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“Whoa! We needed today,” �պ����� Employee Wellness Manager Cara Hancy said, packing up her table after the �պ����� Benefits & Wellness Fair on November 6.

The annual event, which featured resources, giveaways, food, and experiences like chair massage, acupuncture, and more, saw record attendance this year—and Hancy thinks that �պ����� Employees’ need to select their 2025 benefits before November 27 is only part of the reason why.

“I think it feels good to be in community right now,” she said, noting a sentiment she had heard frequently throughout the day. “Connection can be incredibly powerful.”

Hancy's work fostering connection and empowering employees is rooted in established and emerging research and is on full display in the quality and breadth of the programming and resources she produces and the external vendor and internal cross-unit relationships she nurtures.

It's a big job: Hancy oversees health and wellbeing opportunities for �պ�����’s more than 5,500 employees whose workspaces are spread across Burlington and around the state. Opportunities include free health coaching, mental health first aid training, biometric screenings, flu and Covid vaccine clinics, on-campus chiropractic care, wellness education webinars, the powerful digital wellness platform Be Well Vemont, and support for participating in exercise classes, nutrition counseling, mindful meditation, and sports. 

In October, Hancy was named the 2024 Vermont Worksite Wellness Outstanding Contributor by the VT Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for how she has revitalized �պ����� Employee Wellness, which joined the Osher Center for Integrative Health at �պ����� in 2022.

Working with University leaders, Hancy developed a proposal for �պ�����’s leadership with employee wellness best practices, including: allowing employees to use work time to attend wellness activities, supporting movement breaks and healthy food choices, encouraging employees to get health screenings and vaccines, allowing time off for family care and mental wellbeing, and supporting a healthy work-life balance or—as �պ����� Employee Wellness’ Integrative Health and Wellness Coach, Melisa Oliva, NBC-HWC, calls it—work-life harmony.

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like a balance very much, does it?” she recently said. “Shifting our mindset with our behaviors can help create change in a really powerful way.”

“Wellness Catalysts: Transforming Perspectives and Outcomes” is a two-part workshop series Hancy and Oliva designed specifically for Wellness Ambassadors, an engaged group of �պ����� Employees Hancy guides in becoming change agents and leaders. Their role involves promoting a holistic approach to health, fostering well-being, and collaboratively co-creating a vibrant wellness culture at �պ�����.

Hancy also has developed resources for managers so �պ����� leadership can support healthy growth within teams, and she works with faculty like Osher Center Education Director Karen Westervelt, PhD, to support the �պ����� Employee Coaching Connection, a free 12-week program that combines individual and group sessions and runs in the spring and fall semesters.

Hancy accepted her award at the Vermont Workplace Wellness Conference, moments before �պ����� was given the 2024 Gold Award for Excellence in Worksite Wellness for its leadership. After a heartfelt thank-you to her team, she celebrated by co-leading, with Oliva, a workshop for colleagues from around the State. "We all inspire each other to care for ourselves and our communities," she said.

Genevieve Anthony: 2024 �պ����� Employee Wellness Champion

In the Patrick Leahy Honors College, Genevieve Anthony’s role as Assistant Dean for Business Operations keeps her busy. “I get so much energy from our students,” the winner of the 2024 �պ����� Employee Wellness Champion Award said, when asked how she handles juggling all the many tasks and processes necessary to help people navigate their �պ����� experience. “Seeing something click for them, making something easier for them, it feels good. Wait—can I say two answers? My colleagues! They inspire and help me.” The feeling is mutual: in her nomination letter, Anthony’s coworker, wrote:

“I feel like Genevieve is constantly thinking about community. Whether it’s getting the staff together for a lunch, popping into our offices to see if we want to take a walk, arranging for meetups after work, or making sure she shows up to colleagues’ special events, she is consistently there when anyone needs her.”

Anthony accepted her award and its accompanying $300 gift card at the Benefits and Wellness Fair, with a strong pep assist from Rally Cat, who then dashed off to ask about the and what, in fact, a deductible is. Colleagues in Human Resources were at the ready to help.

Hancy started the �պ����� Employee Wellness Champion Award two years ago, and designed the nomination process to engender community gratitude, which research shows can be a catalytic force for good growth. She also finds ways to connect programs and resources whenever possible to �պ�����’s Planetary Health Initiative, which affirms the reciprocity of individual, public, community, and environmental health and highlights the mutually beneficial potential of mindfully connecting them. Upcoming projects include a new Employee Wellness website by the end of the year and analyzing employee survey data to enhance and develop resources.

Where does Hancy get the energy to take on her busy role, all while attempting to orchestrate harmony in her own work and life? “I really believe in this,” she said after unloading her Benefits and Wellness Fair table material back at her Osher Center office. “I want every person to thrive at work and know they are supported, that we are a community of people caring for ourselves, each other, and the world.”