded in 1981, that has grown from a behavioral health provider to a top-tier employee assistance provider and organizational consulting company focused on driving success through well-being.
Panelist
Clare Miller
Panelist
Sally Spencer-Thomas
Panelist
Dr. Teresa J. Garate
Panel 3: 1:00pm – 2:00pm CST (2:00pm – 3:00pm EST)
Using an Equity Lens to Amplify Impact of Resilience-Based Care Initiatives
This panel will focus on the benefits of using an equity lens in creating a resilient workforce. The panelists will discuss the meaning of equity, define systematic wellness and identify actions that employers can take to create positive system-wide change that supports all employees. Click on the play button below to view a video of the panel.
Moderator
Joel Jackson
Director of Inclusion and Equity Strategies, UChicago Medicine. Joel also serves as a Racial Healing Practitioner and co-facilitates Racial Healing Circles across Chicagoland.
Panelist
Jeana Stewart
Training Specialist, Diversity Equity & Inclusion at UChicago Medicine and advocate for effective equity & inclusion action and consciously compassionate communication.
Panelist
Maggie Gough
Chief Operating Officer at WELCOA (Wellness Council of America).
Panelist
Denean Pillar-Jackson