March 2026 Briefs
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Host hotel for the 36th Annual Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Wired for Well-Being
Last week, I had the privilege of representing HERO at the 36th Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference, chaired by Dr. Jessica Grossmeier who also serves HERO as a Senior Education Fellow. The event was thoughtfully designed to foster connection—fitting, given that social connection is a pillar of brain health and central to advancing health promotion.
Just like HERO convenings, the Art & Science conference felt like a family reunion. Reconnecting with longtime colleagues filled my cup, but one moment stood above the rest: presenting alongside HERO Research Fellow Dr. Mary Imboden. Mary joined HERO as a Forum intern in 2016. At the time, neither of us could have predicted the path that would lead to her current role with HERO, now 10 years later. Watching Mary present with confidence and agility, deeply thoughtful in engaging with attendees, was a genuine point of pride, though I take no credit for her success.
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Mary represents the next generation shaping our field, some of whom I met last week. Over the past 30 years, we’ve built a strong scientific foundation for health promotion. Now, the opportunity, and responsibility, is to evolve that foundation while staying grounded in what works.
That’s exactly the focus of HERO’s next members-only Think Tank: how we reframe and strengthen our value proposition to support a truly well workforce. HERO members are encouraged to register (up to 3 individuals per organization) for this half-day convening.
We also invite all of you – members and non-members alike – to help shape a new Mental Health Summit. Please take a few minutes (really, no more than 5) to respond to this survey. Your input will help us better understand where organizations are struggling and how we can connect ideas and people to move the field forward.
On my kitchen wall, there once hung a sign that read: Sometimes the heart should do things without the brain’s permission. Last week’s experiences included hugs and laughter interwoven with learning and brain science. I’m not sure I could disconnect one from the other. So, I think I’ll adopt a new mantra “Whatever you do for your heart is likely going to be good for your brain as well” (from Dr. Zaldy Tan, director of the Cedars-Sinai Memory and Aging Program). It seems to more adequately capture the art and the science of what we’re trying to do.
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.
Think Tank Chair: Janis Davis-Street, MS, MA, EdD, CHES, HERO Senior Fellow – Education
Check out the agenda for this four-hour member convening. Join HERO and these experts to reframe 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 better position well-being as essential infrastructure for organizational survival and success.
SAVE THE DATE:
HERO University Summit
October 21, 2026 | A virtual convening
Interested in sponsoring? Take a look at the 2026 Sponsor Prospectus.
Member Updates
Webinars
“Why Well-Being Needs a Seat in the C-Suite: The Transformative Role of Chief Well-Being Officers” with Jennifer Posa, PhD, Jen Fisher and Sara Johnson, PhD, aired on March 26, 2026. If you missed it, check the HERO Webinar Archives for the recording.
HERO Members
Act on these three things to maximize your HERO member benefit in March:
- Primary/Corporate Account Admins: Do a little ‘Spring cleaning’ and make sure the list of individuals with access to the HERO Hub is up to date!
- 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 is provided to all HERO member organizations through the HERO Hub.
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.
| Take the 5-Minute Survey |
And contact Karen Moseley if you’re interested in helping to plan the Summit!
HERO RECOMMENDS
Resources and Readings
Recommended Resources
- Effectiveness of workplace interventions for health promotion – ScienceDirect (June 2025) In an analysis of 88 systematic reviews (339 meta-analyses) of workplace health interventions, the authors found low-quality evidence with modest but consistent benefits. They reported that interventions such as mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, stress management, physical activity, and multicomponent programs show small improvements in mental health, physical activity, weight, and some clinical outcomes. However, no approach demonstrates strong effects supported by high-quality evidence. This study is significant because it provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of workplace health promotion research. It shows that while individual effects are small, they may still produce meaningful population-level benefits. For practice, it supports continued implementation of workplace health programs but emphasizes prioritizing evidence-based, scalable strategies and improving research quality to strengthen future impact and decision-making.
- Workplace Wellness Market Report 2026. (March 13, 2026) An industry marketplace report by Business Research Company. Get the latest trends on strategies from leading companies to deliver scalable and measurable wellness outcomes, including AI, wearables, employee engagement tools, and hybrid workplace solutions.
- 2026 State of Workforce Mental Health Report. (March 17, 2026) Lyra Health updates the troubling statistics that highlight a growing disconnect: more than one-third are merely “surviving”; more than one-fourth report a decline in mental health.
- U.S. Worker Thriving Declines as Job Market Pessimism Grows. (March 24, 2026) By Sarah Fiorini. New Gallup data indicate that, for the first time since Gallup began measuring the life evaluation of the American workforce, more U.S. workers are struggling in their lives (49%) than thriving (46%).
- AI Is Breaking Jobs Into Tasks, And That Changes Everything. (March 23, 2026) By Bernard Marr. A more moderate framing of AI’s impact on jobs and future talent, not simply the extremes of utopia versus disaster.
- HBR: How Leaders Can Build a High-Agency Culture. (March 25, 2026) By Nir Eyal. On a brighter note: tips to foster cultures oriented toward experimentation, problem solving, and progress.
