lululemon Announces the Formation of Mental Wellbeing Global Advisory Board
lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) today announced the creation of a Mental Wellbeing Global Advisory Board to help the company develop best practices and influence a global conversation to improve mental wellbeing outcomes for both employees and communities around the world.
The Advisory Board is comprised of 11 leaders representing lululemon's key global markets in the wellbeing space and chaired by two members of lululemon's global senior leadership team, Susan Gelinas, Chief People & Culture Officer, and Nikki Neuburger, Chief Brand Officer. These members will provide a platform to voice opinions and raise awareness to help lululemon destigmatize the need for wellbeing assistance and provide additional tools and resources to help employees in their individualized mental wellbeing journeys.
"At lululemon, we believe everyone has the right to be well and the path to wellbeing is only possible when the tools, support, and resources are accessible to all," said Nikki Neuburger. "We are thrilled to continue to expand our investment and work toward improving mental wellbeing outcomes and to collaborate with such a talented group of experts to elevate and support individual and community wellbeing globally."
According to lululemon's 2022 Global Wellbeing Report, only 29 percent of respondents across the 10-market study indicated that they have strong wellbeing across all three dimensions of overall wellbeing (physical, mental, and social), demonstrating the importance and need for more resources and investment in this area.1
In partnership with lululemon's leadership, the key areas the lululemon Mental Wellbeing Global Advisory Board will initially focus on include:
- The Annual Global Wellbeing Report: Support the development, implementation, and analysis of lululemon's Annual Global Wellbeing Report.
- Employee Mental Wellbeing Offerings: Provide guidance on mental wellbeing offerings and support for lululemon employees.
- Centre for Social Impact Initiatives: Offer counsel on lululemon's Centre for Social Impact practices and initiatives, which focus on disrupting inequity in wellbeing, globally.
- Mental Wellbeing Programming: Advise on guest, community, and industry programming and convenings that promote mental wellbeing.
"As a global company rooted in movement, mindfulness, and personal development as a whole, we are deeply committed to increasing awareness, access, and tools for improved mental wellbeing ? within our own lululemon team as well as our extended community," said Susan Gelinas. "With the guidance of our expert advisors, we are excited to take our work to the next level and advance mental wellbeing outcomes throughout our global collective and beyond."
Members of the inaugural lululemon Mental Wellbeing Global Advisory Board span across the globe and include leaders who have been in long-term collaboration with lululemon on advancing wellbeing through lululemon's global Ambassador program and previous partnerships such as the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). The inaugural Advisory Board includes:
- Dr. Alfiee M Breland-Noble, a pioneering psychologist, scientist, author, mental health correspondent and founder of the innovative BIPOC mental health nonprofit, The AAKOMA Project, Inc.
- Stephanie Brill, a thought leader in the field of gender diversity and children and the founder and Board Chair of Gender Spectrum as well as the founder and Board Chair of Reimagine Gender.
- P. Murali Doraiswamy, a Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Duke University who has led global efforts to promote mental health and wellbeing solutions.
- Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., Chief Executive Officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and leader in the creation of the CEO Alliance for Mental Health.
- Sarah Kline, Co-Founder and CEO of United for Global Mental Health, a global mental health charity that exists to advocate, campaign, and fundraise for greater political and financial support for mental health around the world and to uphold the right of everyone to good mental health.
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Yvette Kong, Hong Kong former Olympic swimmer and founding Board Member of Mind HK, a leading mental health charity focused on improving awareness and understanding of
mental health in Hong Kong.
- Stephanie Labbé, retired Canadian professional soccer player, Olympic Champion, and advocate for women's sports and mental health.
- Zhen Li, author and advocate of mental well-being. Founder and CEO of MyTherapist (???), a leading psychotherapy service provider.
- Elena V. Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), representing 50,000 Hispanic physicians in the United States.
- Shayla Stonechild, Cree-Métis storyteller, yoga instructor, entrepreneur and founder of a non-profit, podcast and online platform the "Matriarch Movement", dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices within wellness.
- Paul Villanti, Executive Director of Programs for Movember, a leading global charity focused on men's health and working to address mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.
The creation of the Mental Wellbeing Global Advisory Board builds upon lululemon's work to advance and support mental wellbeing for its people and communities. As a company committed to whole person development, lululemon understands that when life works, work works. As such, mental wellbeing is a critical part of lululemon's "Be Well" impact agenda pillar, which includes, but is not limited to, a 24/7 Employee Assistance Program for all employees and their families, regular wellbeing workshops, a fund to support employees navigating unexpected hardships, and the introduction of lululemonCare, a mental wellbeing program for employees.
The Advisory Board also advances lululemon's Impact goals through lululemon Centre for Social Impact which works to break the barriers that prevent access to wellbeing by leveraging lululemon's expertise, resources, and communities to invest in and advocate for the wellbeing of those most impacted by systemic inequity around the world. lululemon has also made an investment on behalf of each external Advisory Board member to a wellbeing organization of their choice. This will expand the Centre's reach and support lululemon's goal of positively impacting more than 10 million people globally by 2025 through an initial investment of USD $75 million.
1 Research was fielded October 13, 2021, to November 15, 2021, and included 10,000 general population adults globally (1,000 within each of 10 markets: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, China, and Japan).
About lululemon
lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) is a technical athletic apparel, footwear and accessories company for yoga, running, training, and most other activities, creating transformational products and experiences that build meaningful connections, unlocking greater possibility and wellbeing for all. Setting the bar in innovation of fabrics and functional designs, lululemon works with yogis and athletes in local communities around the world for continuous research and product feedback. For more information, visit lululemon.com.
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