Expert in personal and organizational wellbeing

ABOUT ME

I am a personal and organizational wellbeing expert, founder and owner of The Wellness Institute of Poland, established in 2012 when wellness was almost inexistent in my country. I have over ten years of experience in HR and communications and ten years of experience which includes wellbeing management, coaching and training. I have been trained and certified by wellness leaders from the United States where wellness was born. As a thought leader I have contributed my ideas to growing the wellness field by writing and speaking to academic, medical, business and HR audiences both in Poland and internationally.

8 KEY FACTS ABOUT ME:

  1. I grew up in Africa, studied in America and am a citizen of Europe. I consequently have a cross-cultural background and a high linguistic literacy which allow me to address universal human needs on a global scale. I have worked in international environments for most of my life.
  2. My family is that of re-known medical doctors and I grew up with patient stories as part of dinner table conversations. My grand-father was president of the Medical University of Lublin, professor and author of atlases of anatomy. My father is a professor of neurology and contributor to advances in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. My mother has brought modern allergology to the Lublin region of Poland.
  3. Of course I felt a calling to pursue family tradition by becoming a medical doctor, but refused to do so in order to promote a whole-person approach to health as a wellness coach and wellbeing trainer. During my career I have had the opportunity to work with both patients and business people.
  4. I am a wellness pioneer in Poland. In 2012 I created the first institute dedicated to wellbeing in Poland called The Wellness Institute. Since then I have been both educating the market and actively honing my own wellbeing skills for excellence. I am also the first Polish certified wellness coach and first certified wellness program manager.
  5. I love speaking and have had the privilege of being an invited speaker to both international and world events. I have delivered talks at medical, wellness and business conferences (in New York City, Minneapolis, Athens, Budapest and London) including Business Insider Global Trends Festival (keynote speech), International Happiness at Work Summit, World Congress on Controversies in Neurology and National Wellness Conference in the United States.
  6. There is power in understanding how culture influences our efforts to achieve healthier lives. I have therefore recently contributed my knowledge and skills to the development of the HealthyCultureNow project. For this regard I co-worked with Judd Allen, PhD, president of the Human Resources Institute and Richard Safeer, MD who serves as Chief Medical Director, Employee Health and Well-being at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  7. I love sharing my expertise. So far I have had a strong presence in business, HR and lifestyle media e.g. Business Insider, Forbes, Newsweek, Ican Management Review, My Company, Personnel Plus, HR Standard, Fashion Magazine, Shape Magazine, the Polish national radio.
  8. I am passionate about life and lifelong learning. Part of the deal is knowing how to unlearn what is not working and embracing change. The VUCA world is an interesting time to be alive.

PRAISE

Ewa Stelmasiak is an outstanding thought leader and wellness pioneer in Poland. She is passionate about wellness and has taken on leadership roles in promoting wellness ideas internationally including world-level medical and business conferences. She created the equation showing wellness = wellbeing + welldoing as well as a new definition of wellness, “becoming fully alive and expressed in and for the world”. Ewa specializes in personal and organizational wellbeing, as well as creating cultures where it is easy to be well. I admire Ewa as a wellness professional for her impact, diligence and bringing fresh ideas to the wellness field.

John W. Travis, MD, MPH
Founding father of the wellness movement

I deeply value Ewa’s contributions to our psychiatric community. Both her lecture and workshop were very well received. We like to think of Ewa as one of the top minds in wellness in Poland. Ewa skillfully combines her own professional experience in lifestyle and behavioral change with relevant reviews of scientific literature which makes her message both heartful and powerful. Ewa has a solid track record in international public speaking including lectures at prestigious world-level medical congresses. She also authored many publications in medicine and business. Her view on health and wellness is multifaceted and interdisciplinary.

Professor Hanna Karakuła-Juchnowicz, MD, PhD
Chair of the Teaching Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Medical University of Lublin

Ewa Stelmasiak is a hard working individual with a strong determination to reach for the stars and make the world a better place. Her thinking is human-centric and deep. At the same time her bio proves that she’s a continuous learner who swiftly moves among countries, cultures, paradigms and milieus. I think Ewa’s big asset is an intellectual agility which makes her move constantly forward.

