MORNING SESSIONS (10:15A -11:30A)
Brown Employee Benefits 101
Whether you are new to Brown or have been here for decades, Benefits 101 is your chance to take a closer look at the programs and services available to you as an employee. This overview will help you brush up on the basics of Brown's health and retirement benefits, learn when you can make changes to your benefits and understand the importance of Open Enrollment. Participants will come away with the knowledge to support their health and financial wellness.
April O'Malley, Senior Benefits Specialist
Instructor-led Session | Virtual | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Zoom
De-Stress With 5NP Acupuncture
Join Daisy Ferreira, R.N., and Tanya Sullivan, N.P., of Brown's Health Services to relax with the 5 Needle Protocol (5NP). 5NP utilizes five points in the outer ear to address physical and emotional symptoms, related toxic stress, drug and alcohol detox, chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, depression, trauma, shock and more. In this session you will be provided with a comfortable chair to relax in and soothing music as Ferreira and Sullivan insert small needles in one or both ears. Read more about 5NP here.
Tanya Sullivan, Associate Clinical Director, Health Services, Nurse Practitioner
Daisy Ferreira, Registered Nurse
Demo | In-Person | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Alumnae Hall Crystal Room, 194 Meeting Street
Making the Most of Food Scraps
Participants will attend a cooking demo to learn how to utilize traditionally tossed food scraps. In this session, participants will be making a side of roasted carrots, and utilizing the carrot tops to make a "carrot top pesto" to toss with some pasta. This will be hosted by an executive chef and a registered dietitian.
Michelle Blais, Director of Wellness and Nutrition
Demo | In-Person | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Chancellor's Dining Room, Sharpe Refectory Upper Level (144 Thayer St, Providence, RI 02906)
Mindfulness Unpacked: Finding Balance, Peace and the Power of Presence in a Frantic World
Life can be frantic, busy and full of challenges. Unfortunately, when it gets like this, one of the first things we often let go of is tending to and taking care of ourselves, resulting in an inability to care for others and our communities. There is a deep and long history of evidence suggesting that mindfulness can support us with combatting the frantic pace of life and the stressors that come with it. In this session, you will learn more about what mindfulness is and how it may help with building resilience, reducing stress and learning to live life with joy, compassion and presence.
Lynn Koerbel, MPH, Assistant Director of Marketing and Business Development, School of Public Health
Instructor-Led Session | In-Person | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Friedman Hall (on the Main Green), Room 202
Movement for an Aging Body
Well, we're all aging, but this workshop is specifically for those of us who are really feelin' it — whether you're in your forties or sixties. The workshop will include yoga, breathing and dance stretches and strengthening exercises that you can use when you're in a chair at work or on a mat at home. This session will be run by an ex-dancer, yoga teacher and careful mover in her 60s. We'll leave time at the end to discuss our various aches and pains. (Just kidding!) Please bring a mat if you have one.
Nancy Safian, Academic Department Manager
Instructor-Led Session | Hybrid | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Pembroke Hall, Room 305 (172 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912) and Zoom
Strength and Fitness Training With Your Sports Performance Staff
Ever wondered how Brown’s student-athletes train for their sport? Get ready to sweat, stretch and move with the head coach of Strength and Conditioning as he takes you through an immersive, full day of training fit for a varsity athlete.
Brandon O'Neall, Head Coach, Strength and Conditioning
Demo | In-Person | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Zucconi Varsity Center, OMAC (225 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906)
Take a Mindfulness Walk on Brown's Campus!
Enjoy a slow mindfulness walk on Brown's campus with April Huth, a certified nature and forest therapy guide. The primary goal of the mindfulness walk is to support the wellness and health of participants through guided immersive experiences in a natural setting. During this gentle walk, April will provide instructions—referred to as "invitations"—for sensory-opening activities along the way. This practice can help to reduce stress hormone levels and the symptoms of anxiety, depression and fatigue.
April Huth, Digital Content Producer, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Instructor-Led Session | In-Person | Morning (10:15a -11:30a)
Location: Main Green
Afternoon SESSIONS (1:15p - 2:30p)
Beat the Traffic to Brown by Bike
Curious about bike commuting? Want to explore ways to be healthy and get to work energized and refreshed? Interested in heart-healthy living and avoiding traffic over the bridges? Participants will learn about equipment, routes, maintenance and everything related to bike commuting by someone who has commuted by bike to work at Brown for almost 20 years.
Geoff Williams, Microscopist/Manager, Bioimaging Facility, BioMed Molecular, Cellular Biology Biochemistry
Instructor-Led Session | In-person | Afternoon (1:15p - 2:30p)
Location: Pembroke Hall, Room 305 172 Meeting St, Providence, RI 02912
De-Stress With 5NP Acupuncture
Join Daisy Ferreira, R.N., and Tanya Sullivan, N.P., of Brown's Health Services to relax with the 5 Needle Protocol (5NP). 5NP utilizes five points in the outer ear to address physical and emotional symptoms, related toxic stress, drug and alcohol detox, chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, depression, trauma, shock and more. In this session you will be provided with a comfortable chair to relax in and soothing music as Ferreira and Sullivan insert small needles in one or both ears. Read more about 5NP here.
Tanya Sullivan, Associate Clinical Director, Health Services, Nurse Practitioner
Daisy Ferreira, Registered Nurse
Demo | In-Person | Afternoon (1:15p - 2:30p)
Location: Alumnae Hall Crystal Room (194 Meeting Street)
Recovery & Recovery Allies at Brown
Come to this session to hear about the ways in which Brown University supports students (at all levels), faculty and staff in addiction recovery efforts. In addition to Brown-specific supports, the session will also cover exciting developments in Rhode Island's substance use efforts, including the overdose prevention center opening in Providence in the summer of 2024, as well as ways to help eliminate stigma across campus through partnership and allyship.
Lindsay Garcia, Associate Dean of the College for Junior/Senior Studies & Recovery and Substance-Free Student Initiatives
Instructor-Led Session | In-Person | Afternoon (1:15p - 2:30p)
Location: Friedman Hall (on the Main Green), Room 003
Spring Health: Your Employee Assistance Program
Counseling, coaching, and support services are administered by Spring Health, Brown's Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Learn how to take advantage of the counseling offer, which includes 10 therapy sessions per year for you and every member of your family, at no cost to you. Or, learn how to connect with a professional coach to help you set and achieve tangible goals, build new skills and develop healthier habits. Whether you want help managing stress or an accountability partner as you work toward your goal of completing that 5k, this great overview will help you get started utilizing your Spring Health benefits.
Carley Turner, Senior Product Specialist, Spring Health
Olivia Harris
Instructor-Led Session | Virtual | Afternoon (1:15p - 2:30p)
Location: Zoom