Call for Proposals

Deadline for completed submissions: 11:59 PM CST, March 1, 2018


HERO organizes our presenter selection process to ensure that our HEROForum18 participants will learn from faculty dedicated to evidence informed practice, who have hard-won successes to share and who share a heartfelt passion for the health and well-being of employees, families and communities. For HEROForum18, we are particularly interested in exploring how organizations can achieve the optimal balance between dual strategies such as reducing risks and strengthening assets, satisfying the business objectives of the C-Suite and creating employee-centered health and well-being initiatives that soar in popularity and impact. Related to this, we are seeking presentations from a rich cross-section of the health and well-being field. Our volunteer review committee is a diverse panel of experts and practitioners, as we are committed to a diverse conference faculty. This includes diversity of opinions as well as inclusivity per demographics and training. At the same time, HERO and our peer reviewers favor evidence-based proposals by qualified scientists and successful practitioners. Commercialism is not allowed, and every presenter will be required to follow HERO's non-commercialism guidelines.


In keeping with HERO’s reputation as a host of a learning experience that is practical and thought-provoking as well as agenda-setting for our field, we will be offering an eclectic number of conference tracks with learning objectives that advance our theme and address other timely issues in health and well-being. Learning tracks for submissions are described below. 


Incomplete submissions may be delayed or rejected. Please ensure your submission is complete.


Conference Tracks



  1. Skills, motivation, autonomy: Exemplary employer population health improvement cases, successful health promotion interventions, behavioral economics principles in action.

  2. Parity in Health Promotion: How to better meet the needs of women, minorities and low wage workers. Featuring initiatives that appeal to a multi-generational workforce and address diversity and programs that are sensitive to ethnic, class and racial issues. How organizational power structures, privilege, job demands and resources affect engagement.

  3. Engaging Leaders and Champions: From the C-Suite to the Shop Floor, we are interested in all kinds of influencers of workplace health. How to enlist, train and support wellness champions, middle managers, informal grass roots leaders and executive level leaders in building a culture of health.

  4. Measures for the C-Suite and the Shop Floor: Our theme of “well-being for all” captures the growing ambitions of our field. We are keen on featuring new items, instruments and dashboards with clearly defined constructs that can show baseline or time-over-time changes in well-being and/or culture, particularly for hard to reach populations.

  5. New Ideas and New Uses for Old Ideas: Continuous improvement, that is, real change, is a given for any field that wants to stay relevant, vibrant and responsive to societal changes and business demands. This track is for new ideas, paradigm shapers and shifters, or new uses for old ideas. Attendant to your advocacy for a new approach, come prepared to explain whether our profession is best served by an evolution or a revolution with respect to current best practices and your ideas about next practices.

  6. Happiness and Well-being: We’re not interested in “concept selling” of positive psychology principles at this point; we’re all on board with the value of love, gratitude, happiness, resiliency and other holistic ways to advance well-being. Instead, bring us success stories about how to measure and apply these concepts, including the use of cool tools, into our day-to-day health and well-being initiatives.

Submission Guidelines

Each submission must include the following items:



  • Title

  • Abstract (150-word maximum)

  • Three learning objectives

  • Bio for each presenter - one paragraph that includes full name, credentials, current job title and current company affiliation (150-word maximum for each bio)

  • Photo for each presenter - color, high-resolution photo labeled with presenter's last name

  • Contact information for each presenter (phone & email)

  • Contact information for person submitting the proposal, if not a presenter

  • Signed non-commercialism pledge from each presenter

  • The answers to the additional questions

Submissions for this conference were closed on 2018-03-26.