Dr. Brenda J. Wrigley, APR Professor
Departament of Communication
Curry College

Ewa Stelmasiak is an ideal ally for anyone on the journey to be healthier and well. She combines the kind of personal coaching presence that builds trust and facilitates discovery with the skills that insure success at lifestyle improvement. Her dedication to the fields of wellness and lifestyle medicine spans many years and make her an excellent resource.

Michael Arloski, Ph.D., PCC, NBC-HWC
Founder and CEO Real Balance Global Wellness Services

I highly recommend Ewa Stelmasiak for her work as an organizational wellbeing expert and certified wellness coach. During our collaboration Ms. Stelmasiak has made proof of extensive knowledge, professionalism and experience in wellness and wellbeing in both individual and organizational settings. Another important strength is her multi-cultural awareness. Ms. Stelmasiak speaks several languages. Her excellent communication skills have made it possible to form collaborative relationships with many wellness movement pioneers and leaders.

Judd Allen, PhD
Healthy culture expert
Editorial Board of the American Journal of Health Promotion

I invited Ewa Stelmasiak to speak about her evolutionary vision for medicine at the annual World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy) in 2014. Ewa showed up as a highly skilled presenter who knew how to get through to the audience with her heartful message. I congratulate Ewa for her work as a speaker and writer, and wish her all my best on her journey of changing the face of medicine not only in Poland, but all over the world.

Professor Emeritus Amos D. Korczyn
Department of Neurology
Tel Aviv University

Ewa Stelmasiak is a valued member of the training faculty, as well as the scientific committee of events organized by the Medical University of Lublin. I see Ewa as a lifelong learner and value her innovative thinking, as well as her scientific conscientiousness. Ewa has an extensive background in health promotion in various settings including wellbeing for helping professions such as MDs or nurses, supporting patients in lifestyle change and delivering workplace wellness management programs. Moreover she has worked internationally on developing a program aimed at fostering cultures of health and wellbeing.

Professor Teresa Bernadetta Kulik, MD, PhD
Chair of the Faculty of Public Health Department of Health Sciences Medical University of Lublin

Want a healthy, mindful workforce? Ewa's the go-to person for consultations that can make your employees healthier and happier. We worked with Ewa on a four-city HR roadshow around Poland, and Ewa's input added significantly to the content that we delivered to over 320 participants, as well as to the research carried out after the event. Ewa is very much 'on trend' in HR terms - these will become increasingly important issues for employers in years to come. Highly recommended!

Michael Dembinski
Chief Advisor British Polish Chamber of Commerce

Ewa Stelmasiak was responsible for creating a wellbeing strategy for Veolia CUW. She conducted a training for the management board, a wellbeing program for employees and workshops for leaders who manage teams. What I value most is experience, knowledge and a unique approach to creating a culture of health and wellbeing. Highly recommended!

Adam Latocha
HR Director
Member of the management board of Veolia CUW

We collaborated with Ewa Stelmasiak to deliver a series of activities aimed at fostering mental health and balance in a remote work setting for Warta’s employees. We are very happy with the outcome. The knowledge delivery was pleasurable, professional and accessible. According to our audience Ewa Stelmasiak was our best speaker. We will seek to collaborate with Ewa Stelmasiak in the future.

Katarzyna Seta
Training coordinator
Warta S.A.

When I think about wellbeing and building a healthy culture in the organizations, immediately Ewa comes to my mind. I had the pleasure to invite Ewa to conduct few workshops for the international community of innovators and take part in the panel discussions. All of them were very inspirational and full of content - we received extremely positive feedback from the participants. Ewa is always very professional, well prepared, up to date with the newest trends, and passionate about the topic. She has extensive knowledge of all the aspects related to wellbeing, and what's more important, she has the gift of sharing it in really interesting ways! It is a pleasure to work with Ewa - her passion is contagious and her calmness helps to focus and stay grounded in the present moment!

