Session One

Are you looking to bloom healthier habits? Our presenters share tips on increasing exercise and improving healthy eating habits.

Aquila Brown-Galvan, MPH and Kaitlyn Waugaman, MPH, RDN, LDN

Feb. 11, 2023

Session Two

Master Gardener Leonora Roberson teaches us how to grow tasty foods at home.

Leonora Roberson, Alabama Master Gardener

March 9, 2023

Session Three

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by email, never-ending to-do lists, juggling home and work obligations- you’re not alone. But you’re also just a few skills away from learning new habits and routines to stay productive. Recent research reveals that 3 out of 5 people say they’ve agreed to accomplish more than they can actually do in the time they have available.This disrupts our personal and professional productivity habits. Adrianne Marbury, MPA, Forge AHEAD Center Community Engagement Program Director, shares a few simple productivity skills and how to make them habitual—to help you quickly adapt to ongoing changes. We are all just a few productivity and habit formation skills away from gaining control of our commitments and to-do lists. You will learn tips to: Renegotiate past and future commitments Take control of your to-do list, once and for all Capture, review, and prioritize incoming requests Use skill instead of will to replace disruptive habits with effective habits

Adrianne Marbury MPA, Forge AHEAD Center Community Engagement Program Director

April 6, 2023

Session Four

The Commission on the Status of Women hosted its fourth event in the Bloom: ReSeed in 2023 series. Planting Seeds: What Everyone Needs to Know About Estate Planning featured Nancy Ball, J.D., partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. She will provide a basic overview of core estate planning documents and a few strategies to consider when implementing a plan. This presentation covered questions such as: - What is a will and why do I need one? - What other estate planning documents do I need? - How best can I include a charity/charities in my plan? - How do good estate plans get turned upside down? - My loved one is incapacitated, now what? - What are the options for leaving assets to my children and other beneficiaries?

Nancy Ball, J.D., partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Session Five

While financial planning is one of the most effective actions a woman can take to ensure a future independence and happiness, many of us fail to do it. No matter your age, employment, or marital status, it is never to early, or late, to start strategizing to reach your financial goals. Donna Cates, CDFA, CRPC, talked to us about financial planning through your career. Donna is passionate about helping women make informed decisions about their money so they aren’t living in fear of not having enough of it to live fulfilling lives. Let’s face it ladies, we don’t need to just “hope” that we can achieve our goals, we must create a plan and follow it to ensure they happen.

Donna Cates, CDFA®, CRPC with Money Matters Wealth SolutionsP

Session Six

Have you ever walked into a room to do something and forgotten what? That is likely a question we can all answer yes to. Our brains are a mysterious organ that psychologist and researchers are still trying to better understand. While there is still much to be discovered about the human brain, there is evidence that certain lifestyle choices can improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of dementia which are fairly simple and straightforward.

Kristine Lokken, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chief Psychologist & Director, Psychology Consult Liaison Service, Clinical Psychologist

Session One

Have you ever been overwhelmed with the amount of nutrition information available? Have you felt defeated after trying and failing to make large changes in the way you are eating or with what you are eating? Have you ever wondered where you can start to make healthier choices? When dealing with nutrition, small changes can have a big impact if you can stay consistent! Olivia will provide some ideas for small changes that can be followed by anyone to make more informed choices. So, join us to learn about some small changes and bloom where you are planted to use your new knowledge and assess where you are now to help 2022 be your healthiest year yet!

Featuring Olivia Massa, Registered Dietician

Session Two

We have all heard that the lotus grows from the mud, that the most beautiful flower requires mud in which to flourish. Like the lotus, we too require "mud" to flourish but for us the "mud" is our struggles and obstacles. Women have always been resilient. Throughout history women have had to garner strength to handle whatever life throws at us. Lately it feels like a lot has been hurled in our direction, as women and as humans in a pandemic world. Cultivating resilience is not just about physical "strength" to endure the mud but also about creating a strong mindset about ourselves and whatever circumstances (mud) we find ourselves in. Essentially, the way we think about the "mud" in our lives determines our experience of it, not the other way around.

Featuring Julie Squires, Certified Compassion Fatigue Specialist and Certified Life Coach/

Session Three

Have you ever wondered what you can do to enhance and maintain your natural beauty? Please join UAB School of Medicine alumna and board-certified dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Martin as she discusses healthy skin habits, including skin cancer prevention and detection, and products and habits to help us age gracefully. Dr. Martin has been practicing in the Birmingham area since 2001 and provides comprehensive dermatological care to patients with both common and uncommon skin diseases, surgical needs and cosmetic concerns. She has a special interest in skin cancer prevention and in minimally invasive procedures to help her patients achieve vibrant, youthful and healthy skin.

Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Martin, UAB School of Medicine alumna and board-certified dermatologist

Session Four

We have all felt at times that we could be better negotiators for ourselves; whether it be about our roles at work, about the support and resources we need from others to help us be successful, about setting healthy boundaries. We often fail to recognize the opportunities we have in big and little ways to negotiate for ourselves. Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., professor and chairwoman of the UAB Health Services Administration, shared her expertise and experience about how to negotiate for what we need to create conditions for success.

Featuring Christy Harris Lemak, Ph.D., professor and chairwoman of the UAB Health Services Administration

Session Five

Have you ever wondered what your work life might look like if you were able to redesign your job to increase your job satisfaction and engagement? Job crafting is when employees redesign their jobs (either physically or mentally) in ways that can foster job satisfaction and engagement and help them thrive. Research shows that employees don’t always enact the jobs formally assigned to them, but instead actively shape their jobs to fit their needs, values, and preferences. Dr. Brenessa Lindeman, Associate Professor of Surgery and Medical Education, and Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education at UAB, shared her research and personal examples on how to start crafting your job to increase your overall experience at work and beyond.

Featuring Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., associate professor and chief wellness officer for the Department of Surgery

Session Six

How would you describe your social connectedness today compared to 3 years ago? Maybe you have managed to stay in touch with close friends and family, but for most of us, casual get-togethers with less connected friends and co-workers have fallen away all together. Research shows that without that sense of connectedness we experience many adverse health consequences. Please join us on Nov. 17, when we welcome Dr. Katherine Meese to talk about the importance of Human Connections at Work and Beyond.

Featuring Katherine Meese, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of Wellness Research in the UAB Medicine Office of Wellness

Session Four

The Commission on the Status of Women hosted its fourth event in the Bloom: ReSeed in 2023 series. Planting Seeds: What Everyone Needs to Know About Estate Planning featured Nancy Ball, J.D., partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. She will provide a basic overview of core estate planning documents and a few strategies to consider when implementing a plan. This presentation covered questions such as: - What is a will and why do I need one? - What other estate planning documents do I need? - How best can I include a charity/charities in my plan? - How do good estate plans get turned upside down? - My loved one is incapacitated, now what? - What are the options for leaving assets to my children and other beneficiaries?

Nancy Ball, J.D., partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP