Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace and Operationalizing Wellness: Designing Nonprofits Where People and Purpose Can Thrive
Moving Beyond Burnout - Building Safe, Healthy, & Impactful Workplaces
IN PERSON AT HARBOR POINT
83 Channel Drive Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
BUTTON TO REGISTER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!
We would love for you to spend the day with us, but we understand there can be time restrictions so we have 3 ticket options:
1. Full day from 8:30am to 5:00 pm (breakfast and registration starting at 8:30, program begins at 9:30am)
2. Breakfast and Session 1 only from 8:30am to 1pm (let us know if you'd like to stay for lunch when you fill out the order form!)
3. Lunch and Session 2 only from 1pm to 5pm.
Please know that we are flexible, understanding, and casual...if you have to come late, leave early, pop out for a call - it's all ok! Please do what you need to do!
MORNING SESSION: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace
This interactive workshop supports nonprofit leaders, managers, and human resource professionals in understanding and building psychological safety on their teams. Through discussion, case work, and hands on activities with peers from across the sector, participants explore how culture forms, what happens when vulnerability is rewarded or punished, how identity shapes safety at work, and how teams move through the four stages of psychological safety. Unfolding case scenarios invite participants to make real time leadership decisions and practice the conversations that rebuild trust. Participants leave with shared language, a self-assessment, and a practical frame for carrying the work back to their organizations.
AFTERNOON SESSION: Operationalizing Wellness: Designing Nonprofits Where People and Purpose Can Thrive
The nonprofit sector has normalized being unwell. Somehow, exhaustion became synonymous with commitment. Burnout became proof that we care. Anxiety became the cost of changing the world.
But what if those aren’t signs of meaningful work? What if they’re signs that the systems we’ve inherited are no longer capable of sustaining the futures we’re trying to build?
If we’re committed to creating healthier communities, stronger movements, and more just institutions, we must begin by creating organizations where wellness is not an afterthought, it is the way we work.
In this highly interactive workshop, facilitator and organizational strategist Altagracia Montilla invites participants to rethink what workplace wellness actually means. Drawing from more than a decade of experience as a nonprofit executive and consultant supporting organizations across the country, she shares practical strategies for embedding wellness into the everyday rhythms of organizational life, from policies and decision-making to meetings, communication, leadership, and culture.
But operationalizing wellness isn’t just about redesigning systems. It’s about transforming the mindsets that created those systems in the first place.
Known for creating deeply engaging and unforgettable learning experiences, Altagracia won’t simply tell you how to build a healthier organization, she’ll invite you to experience what it feels like. You'll leave with a practical roadmap for translating wellness from aspiration into daily practice, equipping your organization to fulfill it's mission while sustaining the people who make the work possible.
ATTIRE: come as you are, be comfortable, and please bring layers!!! We never know how warm or cold the room will be!
PARKING: there is a parking lot directly across the street from the venue.
Please know that we are flexible, understanding, and casual...if you have to come late, leave early, pop out for a call - it's all ok! Please do what you need to do!
Agenda
8:30AM - 9:30AM Registration/Breakfast
9:30AM - 1PM Morning Session
1PM - 2PM Lunch (optional)
2PM - 5PM Afternoon Session
About the facilitators:
Michelly Garcia-Arroyo
Michelly Garcia-Arroyo, LMSW, is a bilingual psychotherapist, trainer, and program leader with over fifteen years of experience in mental health, early childhood, and family wellness. At Sentient Shift, she designs and facilitates trauma informed, culturally responsive trainings for nonprofit and public sector teams on leadership, workplace culture, and staff wellbeing. A former program leader at BronxCare Health System, Michelly holds an MSW from Lehman College and is a SIFI certified educator committed to building workplaces where people thrive.
Lisa C White, LCSW-R, ACC
Lisa C. White, LCSW R, ACC, is a leadership and organizational development consultant, executive coach, psychotherapist, and Founder and CEO of Sentient Shift. She partners with nonprofit, government, and mission driven organizations to strengthen leadership, build healthier teams, and create cultures where people thrive. Her approach integrates emotional intelligence, psychological safety, reflective practice, and trauma informed principles. Lisa is an ICF Associate Certified Coach, holds an MSW from Columbia University, is pursuing her doctorate in clinical social work, and is an authorized partner for Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors®.
Altagracia Montilla
Altagracia Montilla is a visionary leader, award-winning facilitator, and holistic strategist known for transforming organizations through the power of imagination, courage, and human connection. With over a decade of experience across the non-profit and education sectors, she has become a driving force for innovation and systemic change.
"If we can imagine a world that should exist, then we can create it."
This guiding philosophy fuels her journey as a change-maker and community builder. Deeply passionate about what motivates people, how they learn best, and the essence of intentional community, Altagracia uses data to facilitate human connection and foster inspiring, safe environments.
Her consulting firm, A.M. Consulting, has become an industry leader in organizational culture transformation, offering a holistic approach to community building and immersive retreats.
Altagracia also co-founded The 7 Space, an Art Gallery and Wellness Center that merges art, music, and healing practices to promote wellness.
She created Conflict Bravery™, a practice that helps people heal their relationship to conflict so it becomes a source of deeper understanding and transformation.
In 2023, she joined the leadership team of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice to develop wellness programming for educators of color nationwide. Her influence extends beyond professional achievements; Altagracia founded Freedom Readers, a virtual book club dedicated to social justice and transformative community healing.
Altagracia's dedication to creating immersive experiences that inspire, connect, and heal is at the core of her work. She encourages individuals and organizations to envision a liberated world and take bold steps toward making it a reality.
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A head-and-shoulders portrait of Altagracia looking directly at the camera. Altagracia's dark hair is pulled back smoothly with a center part, and she is wearing red lipstick, long turquoise drop earrings, a gold nameplate necklace, and a high-neck black-and-cream-patterned blouse. Behind her is a large painting in deep blues and teal, with a reaching hand and shapes in red, green, and yellow.
Photo and Video Consent
By registering for this event, you are giving the Grunin Foundation permission to use photos and video on our website and social media. You will also be added to the Grunin Foundation mailing list.