Meet ModernWell-ers Shawna Hedlund, Executive Director, and Connie Sheehan, Program Manager, of Minnesota School-Based Health Alliance. Shawna and Connie have been a part of the ModernWell community since April 2022 when they came seeking a place to work and meet. Collectively they work to optimize health outcomes and education equity for young people in Minnesota through access to integrated health care in schools. 

Every once in a while, if you are lucky, you meet a person who literally lights up a room. Jasna Burza is one of those people and then some! Her smile, contagiously positive energy, and kind and generous spirit make Jasna a magnet for those wanting to infuse their lives with more hope and light. We are grateful to spotlight one of our very first ModernWell members, Jasna Burza!

On a beautiful Thursday morning in July, five months into the pandemic, I was grateful to be sitting in the bright and airy ModernWell conference room six feet apart from a few of my fellow writers and seeing the remaining members of our Writing Studio class on our TV screen through Zoom. Many of us have been writing together for more than five years and the relationships among members has extended far beyond the hundreds of thousands of words we’ve collectively written. After our individual check-ins, Nina Badzin, my Writing Studio co-founder kicked off the writing part of the session with a reading  by Abigail Thomas entitled  “Bugs Are Saving My (Writing) Life” (from Brevity Magazine). 

The unprecedented coronavirus chaos has tilted the floor we stand on. Staying home. Upending our routine. Dizzying us with anxiety and fear. But it also reinvigorates our ability to accept hard truths and plow ahead, anyway. Although nothing quite like a (seemingly overnight) pandemic—we’ve all managed hard things before. In my case, after four kidney transplants, I’ve acquired some go-to coping techniques. And I’ve always found that stepping outside of myself to help others eases the way. 

As a Health and Wellness Coach, mother of 2 kids, and someone who, like many, finds myself working at home with kids full time during this uncertain and scary time, I am continually called to reflect upon and ensure I am taking care of my own well-being, and that of my family. These six actions and reflective questions can be instrumental in your ability to maintain and even improve your well-being during this time of crisis and beyond:

According to research from the Boston Consulting Group, if women and men jumped into entrepreneurship at equal rates, the global economy could gain as much as $5 trillion in additional activity. Women entrepreneurs are imperative for economic flourishing amongst many other things. In honor of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we teamed up with a few of our members to ask for their insight on things every female entrepreneur needs to hear. Their advice is real, tangible, and sure to leave you ready to tackle that next big goal or dream!