PA Peace Alliance Lunch & Learn – Strong Roots, Steady Hands: Adult Well-Being in Mission-Driven Work

In the work of caring for others, it’s easy to forget that we need care, too. The meaningful, mission-driven work we do depends on our ability to sustain ourselves with compassion and balance. This session invites us to turn that care inward—exploring what it means to cultivate steadiness, balance, and joy in the midst of demanding, mission-driven work. Grounded in Dr. Dan Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter, we’ll use reflection and conversation to explore the science of well-being and identify practices that help us stay whole. Together, we’ll crowdsource strategies, share what sustains us, and build networks of support that make well-being not just an individual responsibility, but a collective commitment.

This webinar will be led by WestEd's own Dr. Theresa Pfister. Her experience in K-12, non-profit, and higher education settings position her at the intersection of research and evaluation and technical assistance. Her work at WestEd spans qualitative research, school climate, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed schools, school-based mental health, and equity in education.

Theresa earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Pomona College, a Masters in teaching from Relay GSE, and a PhD in Educational Psychology-Applied Developmental Science from the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Applied Developmental Science and The Journal of Early Adolescence, as well as practitioner-facing magazines such as ASCD's Educational Leadership and UC Berkeley's Greater Good.