One Mind at Work’s 2025 Global Forum Calls for Upstream Action on Workforce Mental Health
NAPA, CALIF. (May 14, 2025) – One Mind at Work convened its 2025 Global Forum in Napa Valley from May 12–14, bringing together global leaders, innovators, and advocates to take a bold step “upstream” in addressing mental health at work. The central message of the forum: tackle the root causes, not just the symptoms, of mental health challenges in the workplace.
This year’s theme, “Going Upstream: Addressing Workforce Mental Health at the Source,” focused on prevention, leadership accountability, inclusive strategies, and data-driven action. Attendees explored how employers can become stewards of a mentally healthy future through leadership, listening, and systemic change. Throughout the event, panelists emphasized that psychological safety, inclusion, and leadership authenticity are essential ingredients for resilient, high-performing organizations.
Opening keynote speaker Dr. Ashwin Vasan, former Commissioner of Public Health for New York City, called on leaders to rethink old habits and lead with vulnerability.
“We must become disenchanted with some of the ways we’ve always done things. This is the invitation to reset, but not forget, why we’re doing this work in the first place,” said Dr. Vasan. “Start with you. Share your struggles. Share your strategies. Culture flows from the top; if leaders are silent, so too will be the employees.”
Dr. Kathy Pike, CEO of One Mind, reinforced that mental health is a core business issue, not a side initiative.
“We are the stewards of the next path. Employers are the incubators of the future of mental health,” added Dr. Pike. “Mental health is not a siloed issue. It’s part of how we define and measure success in our organizations.”
Themes Throughout the Event
The forum emphasized the following key pillars for transforming mental health in the workplace:
- Leadership at All Levels: Culture change starts at the top. Leaders sharing their own mental health journeys helps normalize conversations and reduce stigma.
- Employee Voice: Listening to employees—even when immediate answers aren’t available—is critical. Mental health strategies must be co-created with workers.
- Return on Value & Measurement: Mental health investment offers measurable returns in productivity, retention, and cost savings. Data-driven approaches drive accountability.
- Resilient Cultures: Inclusion, belonging, and psychological safety are inseparable from mental health. Programs should evolve but never retreat under political pressure.
- Prevention, Technology, and AI: From leveraging AI to promoting universal design, prevention must be embedded across all aspects of the employee experience.
The forum also highlighted the importance of representation and inclusion of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), urging employers to go beyond compliance and create cultures where neurodiverse and SMI populations can thrive.
“Inclusion isn’t separate from resilience. It’s foundational,” said Chéla Gage, Talent & Inclusion Consultant & Executive Coach at OLI Strategies and One Mind Board Member. “Psychological safety isn’t a soft skill; it’s a strategic one.”
Serious Mental Illness (SMI) inclusion requires proactive policies, not just reactive accommodations. Neurodiverse and SMI-inclusive cultures benefit all employees. Stigma and low expectations hinder success more than diagnosis itself.
In a panel on Supporting Individuals with Serious Mental Illness in the Workplace, moderated by Brandon Staglin, One Mind’s Co-Founder and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer, members of the One Mind Lived Experience Council shared their valuable insights:
“Universal design helps everyone—not just those with diagnoses,” said author and advocate Linea Johnson.
“Serious Mental Illness (SMI) is not synonymous with incapacity,” said Alex Sheehan, WA State Health Authority.
“Value us because of who we are, not in spite of who we are,” said Uma Chatterjee, Neuroscientist & Doctoral Researcher.
“Between awareness and change, there’s action,” said Scott Kelsey, Founder & CEO of Shareapy.
Workshops and Deep Dives
The program featured guided workshops, a large employer focus group, and practical sessions on AI for mental health, building inclusive employment pipelines, and rethinking job design to prevent burnout.
Notable sessions included:
“Improving Pathways to Employment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness” – Moderated by Anne B. Oxrider, Senior VP and Benefits Executive, Bank of America, featuring panelists including: Marjorie Morrison, Executive in Residence, SHRM; Founder of PsychHub, and Brandon Staglin, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, One Mind.