Ewa Geresz
Director, Programs and Global Partnerships
Venture Café Warsaw Foundation

Ewa Stelmasiak has supported me and my team in creating a wellbeing strategy aimed at enhancing employee engagement and supported our efforts in creating a culture of appreciation at Citi Solutions. She led an online event aimed for our employees. I deeply appreciate Ewa Stelmasiak’s extensive knowledge and full professionalism, her flexibility and willingness to accommodate our needs. I am highly satisfied with our collaboration and its results. Highly recommended!

Agnieszka Sitek

MY STORY

The Oral History of Wellness is a collection of interviews with pioneers in wellness, beginning in the 70's. The interviews are led by the founding father of the wellness movement John W. Travis. I am honored to have been interviewed for the series as an international thought leader contributing to the making of the wellness history.

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CERTIFICATES

ACADEMIC EDUCATION

Stern Leadership Academy.
Stanford University Graduate School of Business, USA, 2023

Master of Science in Communications Management.
Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, USA, 2014

Master of Applied Linguistics (languages : French and English).
University of Warsaw, Poland, 2001

SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Certified Worksite Wellness Program Manager. National Wellness Institute, USA, 2014

Certified Worksite Wellness Specialist. National Wellness Institute, USA, 2014

Certified Health Coach RealBalance. Global Wellness Services, USA, 2015

Certified Wellness Coach RealBalance. Global Wellness Services, USA, 2015

Certified Wellness Inventory Coach. Heath World Online, USA, 2013

Body-mind coaching tools for wellness. The Institute for Life Coach Training, 2012

Group Wellness Coaching. RealBalance Global Wellness Services, USA, 2014

Self-Compassion and Emotional Resilience. The Mindful Project, UK, 2016

Inner Relationship Focusing. The British Focusing Association, 2016

Certified Coach. TROP School of Coaches, 2011

Certified Facilitator. TROP School of Trainers, 2014

CONFERENCES

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Stelmasiak, E. “How to take care of yourself when you take care of others?”. 21st Lublin Scientific Meetings – New Perspectives and Threats in Psychiatry, Lublin, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “Applications of Wellness Coaching in Psychiatry”. 20th Anniversary Lublin Scientific Meetings – New Challenges and Horizons in Psychiatry, Lublin, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellness for Medical Doctors”. 14th International Danube Teaching Course in Neurology, Kazimierz Dolny, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Contemporary Human Challenges and Wellness”. 6th Lublin Health Promotion Days and scientific conference – Medical, social and legislative aspects of childcare, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Enhancing quality of life in headache patients – the point of view of a wellness coach”. 7th Conference of the Polish Headache Society, Warsaw, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Applications of Wellness Coaching in Medical Education”. 13th International Danube Teaching Course in Neurology, Kazimierz Dolny, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellness, coaching and medicine – what do they have in common?”. World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), Athens, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Health and Wellness Coaching in patients with chronic diseases – scientific evidence”. 12th International Danube Teaching Course in Neurology, Kazimierz Dolny, 2016

Stelmasiak, E. “Health and Wellness Coaching as a method for habit and lifestyle change”. 4th Lublin Health Promotion Days and scientific conference - Excess Weight, Obesity and Health, Lublin, 2016

Stelmasiak, E. “Stop Stress. How to maintain a state of optimal vitality?”. Lublin Health Promotion Days and scientific conference - Civilization Threats to Health, Lublin, 2015

Stelmasiak, E. “The Future of Medicine. The Role of Relationships in supporting healing”. 11th International Danube Teaching Course in Neurology, Kazimierz Dolny, 2015

Stelmasiak, E. “Creating Wellness as an Evolutionary Paradigm for Medicine”. World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy), Budapest, 2015

Stelmasiak, E. “Applications of Health and Wellness Coaching in Medicine”. 10th International Danube Teaching Course in Neurology, Kazimierz Dolny, 2014

