Professional Development - Growing up playing soccer helped me realize the importance of physical fitness and proper nutrition. It was not hard for me to decide to major in Kinesiology and minor in Nutrition at Stephen F. Austin State University. Out of college I worked in fitness and wellness for several vendors and received my Wellness Coach certification through WellCoaches School of Coaching. 

Demonstrating Success – One of my favorite clients to work with was a large wholesale supplier. This client had over 160 locations that had anywhere from 3 to 250 employees at each location. Over the three years I worked with this client, there were several goals that were accomplished. The main goals for the client were to decrease tobacco use and high lifestyle related medical claims. A three year strategy to tackle tobacco use included a tobacco cessation program for employees and spouses, implementing a tobacco free workplace and a tobacco surcharge. Tobacco use declined among employees after one year of promoting the tobacco cessation program and implementing the tobacco free workplace. Employees and spouses also had access to onsite and telephonic coaching, a comprehensive wellness website, lunch and learns, onsite biometric screenings, quarterly activity and behavior change challenges and chronic condition management. Year over year results revealed lower risk factors among participants in wellness compared to the non-participants. Lifestyle related claims decreased and preventive care utilization increased in year two.

Leadership – Knowledge, skill, hard work and passion have always served me well. My leadership roles have included soccer and fitness teams, coaches and client management representatives. I am a firm believer that if I take care of my team, they, in turn, will take care of our clients/customers and other team mates.

Innovation – One size does not fit all and the only way to figure out what will fit, is to listen. My listening and creativity skills have served me well. Below are a few examples of solutions that I have provided to clients that have been successful.

“Supply and Demand” – A large technology client wanted to provide quarterly biometric screenings. They did not want to provide any incentive. The communication plan included a State of the Union where the CEO went through an onsite screening in front of employees. The quarterly events were announced at each location with a “first come, first serve” message. All events had waiting lists and we had to schedule more events to accommodate the demand.

“Pick your Poison” – A large oil and gas company did not want to dictate wellness requirements however their goal was to have each location voluntarily pick what they wanted to communicate and promote. I used the mandatory safety meetings to do a road show to determine the interest at each location.

“Spice it Up” – Client has had a successful program with good participation, however they felt it was getting stale and employees were just checking off the boxes. An employee survey revealed several areas of interests and some good suggestions. Using survey results we added financial wellbeing and social networking to the program.

“Low Participation” – After several attempts to raise participation through communication, I suggested that my client add wellness participation metrics to management reviews. In year one after implementing the new metrics participation increased by 56%, which was 26% more than the metrics dictated.

“Dipping our Toe In” – Client requested a plan to start wellness, no incentives. I introduced a vendor that worked through their medical plan to provide onsite services. These events were coordinated during a wellness event at each location. The first year they had 58% participation and survey results were very positive.

My Vision – I practice what a preach and truly believe that you either pay now or pay a lot more later. Traditional wellness that focuses on physical health alone, is not working. Physical health is only one part of the puzzle, it’s an important part, but there are several other pieces that need to be addressed. Our message and the resources we bring to the table need to include all areas of wellbeing. Financial, career, social and community need to join the conversation.