Chamber Event to Focus on Women’s Wellness at Work

We all have a perception of what “wellness” means: good physical health through a balanced diet and regular exercise; positive relationships with friends and family; an ability to manage and minimize stress and anxiety; and a sustainable balance of work, fun, and other obligations.

In the context of the workplace, however, wellness programs are typically designed with the intent to increase employee engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. WIBA, the Women in Business Alliance of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce presents an exploration of what wellness truly means in “Women in the Workforce: Redefining Wellness” on Wednesday, April 24, from 8 to 10 a.m. at Grounds For Sculpture at 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton.

The event features a keynote address followed by a panel discussion among industry experts to provide the groundwork for introducing wellness initiatives in the workplace. Attendees are also invited to tour the sculpture grounds following the event. For more information, visit www.princetonmercerchamber.org.

Keynote speaker Faith Saunders focuses on the “Eight Dimensions of Wellness.” Most people think about wellness through the lens of the physical dimension: weight, diet, exercise, and the like. But researchers have laid out seven other areas that all contribute to a person leading the most fulfilling life.

These include intellectual, valuing continual learning and curiosity; emotional, managing and understanding your feelings and those of others; social, maintaining healthy relationships; spiritual, knowing your purpose and values; vocational, finding meaningful satisfying work that is compatible with your values; financial, living within your means and recognizing that others’ means and needs may be different; and environmental, understanding how the social, natural, and built environments you inhabit affect your health.

Saunders is the founder of Somerset-based Discover a New Future, a consulting firm that, according to her biography provided by the Chamber “specializes in tailored leadership and professional development workshops aligned with clients’ leadership framework and strategic business objectives.” In that role, she has offered workshops for entities including for-profits, nonprofits, academia, and government agencies.

She holds a master’s degree in psychiatric rehabilitation from Rutgers and served as an adjunct professor at its School of Health-Related Professions. She later developed a training institute for the State of New Jersey that offered employment, leadership training, and technical support, and most recently she founded I Can Make A Difference (iCMAD), a nonprofit dedicated to assisting single parents by focusing on their “emotional well-being, self-awareness, confidence, and resilience in dealing with trauma and stress.”

The other panelists are Kristin Burke, organizational development manager at Quakerbridge Road-based accounting firm Mercadien; Maria Fierszt, wellness center manager at Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell; and Tony Jackson, the owner of Dao Concepts and Tai Chi instructor at Grounds For Sculpture.

Burke joined Mercadien in 2023 “with more than a decade of strategic project development and management experience,” according to her Chamber biography. “She is responsible for leading the firm’s culture strategy and prioritizing projects related to organizations and leadership development, associate training, and team effectiveness. She also supports change management, wellness initiatives, and the firm’s realization of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and programs.”

She previously worked in association management for 17 years.

Fierszt, a certified personal trainer, started her career in marketing for such companies as Pepsi and Nabisco and later worked as a personal trainer focused on special populations, including cancer and multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s patients as well as people with autism and Down Syndrome. In her role at Capital Health she develops exercise and wellness classes for both patients and employees.

Jackson, a graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Gulf War and Somalian Conflict, moved from the army to the corporate world, working for companies including Nestle, the Dial Corporation, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and Amerisource Bergen, and ultimately becoming the chief operating officer of two pharmaceutical companies. Through his current business, Dao Concepts, his Chamber bio explains, “he imparts his wisdom to others, teaching the transformative powers of Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese art that blends exercise with stress reduction, Guided Meditation, and Self-Defense. Since 2017 he has worked at Grounds For Sculpture presenting workshops in galleries and outdoors in the grounds that promote overall wellness.”