April 16, 2025 | FFA Enrichment Center | Ankeny

The Healthiest State Conference provides a dynamic space for learning, collaboration, and innovation in health and wellness.


Designed for HR professionals, wellness coordinators, and organizational leaders, the conference offers educational opportunities to advance workplace and community well-being. Attendees will gain insights into the latest wellness initiatives, connect with industry professionals, and access tools to drive meaningful change.

Join us as we work toward a healthier Iowa—together.

2025 Speaker Lineup

The Healthiest State Conference is packed with keynotes and breakout rooms covering a variety of important topics including health and well-being in the workplace, community health and equity, mental health, cancer in Iowa, and burnout.

2025 Conference Sessions

  • In a landscape largely shaped by current workforce challenges like burnout, technological advancements, and changing workplace dynamics, organizations are reimagining their approach to participant well-being and recognizing it's essential for productivity and retention.

    Join Melissa Voigt, Group Vice President, Customer Success, WebMD Health Services as she shares four trends on WebMD Health Services must have list for well-being in 2025.

    Attend and learn:

    • How to build resilience in a dynamic environment.

    • Empowerment tools for leadership to drive participant well-being.

    • The value behind well-being as an extension of your culture in 2025.

    Gain insights that will help you stay ahead in creating a resilient, health-focused workplace in 2025 and beyond.

  • Attendees will select only one presentation to attend during this breakout session.

    • Tyler Archer – Perspective Wins - All Day, Every Day

    • Melanie Cuchna – Below the Surface: Lowering Employee Risk for Prediabetes

    • Alysa Mozak–Moving from Bystander to Upstander

    • Bridget Saffold–Cancer in Iowa and Community Outreach

  • Attendees will select only one presentation to attend during this breakout session.

    • Kara M. Grafft & Katie Curtis – Mastering the Stress Cycle: Practical Interventions for Wellness

    • Sydney Marshman & Madison Osbern – Fostering a Caregiver Inclusive Workplace

    • Sara Bradshaw & Keith Duncan – Enhancing Employee Wellbeing: Leveraging Data and Technology to Develop Diabetes and Weight Loss Management Programs

    • Hayl Bergeland – Suicide Prevention through a Health Equity Framework

  • In this deeply personal and engaging keynote, Erik Dominguez shares his journey through mental health challenges with humor, vulnerability, and insight. Using data, research, and case studies alongside his own stories, he encourages the audience to confront discomfort and discover growth within it. Erik highlights the importance of building and leveraging a personalized mental health "toolbox," demonstrating how tools like therapy, mindfulness, and community support help navigate life’s toughest moments. Through an interactive activity and heartfelt anecdotes, he underscores themes of resilience, self-acceptance, and the power of community in overcoming adversity.

  • Attendees will select only one presentation to attend during this breakout session.

    • Keely Woods-Guy – Recognizing and Avoiding Burnout

    • Erica Eikren – Healthy Living for Your Brain & Body

    • Laura Keniston – Building a Healthier Iowa Workforce: The Role of Recovery-Friendly Workplaces

    • Lucas Carr – Exercise is (Effective but Underutilized) Medicine

The 2025 Healthiest State Conference is presented by: