Ashleigh Hala named director of the Office of Wellbeing
Following a national search, Ashleigh Hala, MSW, LCSW, has been named director of the Office of Wellbeing at Wake Forest University. Hala, a licensed clinical social worker, has most recently served as director of Wellness & Prevention Services at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. 
While at Babson, Hala also served as associate director of wellness and director of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services. Hala brings to Wake Forest institutional leadership experience and service. She holds certifications in Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students as well as restorative practices, leadership in prevention, peer education and sexual violence prevention.
Hala is active in both the American College Health Association (ACHA) and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and was recently elected co-chair of the NASPA Wellness Knowledge Community. In the last year, she has presented nationally on an array of topics including health equity, sexual abuse, restorative practices, prevention work with student athletes and alcohol amnesty policy development.
“As I think about the next decade in campus life at Wake Forest, attention to health equity, sexual and relationship violence, and the held trauma of our community members will be critical,” said Assistant Vice President for Health and Wellbeing James Raper. “Ashleigh is exceptionally positioned to lead and partner in this work.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Wake Forest’s public health efforts,” said Hala. “With my exceptional team, I am excited to holistically advance the health and wellbeing of our students.”
Categories: Inside WFU, Staff News
Office of Wellbeing offers massage therapy
A guest post from the Office of Wellbeing: 
The Office of Wellbeing is pleased to announce that due to improving community conditions, our massage therapy program is once again available to the Wake Forest campus community.
Massage therapy is designed to enhance wellbeing through physical and mental relaxation and pain relief, improving the quality of life for those who receive services.
Currently enrolled Wake Forest University students, faculty, staff members, and retired faculty and staff can receive services through the Office of Wellbeing. Sessions are one hour in length and cost $55.
Visit thrive.wfu.edu/services/massage-therapy/ to book an appointment and learn more about available services and reported benefits of massage therapy.
Categories: Guest Post, Inside WFU
Updates from HR: COVID-19 updates, wellbeing, employee events
COVID-19 Update
As announced, beginning May 1 University gate access will return to normal operations. Those who requested an exemption from the SneezSafe daily wellness screening will have their Deacon OneCard access automatically reinstated May 1. Faculty and staff should continue to monitor their health daily and utilize SneezSafe when they need help determining whether they should proceed to campus. 
Campus Redensification
As we near the end of the semester and plan for in-person classes this fall, colleagues who are still working remotely may have questions about their return to on-site work. Colleagues should expect the summer to be a transitional period during which leaders will engage teams and individuals in conversations about staffing plans that prioritize student- and employee-facing interactions. To aid in this process, we have developed these Campus Redensification Guidelines to help managers initiate these conversations.
With commencement less than three weeks away, now is a time to celebrate the numerous accomplishments of our campus community. Colleagues can anticipate receiving an update the week following commencement with additional redensification guidance, 2021-2022 Paid Time Off (PTO) carryover plans, and revised COVID-19 policies. We appreciate your patience as we continue to refine the University’s plans for the fall.
Weekly Wellbeing Tip: Email Timing
Intentional work correspondence can have a big impact on employee morale. Teams can strengthen and respect work-life balance by discussing what email best practices their teams should adhere to. Consider scheduling emails to send during work hours only and turning off notifications during non-working hours.
Read more » Harvard Business Review
Categories: Faculty News, Inside WFU, Staff News
Office of Wellbeing offers virtual nutrition counseling appointments
This is a guest post from the Office of Wellbeing.
Want to improve your eating habits? Nutrition counseling appointments are available!
If you’re struggling with healthy eating or need help managing your diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol, we can help. Registered Dietitian Christie Hunter will assist you with meeting your personal nutrition goals. She will assess your current intake to make practical goals that will help you become a healthier you.
As part of our commitment to your wellbeing, we encourage benefits-enrolled faculty and staff to take advantage of these free, one-on-one consultations. Sessions are one hour long and take place via web meeting.
Visit the Office of Wellbeing to learn more and register for a consultation.
Categories: Faculty News, Guest Post, Inside WFU, Staff News
Introducing the “Resilience at Work” wellbeing toolkit
This message is shared on behalf of Human Resources and the Office of Wellbeing.
Wake Forest Colleagues,
We are writing to introduce you to the “Resilience at Work” wellbeing toolkit, a resource that we hope each of you will find useful in the coming months and years. Over the last 13 months each of us has had to pivot, adapt, and find new internal resources to support one another and the mission of Wake Forest. This pulling together has been essential and yet at times it may have also left us and our colleagues feeling depleted and overwhelmed.
In recent weeks, a team of campus experts from the Office of Wellbeing and Human Resources have assembled research-based strategies that managers and supervisors can use to continue to support themselves and their colleagues. It is our hope that you find the resulting toolkit to be useful, accessible, and with clear action steps for leaders who come from all areas within our university community. There are quick tips and opportunities for deeper dives. We encourage each of you to come back to this toolkit often, as you work one-on-one, prepare for upcoming office or department meetings, plan retreats, or develop strategic plans. In addition, beginning last week we started to share tips for resilience in the weekly “Updates from Human Resources” newsletter.
As the wellbeing of our employees is a clear institutional priority, we also expect that this resource will evolve to meet the changing needs of our community. Let us know how you use the resources in this toolkit – what you need more of and how we can continue to support you.
With deep gratitude,
Dr. James D. Raper
Assistant Vice President for Health & Wellbeing
Dedee DeLongpré Johnston
Vice President for Human Resources and Sustainability
Categories: Inside WFU