“The Voice of the Employee: Understanding Worker Mental Health Needs” – Moderated by Kana Enomoto, Director of Brain Health for the McKinsey Health Institute, featuring panelists including: Emmanuelle Dias, Senior Manager, Capital Group, and Jim Winkler, Chief Strategy Officer, Business Group on Health.
“Partnering for Prevention: Integrating Safety, Risk, and Mental Health to Build Resilient Workforces” – Moderated by Elisha Engelen, Human Capital Solution Client Leader at Aon, featuring panelists including: Mary Bubacz, Project Executive at DPR Construction, and Jeff Gorter, Vice President, Clinical Crisis Response at R3 Continuum.
“Caring for the Caregivers: Upstream Strategies for Creating Healthier Clinical Workforces” – Moderated by Dr. Tahilia Rebello, VP, One Mind Rising Star Academy, featuring panelists including: Dr. Dan Gizzo, Director of Mental Health Scholars Academy, Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Gregory Guldner, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Graduate Medical Education, HCA Healthcare, and Dr. Sipra Laddha, Psychiatrist; Founder and CEO of LunaJoy, a 2025 One Mind Accelerator company.
The Salus Awards
The Salus Award takes its name from the Staglin Family wine label, which honors Salus, the Roman goddess of well-being. Each year at the Global Forum, One Mind at Work presents the Salus Award to one individual and one organization in recognition of a remarkable commitment to advancing the adoption of one or more pillars of the One Mind at Work Charter. This year’s awards were presented by Garen Staglin, One Mind Co-Founder and Chair, and Cathryn Gunther, Global Head of Culture and Associate Experience, Mars.
The 2025 Salus Award for Workplace Mental Health was presented to Motorola Solutions, for their dedication to advancing wellness initiatives across its workforce since joining One Mind at Work in 2022. Motorola Solutions’ commitment, active measurement and global engagement exemplify the kind of leadership the Salus Awards were created to spotlight.
The 2025 Salus Award for Individual Voices in Workplace Mental Health was presented to Allison Walker, FTV Capital for her visionary leadership that embodies the essence of the Salus Award. In 2024, Ali approached One Mind with a powerful idea: bring One Mind at Work membership to a cohort of FTV’s portfolio companies, a diverse set of growth-stage businesses at the cutting edge of financial and enterprise technology and services. As one of the newest members of the One Mind at Work Guiding Council, she has already left a lasting impact.
Key Takeaways
Closing out the 9th Annual One Mind at Work Global Forum, the clear takeaways and next steps employers can take are as follows:
- Embed mental health into everyday operations
- Train mid-level managers on psychological safety
- Measure impact and link efforts to business outcomes
- Shift from reactive care to proactive design
- Support workers with SMI through inclusive hiring and growth strategies
About One Mind at Work
One Mind is at the forefront of a transformative movement in mental health, delivering innovative solutions to address critical gaps in mental health research, care, workplace wellness, and public perception. Guided by science and lived experience, we fund groundbreaking research, accelerate innovation, enhance workplace wellness, and engage the public to reshape mental health care and awareness. With science as our cornerstone, and people at the heart of what we do, our programs are setting new standards for effective interventions and redefining the future of mental health.
As an arm of One Mind, One Mind at Work is a global coalition of organizations committed to the development and implementation of a gold standard for workplace mental health and well-being. With most of the world’s population spending one-third of their adult lives at work, employers have a tremendous opportunity to improve quality of life for all people and play a critical role in driving mental health solutions. Leaving mental health needs unaddressed has costly results like higher absenteeism, increased liability, and lost productivity. One Mind at Work believes that a committed group of CEOs can transform the way we view and approach mental health, brain fitness, and well-being in the workplace. Today, there are nearly 150 One Mind at Work member organizations.
Learn more: www.onemindatwork.org
Media Contact:
Grace Lodge
Email: grace.lodge@onemind.org