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Lunch and Learns

Lunch & Learns

Our lunch and learns offer staff and faculty a learning environment which promotes healthy lifestyle choices by increasing awareness, and supporting lifestyle changes.  Lunch and Learns also offer an opportunity to gather, create connections and build relationships, which helps support your social-emotional well-being. We know that healthier lifestyles among faculty and staff will in turn create happier, more productive individuals who benefit themselves, Macalester, and the greater community.

Upcoming Lunch & Learns

Contemplative Wisdom

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 – Focus: Mental & Emotional Well-being

WHAM invites Marc Anderson to give a short presentation on the Contemplative Arts Training program he’s developing through the Kofi Annan Institute and IGC. It will include an overview of the project as well as hands on experience with some of the things you’ll be practicing and discussing in the program.  There will be plenty of opportunity for Q&A for those who are interested in taking part in the program. 

Marc Anderson is a meditation teacher, musician, poet and director of the Third Eye Collaborative. He was on staff with Macalester’s CRSL for 10 years and now contracts with that department and others to facilitate various events and projects.

Register to join us for lunch catered by Bon Appetit at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25 in the Leonard Center’s Hall of Fame room.  The presentation will begin at 12:00 and end no later than 12:50 p.m..

Past Lunch & Learns

Sustainability & Well-being

Wednesday, April 17, 2024 – Focus: Physical & Mental Well-being

We invite you to learn about sustainability resources available at Macalester. During the Lunch and Learn, Megan Butler, our Director of Sustainability, will be joined by student, staff, and faculty presenters who will speak about opportunities for staff and faculty to get involved in several sustainability initiatives on campus that can enhance or support your well-being. Topics covered in this forum will Include:

Climate Resilience: Learn what is being done at Macalester and on college campuses across the United States to mitigate the impacts of climate change and build resilience to mitigate risks and foster adaptation.   

Active Transportation: Discover the benefits of active transportation modes such as walking, cycling, and public transit in reducing carbon emissions, improving public health, and enhancing community connectivity. Learn about the resources that Macalester provides that will help you engage in active transportation.

Food Access: Learn about the importance of equitable access to nutritious food on college campuses and learn about the food-access initiatives at Macalester that you can get involved in such as MacShare and the community gardens.

Mental Health and the Environment: During this final 10-minute presentation, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Christie Manning, will discuss her work on intersections between mental health and the environment.  We’ll explore the sustainability-related initiatives at Macalester that aim to promote the physical and psychological well-being of faculty, staff, and students.

Embracing a New Chapter: Understanding and Managing Perimenopause and Menopause (Virtual)

Thursday, March 28, 2024 – Focus: Physical & Emotional Well-being

WHAM invites you to an informative and empowering presentation on menopause! Menopause is a natural transition that affects people who menstruate, but it can often be shrouded in misinformation and confusion. Our goal is to reduce stigma and talk openly about this topic in the workplace. This presentation also aims to: 

  • Demystify menopause, explore symptoms and management options: Gain a clear understanding of the biological changes and their impact on the body. Discover various approaches to managing them, including lifestyle changes, non-hormonal therapies, and hormone therapy (if appropriate).
  • Empower you to get strong: Learn why muscle matters, why it’s so hard to hold onto and how to build more of it.
  • Legitimize the impact on mental well-being for some: Learn strategies that can help you cope with the emotional and body image challenges that can creep up during this transition. 

This presentation is ideal for:

  • People approaching or experiencing menopause
  • Colleagues, partners and caregivers of people going through menopause
  • Individuals seeking a deeper understanding of this topic

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from our knowledgeable and experienced speakers:

Submit your questions ahead of time, or during the Q&A portion.

Together, let’s navigate this period (or the lack thereof!) with knowledge and confidence!

The Healing Power of Sound

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 – Focus: Stress & Emotional Well-being
Marc Anderson

For thousands of years sound and music have been used to heal the body and mind, soothe the heart, and invite social connection. Now there is a new field of study called neuroarts that examines how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior and how this knowledge is translated into specific practices that advance health and well-being.

According to a report titled Advancing the Science of Arts, Health. and Wellbeing the arts can help people prevent, manage, and recover from physical and mental challenges, stop tremors in Parkinson’s disease, and give voice to people who are unable to speak. The arts can return memories in the face of dementia, raise the spirits of those who are depressed, and lessen stress and inflammation by lowering cortisol levels. The arts can also foster social cohesion that is so essential to our community health.

WHAM invites you to join musician and meditation teacher, Marc Anderson, to explore the sounds and range of experiences evoked from a variety of music samples, and consider the implications of such a simple yet profound practice for maintaining optimal well-being. Marc will also use sound as an entry point into deeper levels of consciousness, moving beyond the mindful witness into the silence and deep peace of open awareness.

Grief in the Workplace

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 – Focus: Mental & Emotional Well-being

We all experience the inevitable losses throughout the cycles and seasons of our lives. Our losses include both personal and collective losses: deaths, divorce or breakups, loss of health, job loss, pregnancy loss, loss from natural disasters, other traumatic events, challenging life transitions, losses in our communities, our country, our shared world.

Often, we ask, “What is the ‘right thing’ to say or do?”; as if there is a ‘right way’ to respond. Generally, we live in a society where there is a discomfort with death, dying, grief and loss. In this brief workshop we’ll discuss beliefs and begin to acknowledge and honor our individual differences and unique needs in relationship to grief and loss.

“Grief, or the emotional experience of loss, is not an easy topic for most of us to raise at work — or, really, anywhere beyond conversation with our closest connections. Even then, it can be tough.” N. Moberly

Presenter: Merra Young, MSW, LICSW, LMFT. Merra is a seasoned psychotherapist from The Center for Grief & Loss on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. She specializes in integrative psychotherapy: grief & loss, life transitions, spirituality, relationship & other mental health issues with mindfulness-based, compassion-centered, mind/body & other therapeutic approaches. She is also an adjunct faculty at UMN, Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing & certified MBSR teacher. She offers a nurturing, compassionate space for transformation and healing to navigate life’s stressors/ suffering to transform old patterns and empower others to connect with inner resources, wisdom and joy.

The Soul of Food as Medicine

Wednesday, October 18, 2023 – Focus: Nutrition

With almost 15 years of culinary excellence, Lachelle Cunningham’s journey began with the launch of Chelles’ Kitchen in 2012. She quickly gained recognition as the founding Executive Chef of Breaking Bread Cafe (2015) in North Minneapolis, earning accolades for her innovative cuisine and impactful social justice initiatives.

In 2018, Chef Lachelle launched Healthy Roots Institute (HRI) for food education, culinary training, and food business support. At The Good Acre (TGA), she led transformative farm-to-school training sessions, and created VoCul—a unique culinary program in 2020. VoCul equips aspiring chefs with skills for scratch cooking, bridging gaps and offering informative and hands-on experience.

In early 2023, Chef Lachelle’s influence expanded further with the acquisition of City Food Studio—a shared-use commercial kitchen located in the heart of George Floyd Square. This endeavor provides Twin Cities culinary entrepreneurs with a certified food-safe facility to craft and sell their creations.

In this session, Lachelle will help us reflect on the soul and progression of food and plant medicine.  We will explore the ancient knowledge of the healing ingredients, herbs and spices that we commonly use to build flavors.