February 2026 Briefs
Steady Leadership
HERO is fortunate to be led by a strong Board of Directors who devote countless hours of time and energy to keep HERO (and me) on the strategic path that was laid out most recently in 2021. We are equally fortunate to have so many dedicated Fellows contributing their thought leadership and expertise to HERO’s research and education. All these individuals serve in other roles outside of HERO, yet they show up fully present for HERO service.
In December, we mourned the loss of our Board Chair, Dexter Shurney. We continue to keep his family close in thought and prayer. We also continue to develop The Dexter Shurney, MD Well-Being Fellowship, and we anticipate bestowing the first award later this year. With Dexter’s passing, the HERO Board elected Ryan Sledge to complete the remainder of his term. Thank you, Ryan, for your steady leadership through a difficult time.
Another individual deserving recognition is Janis Davis-Street, HERO Board member and HERO’s newest Senior Fellow – Education. Janis very recently left Chevron, and in her LinkedIn post announcing the update, she had this to say: “This transition reaffirmed an important truth: leadership and expertise live in impact, not job titles. … Where can I create impact next?” I was all too eager to answer Janis’ question! Janis has agreed to stretch into this new role and lead HERO’s first Think Tank of 2026 for HERO members. Thank you, Janis, for the immeasurable impact you have already made and for saying ‘yes’! Read on for more details on this virtual convening.
Confucius is credited with the quote, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” I am fortunate to be in the HERO room with these individuals, and it has never felt more right.
Together,
Karen
Member Updates
HERO Events
Spring Think Tank
A virtual, HERO members-only convening
From Optional to Operational: Reframing & Retooling Well-being as a Business Imperative
April 29, 2026 | 1:00 – 5:00 PM ET
Corporate wellness investment is not disappearing – it is becoming more scrutinized.
While the global wellness market continues to project growth, many organizations are reshaping their wellness budgets as part of broader cost-management and benefits optimization efforts. Within this shifting landscape, many wellness leaders face a new reality: they are being asked not only to optimize their programs, but to justify their existence. The issue is no longer whether well-being matters in principle; it is whether it is operationally embedded, strategically aligned, and demonstrably valuable.
This Think Tank addresses this inflection point directly. This virtual speaker line-up will equip leaders for reframing the Value on Investment (VOI) so that it better speaks the language of the C-suite — “risk, resilience, productivity, capacity, and sustainable human performance” — and how to better position well-being as essential infrastructure for organizational survival and success, and not as a discretionary benefit.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify how cost optimization is reshaping corporate wellness spending.
- Understand how to reposition well-being as an operational driver – integrating well-being into core organizational systems, decision-making processes, and leadership practices rather than standalone programs.
- Implement practical strategies learned from leading organizations that are successfully reframing well-being.
Think Tank Chair: Janis Davis-Street, MS, MA, EdD, CHES, HERO Senior Fellow – Education
Interested in sponsoring? Take a look at the 2026 Sponsor Prospectus.
Member Updates
Webinars
“The Organizational Care Gap: New Research, Real Strategies” with Judy Lee, PhD, and Erin Seaverson, MPH, aired on February 11, 2026. If you missed it, check the HERO Webinar Archives for the recording.
Why Well-Being Needs a Seat in the C-Suite: The Transformative Role of Chief Well-being Officers
March 26, 2026 12:00 pm Central | Register
Amid mounting concerns about declining employee engagement, mental health, and well-being, an increasing number of organizations are adding Chief Well-Being Officers to their C-Suite. This webinar features the inspiring stories of and the lessons learned by two brave trailblazers, each of whom served as inaugural Chief Well-Being Officers in high-performance organizations.
Jen Fisher established well-being as a strategic business priority at Deloitte, while Dr. Jennifer Posa executed the first Congressionally mandated mission to advance workforce readiness, resilience, and well-being at the Central Intelligence Agency. The insights they share will underscore how imperative it is for organizations to be strategic, holistic, and data-driven in their quest to optimize performance and well-being by transforming organizational culture and nurturing personal and collective purpose.
Learning objectives
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Define the scope of responsibilities of a Chief Well-Being Officer within an organization.
- List three examples of the value of the Chief Well-Being Officer role.
- Identify two key strategies used by CWOs to define, execute, and measure the impact of a successful well-being initiative.