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellness Coaching: 7 steps to lasting lifestyle change”. Lublin Health Promotion Days and scientific conference - Lifestyle and Health, Lublin, 2014

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellness coaching as an integral part of the evolutionary vision for medicine”. International Scientific Conference - Wellness and Beauty, Lublin, 2013

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS & EXPERT PANEL DEBATES

Stelmasiak, E. „Wellbeing leadership – how to take care of yourself and of your team?”. Forum of Employee Health, online, 2021

“How to deal with failure?”. Thursday Gathering #046 Health Tech & Well-Being, online, 2021 (interview with Ewa Stelmasiak)

“What will be the future of Health-Tech and Wellbeing in post-covid reality?”. Thursday Gathering #046 Health Tech & Well-Being, online, 2021 (expert panel debate)

Stelmasiak, E. “Culture of health and wellbeing – what is it and how to foster it?”. Forum of Employee Health, online, 2021

Stelmasiak, E. “Digital Wellbeing – blending the on/offline worlds”. Venture Café Thursday Gathering #034, E-commerce & Digital Habits, online, 2020

“The future of Wellbeing”. International Happiness at Work Summit, online, 2020 (expert panel debate)

Stelmasiak, E. “Work cultures in remote settings”. Connect & Scale up – conference organized by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), Warsaw, 2020

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing 4.0 – leading for new work cultures”. Business Insider Global Trends Festival, Keynote Speech, Warsaw Stage, 2020

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing 4.0 – a vision for a sustainable future”. Venture Café Thursday Gathering #024 Technology for Sustainable Future, Warsaw, 2020

“How do business women deal with the pandemic and quarantines?”. Women’s Business Club by the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFP), online, 2020 (expert commentary)

“New Health”. Venture Café Thursday Gathering #9 Hacking Our Lives, Warsaw, 2020 (expert panel debate)

Polish labor market report launch and meeting with investors, BPCC HR Review Conference Series, London 2020 (expert panel debate)

Stelmasiak, E. “How do Wellbeing 4.0 trends impact the way we work, live and lead?”. Keynote Speech at BPCC HR Review conferences series in Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław and Cracow, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “Beyond silos: what does wellbeing have in common with CSR?”. Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility by the French-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFP), Warsaw, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “Fostering supportive work environments and self-care in a 4.0 world”. Emerging Cities & the 4th Industrial Revolution – conference organized by Poland Today magazine, Bydgoszcz, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing 4.0 in Business”. International Happiness at Work Summit, Warsaw, 2019

“Wellbeing in the Office”, European SME Congress, Katowice, 2019 (expert panel debate)

Stelmasiak, E. “Managing Organizational Wellbeing – what, how and why?”. First International Wellbeing in Business Conference (self-organized by The Wellness Institute), Warsaw, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Advancing the Wellness Paradigm in Poland”. National Wellness Conference, Minneapolis, 2015

Stelmasiak, E. “The co-creative contribution of Wellness coaching to profound and healthy change in organizations”. Syracuse University, Newhouse School of Public Communications, New York City, 2014

PUBLICATIONS

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS & BOOK CHAPTERS

Stelmasiak, E. „Key Performance Indicators for Organizational Wellbeing”. Book chapter in „Wellbeing in an organization – what? how? why?”, Infor, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. „Doctor-Patient Communication: Applications of Wellness Coaching in Medical Education”. Book chapter in “Challenges of the 21 st century. Healthcare and Medical Education”, Federation of Polish Medical Societies, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. „The Paradigm Shift from Treatment to Healing. An evolutionary roadmap for medicine”. Health and Wellness, NeuroCentrum Scientific Publishing, 2015

Stelmasiak, E. „Wellness coaching as an integral component of the evolutionary vision for medicine”. Health and Wellness, NeuroCentrum Scientific Publishing, 2013

MEDIA ARTICLES

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing is a team game”. ICAN Management Review, 2021 (published as a comment to article by Judd Allen, Ph.D – “Wellbeing Leadership. How to enhance social climate?”)

