The Quest for Presence Collection Series

Joel Bennett, PhD, is president of Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems (OWLS), a consulting firm that specializes in evidence-based wellness and e-learning technologies to promote organizational health and employee well-being. Dr. Bennett first delivered stress management programming in 1985, and through the efforts of over 400 resilience facilitators and coaches who have been trained in OWLS' evidence-informed curriculum as well as consulting in South Africa, Italy, and Brazil, OWLS programs have since reached over 250,000 workers across the United States and internationally. OWLS has received over $6 million in National Institutes of Health funding for workplace well-being research, and their programs have been recognized as effective by independent bodies, including the US Surgeon General.OWLS consults on Integral Organizational Wellness™ approaches that combine leadership, champion, team, and peer-to-peer strategies: nudging the true culture of health.Joel is the author of 50 peer-reviewed research articles and chapters and has authored or coauthored eight books, including Heart-Centered Leadership (with Susan Steinbrecher), Raw Coping Power: From Stress to Thriving, Your Best Self at Work (with Ben Dilla), Well-Being Champions: A Competency--Based Guidebook, Time and Intimacy, Preventing Workplace Substance Abuse, and The Connoisseur of Time.Dr. Bennett has served in advisory and board roles for various organizations including Magellan Health; Aetna; the National Wellness Institute; It's Time Texas, Work Healthier Advisory Committee; the Academy of Management Division on Management and Spirituality; the Global Wellness Institute; the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans; and the State of Texas Primary Prevention Planning Committee (Preventing Sexual Violence).In 2022, he received the William B. Baun Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wellness Institute for his contributions to the professional field of wellness. He also received the Positive Leadership Award from the Positive Leadership Institute for forward-thinking management practices that help employees, teams, and organizations thrive.Joel lives in North Texas with Jan, his wife of twenty-eight years, and around the corner from his wonderful son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, who call him "Obi." He hopes that one day he will become a Jedi Knight or something.