Date
February 26, 2026
February
26
Kellogg Conference Center
Spartan Wellbeing Summit
Cultivating Wellbeing: Growing Stronger, Together
Register
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us in celebrating the one-year anniversary of implementing the Okanagan Charter and our continued progress toward integrating health and wellbeing in campus life. Let's honor our shared commitment to student, faculty, and staff wellbeing and success!
Agenda
7:30am-9:00am Registration
8:00am-9:00am Breakfast and Networking
Gathering music - Arianna Argentieri, Red Cedar Quartet
8:30am-9:15am Planting the Seeds: Leading with Purpose
Opening and Welcome
Jamie Kasicky, Executive Assistant to Dr. Travis
Welcome Video
Kevin M. Guskiewicz, PhD, Michigan State University President
Welcome Remarks
James Hintz, PhD, Vice President, Student Affairs
Pathway to Becoming a Health Promoting University
Alexis Travis, PhD, Assistant Vice President/Vice Provost, University Health and Wellbeing
9:15am-10:15am Nourishing Our Roots: Strengthening Systems of Support
Strategic Dialogues & Spartan Wellbeing Collective (SWC) Workgroup Updates
Kristin Traskie, MPH, Executive Director, Health Promotion, Engagement, Accessibility and Accommodations, Spartan Wellbeing Collective Advisory Committee Co-Chair
Stratton Lee, MA, Director of University Advising Office of Undergraduate Education, Spartan Wellbeing Collective Advisory Committee Co-Chair, Spartan Wellbeing Summit Awards Committee Chair
Spartan Wellbeing Collective Workgroup Co-Chairs:
Timothy Spedoske, MD, Medical Director, University Health and Wellbeing
Jeffrey MacKeigan, PhD, Sr Advisor for MSU Office of Research and Innovation
Jonathon Novello, LMSW, ACSW, Director of Employee Assistance Program, University Health and Wellbeing
Anne Thompson, MA, RDN, CSSD, CEDS, Associate Director of Health Promotion, University Health and Wellbeing
Renee Miller Zientek, MA, Executive Director of MSU Center for Community Engaged Learning
Shelby Gombosi, MA, Associate Director of Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, Interim Director of Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, University Health and Wellbeing
Katusha Galitzine, JD, Senior Civil Rights Investigator, Investigation, Support, and Resolution Teams in Office for Civil Rights
Swapna Hingwe, DO, MA, Director of CAPS, University Health and Wellbeing
Laleah Fernandez, PhD, Associate Director, MSU Institutional Research
Alyssa Waterson, PhD Candidate, Data Analyst with Institutional Research and University Health and Wellbeing
10:15am-10:30am Break
10:30am-11:30am Branching Out: Building Bridges Across Campus Student Panel
Facilitators:
Renata Opoczynski, PhD, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Student Success, Undergraduate Education
Priyanka Kothari, COGS President
Student Leaders:
Kathryn Harding, ASMSU President
Cami Monsalve, Doctoral Student
Dylan White, RHA Director of Health and Safety
Brendan Randall, CAPS Mental Health Ambassador
Ruben Mireles, MSU Food Bank and Basic Needs Program Student Employee
Olivia Feldman, CRC Student Leader
11:30am-11:45am: Grounding: Reflecting on our Work, Health, and Wellbeing
Lisa Laughman, LMSW, Spartan Resilience Training Program Coordinator, University Health and Wellbeing
11:45am-12:45pm Lunch
Music - Red Cedar Quartet
12:00pm-12:45pm Student Poster Session, Red Cedar Room
Dessert and Beverages Provided
12:45pm-1:50pm Harvesting Hope: A Call to Lead Forward
Video
Laura Lee McIntyre, PhD, Michigan State University Provost
Keynote: “Harvesting HOPE: Humanizing Our Practices for Evolution’" presented by Kiyaana Cox Jones
Be inspired to reimagine the understanding of hope, not as optimism or passive wishing, but as an ongoing ontological necessity and an active restorative force that is intentionally cultivated. Participants will leave with:
A restorative reframing of hope that moves beyond emotion into ethical and communal practice.
A deeper understanding of how hope operates within social-ecological systems across personal, relational, and environmental dimensions.
Innovative and practical pathways to cultivate hope as both practice and praxis on a health-promoting campus committed to the Okanagan Charter.
A vision for how hope becomes harvest—what it yields, how we sustain it, and how it transforms a university community into a root system of well-being.
1:50pm-2:00pm Break
2:00pm-2:40pm Branching Out: Voices of Wellbeing
Facilitator:
Pero Dagbovie, PhD, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of History, Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and Dean of the Graduate School
Trustee Brianna Scott, JD, Chair of MSU Board of Trustees
Donna Donovan, JD, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
Jessica Gray, LMSW Coordinator for Student Wellness & Academic Success within the Broad College of Business
Kara Yermak, MHRLR, Assistant Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs
Karen Stanley-Kime, Ph.D., LP, ABPP, Assistant Dean for Student Wellness and Engagement
2:40pm-3:00pm Blooming Together: Celebrating Leadership in Action
Stratton Lee, MA, Director of University Advising Office of Undergraduate Education, Spartan Wellbeing Collective Advisory Committee Co-Chair, Spartan Wellbeing Summit Awards Committee Chair
Spartan Wellbeing Summit Awards Committee Members
3:00pm Closing Remarks
Norman E Hubbard, MBA, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Spartan Wellbeing Collective Steering Committee Co-Chair
Time
7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Location
Kellogg Conference Center