Stelmasiak, E. “Leaders’ Wellbeing. Awareness and Growth”. Employee Wellbeing in the post-pandemia”, PCBS market report, 2020

Stelmasiak, E. “A recipe for retention”. Personel Plus HR Magazine, 2020

Stelmasiak, E. “Managing Wellbeing@Work: introducing business metrics to the C-suite table?”. Contact Magazine British-Polish of the British-Polish Chamber of Commerce, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “How to build a long-term relationship with the employee?”. My Company Polska, 2019

Stelmasiak, E. “Doing well by being well – doing well by doing good”. Contact Magazine of the British-Polish Chamber of Commerce, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Should good life be of interest to medicine?”. Wszystko Co Najważniejsze online portal, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Medice, Cura Te Ipsum. Take a deep breath and start with stress reduction!”. Yolk, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing in the workplace. Employee development and employer’s awareness”. Wszystko Co Najwazniejsze online portal, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Wellbeing – more play at work!”. HR Standard online portal, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Employee wellbeing – a trend or strategy?”. French-Polish Chamber of Commerce, 2017 [in POL and FR]

Stelmasiak, E. “Life in the World of Wellness” - an interview with John W. Travis, Newsweek Health, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Employee Wellbeing – more than just feeling good”. Biznes na fali online portal, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “How attention leads to thriving”. Coaching in a Skirt online portal, 2017

Stelmasiak, E. “Why giving advice doesn’t work?”. Wszystko Co Najwazniejsze online portal, 2018

Stelmasiak, E. “Listen to your body”. E-magazine of the TROP School of Coaches and Trainers, 2015

MEDIA INTERVIEWS & EXPERT COMMENTARIES

“The secrets of well-leadership. Who does it mean to lead for wellbeing?”. stronakadry.pl HR online portal, 2021 (article & video-interview)

“How to take care of team wellbeing?”. ICAN Management Review, 2021 (video- lecture)

“Wellbeing Leadership”. On the Blackboard Series, ICAN Management Review, 2021

“How to effectively introduce new habits?”. Masters’ Secrets Series, ICAN Management Review, 2021 (podcast interview)

“Wellbeing are physical, psychological and social human needs”. Kulturaumyslu.pl online portal, 2020

“Stress management is a good investment”. ICAN Management Review, 2020

“How to react wisely to negative emotions in the workplace?”. ICAN Management Review, 2020

“Healthier habits, better results”. ICAN Management Review, 2020

“Art of attraction: Poland's labor market”. Poland Today Live, 2020 (video interview)

“The wellbeing prescription for talent retention”. Forbes Women Poland, 2020

“Companies are struggling to retain employees”. Business Insider Poland, 2020

“Investors look for ways to retain their staff”. Rzeczpospolita national daily newspaper, 2020

“How to combine running a company and personal life?”. My Company online, 2019

“Nap rooms, saunas and massages. This is how companies do wellbeing”. Puls HR online portal, 2019

“10 thousand steps”. Polish National Radio Jedynka, 2018 (radio interview)

“Work-Life Balance – fulfillment in combining various areas of life or living up to predetermined roles?”. Fashion Magazine, 2018

“How to keep perspective, be here and now and be happy?”. Shape Magazine, 2018

“How to put an end to rumination?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to take care of yourself?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to live well with illness?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to sleep well?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to cope with a sedentary lifestyle?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to take care of yourself when you are a caregiver?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to cope with stress?”. Polska Mówi online portal, 2018 (video interview)

“How to take care of yourself and your wellbeing?”. Radio Pop Pruszków, 2018 (radio interview)

“Pale faces”. SENS magazine, 2017

“How to live well with diabetes?”. Cukiernapoziomie.pl online portal, 2014

“Life likes to fill every gap”. Mamazone.pl online portal, 2014

“7 steps to lasting lifestyle change”. Radio Lublin, 2014 (radio interview)