SPEAKERS
Jennifer Posa, PhD, MS is an organizational psychologist recognized by the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker and featured on multiple podcasts for her work advancing workforce well-being as a driver of peak performance. A respected thought leader in organizational support, psychological well-being, and workplace culture, she partners with organizations to catalyze transformation through research agendas, measurement frameworks, and service models designed for today’s most demanding environments. As the first Chief Wellbeing Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), she designed and executed the Intelligence Community’s first Congressionally mandated workforce well-being program. Previously, she held multiple leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, including Global Head of Employee Mental Wellbeing & Workplace Effectiveness, overseeing the mental health and well-being of 140,000 employees across 77 countries. She also spent 17 years at Mayo Clinic in business and strategy development roles focused on building corporate cultures of health. Dr. Posa holds a B.A. in Psychology from Denison University, an M.S. in Health Fitness Management from American University, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Capella University.
Sara Johnson, PhD, is the Co-President & CEO of ProChange Behavior Solutions. She is also the Senior Research Fellow for the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), immediate past Chair of the Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference, and immediate former Co-Editor of Knowing Well, Being Well. She has been the principal investigator on over $10 million in federally-funded research. Sara has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Women Scholars in Health Promotion by the American Journal of Health Promotion. Previous honors have included receiving HERO’s Mark Dundon Research Award and being named one of the 50 on Fire by Rhode Island Inno and Health Care Services Woman to Watch by Providence Business News, as well as being selected as a Top 10 Health Promotion Professional by the Wellness Council of America. She has more than 40 publications.
Jen Fisher is a global authority on workplace well-being, bestselling author of Work Better Together, and Founder and CEO of The Wellbeing Team. As Deloitte US’s first Chief Wellbeing Officer, she pioneered a human-centered approach to work that reshaped how organizations think about well-being. Drawing on her personal experiences with burnout and cancer, Jen helps leaders build cultures where people thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally. She is the creator and host of The WorkWell Podcast, a TEDx speaker, and a featured voice at global events including Workhuman, SXSW, and the Milken Global Conference. Her work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and CNN, and she serves as the U.S. Brand Ambassador for the World Wellbeing Movement and Director of Impact for Happiness Camp. Jen believes hope is a strategic imperative and equips leaders to harness it to create workplaces that sustain and uplift people. She lives in Miami with her husband, Albert, and their dog, Fiona.
HOST:
Paul Terry, PhD, is a Senior Fellow at HERO where he leads our learning agenda. Paul is also Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Health Promotion. His prior positions were president and CEO at HERO, president and CEO at StayWell Health Management, and president and CEO at The Park Nicollet Institute. Paul is the author of four books and over 200 research and professional papers. A study he led won the C. Everett Koop National Health Award. He was awarded two Fulbright Senior Scholarships and served on advisory councils for The National Academy of Sciences, the American Heart Association, the CDC, the University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
HERO Members
Act on these three things to maximize your HERO member benefit in February:
- Register up to three individuals from your organization for the Spring Think Tank.
- Read the latest issue of American Journal of Health Promotion. Complimentary access provided to all HERO member organizations through the HERO Hub.
- Respond to the Mental Health survey linked below.
HERO Committees
Committee participation is a benefit of HERO membership. If you are interested in learning more or signing up for any of the 2026 committees, please contact Karen.Moseley@hero-health.org.
The Workforce Mental Health & Well-being Committee wants to hear from you! This committee is charting its new path for 2026, potentially to include a virtual Mental Health Summit, but we want to ensure it aligns with what our community needs. They have developed a short survey that aims to identify the “burning platforms” facing your organization and evaluate how HERO can best support your mental health strategy through evidence-based research and community sharing.
Please respond to the survey HERE.
And contact Karen if you’re interested in participating in the planning.
HERO RECOMMENDS
Resources and Readings
Recommended Resources
- The Six Points of Connection, from the United States Chamber of Connection, seeks to answer the question: how can communities reverse the decline of social connection by building the needed civic and social infrastructure for everday connection. A practice guide for employers, researchers, and community leaders.
- State of the US Ecosystem. The Foundation for Social Connection launched an ecosystem map to create a centralized resource to track efforts to address social isolation, loneliness, and connection in the US.
- Gallup: U.S. Employee Engagement Declines from 2020 Peak. The data on engagement are important (particularly because the biggest declines are among young workers) – and the qualitative insights underscore that the decline is attributable in no small part to employee needs for improved communication and organizational care/respect (e.g., 34% said supportive relationships, communication and respect would enhance perception of care). (January 28, 2026)
- We Need Well-Being More Than Willpower to Reach Our Goals. Greater Good Magazine discusses a newly published study that shows that well-being leads to self-control, and not the other way around like many assume. So if we want to improve our habits and stick to traditional health resolutions, we need to consider deepening our reservoir of well-being before we are ready to exercise willpower. (January 13, 2026)
