The Strive for Well-being (SWB) Network Team partners with MHealthy, investigates best practices in evidence-based programs, and provides feedback for new ways to engage the university community in the eight dimensions of wellness.
View the Strive for Well-being Team charge.
View the Member Profiles on this page to learn more.
Strive for Well-being projects include a storytelling initiative where supervisors share how they champion well-being and, an update to the Be Kind campaign that features a gratitude email generator. The team also is investigating Wellness Coaching for staff, similar to student efforts found in the Well-being Collective. It also led to an effort to have “Faculty & Staff Well-being” placed on the landing page of Wolverine Access as a featured tile.
To learn more about the SWB team, see their 2024 project poster.
April Wesner (she/her) is an Administrative Specialist Associate for The Mental Health Program. She has been a dedicated member of Michigan Medicine for over 14 years, including more than 4 years of experience in the psychiatry department. April is deeply passionate about the mental health field and takes great pride in supporting the wellness of both the patients and staff. In her personal time, she enjoys "filling her cup" through cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with her husband, two children, and their dog.
Colleen has been a registered nurse for 20 years and has worked at U of M since 2010. She has worked in a variety of settings, including Adult Emergency Department, Surgical Intensive Care, and currently works as a Home Infusion Nurse. Colleen is involved in numerous committees, mostly focused on quality improvement. She is excited to bring her voice to this group!!
Dawn Matyzius (she/he) is a registered nurse in the Adult Emergency Department. She has been working for Michigan Medicine for 8 years, but has been working as an ER nurse for 24 years. She obtained her Masters of Nursing from University of Washington specializing in Health Program Planning, and Policy Development. She enjoys traveling and outdoor activities, such as fishing, hiking, and kayaking.
Dianne Singer has worked in health services research for the past twenty years. She is the Project Manager for the National Poll on Healthy Aging which taps into the perspectives of older adults to help inform the public, health care providers, policymakers, and advocates on issues related to health, health care and health policy affecting older adults and their families.
Doris is a pediatric nurse with over 17 years of experience in the intensive care environment. After coming to the University of Michigan on a travel assignment, she chose to stay and now works at Mott PACU. She recently earned her Master’s of Nursing Education degree, which allows her to teach and mentor students at the prestigious University of Michigan School of Nursing. Doris has a strong passion for health and fitness. She is the current MHealthy Champion of her unit and creator of the unit based wellness committee that uses evidence - based methods to support her colleagues' well-being. Her Strive for Wellbeing Committee through Vital Voices membership was a natural progression as she is dedicated to advancing wellness initiatives on a broader scale within the organization.
Guiqiu Wang (she/her/hers) serves as a Program Coordinator at the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the International Institute. In her role, she offers academic support to graduate students, post-docs, visiting scholars, and various academic and international exchange initiatives. She is interested in exploring Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) efforts for international students and scholars, as well as immigrant employees.
Heather has been a Registered Nurse for 22 years. After receiving her BSN from Siena Heights University she joined Michigan Medicine in 2016 working in the Central Staffing Resources Department within the Telemetry Cluster. She has been a past member of the Unit Base Committee and is currently on the Nursing Framework Central Committee. Heather joined Vital Voices Strive for Wellbeing Committee because she wanted to make a difference for all staff throughout the system in being healthier, reducing stress, and finding ways to support each other. Heather enjoys the outdoors, horseback riding, and taking her Great Dane to visit assisted living facilities and nursing homes to help spread joy to the staff and residents alike.
Jeanne Wacker (she/her) is the Administrative Specialist for the Michigan Society of Fellows, housed at the Rackham Graduate School. She has been with U-M and Rackham since Nov 2021. In her spare time, Jeanne enjoys traveling both domestically and internationally (2024 trips include Honolulu, Hawaii, Cartagena, Colombia, and Los Cabos, Mexico), hiking, duck-hunting, and building her dream house with her husband on 15 acres of wooded land.