The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), an international non-profit association representing the world’s leading creators, developers, designers, and producers of compelling places and experiences, has announced the launch of a new Wellness Council. The purpose of the Council, comprised of members from across the TEA’s four global divisions, is to encourage TEA’s standing committees and divisional boards to center wellness in their programs and initiatives through meaningful content, inclusive logistics, and increased awareness.
The genesis of the Council came after a group of TEA members convened the 2024 INSPIRE Conference panel, “When Things Go Wrong: A Candid Conversation.” Panel topics included a variety of wellbeing topics including anxiety, imposter syndrome, and both healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Based on the member feedback they received, as well as their awareness of other recent in-person and virtual TEA sessions on the topic, they realized they needed to organize their collective efforts so that the Association and industry could center wellness year-round.
“It seemed crazy to us that such important topics as workplace culture, quiet quitting, and burnout were only being formally discussed at a couple of 20 or 30-minute sessions per year,” said Clara Rice, Director of Global Marketing at Adirondack Studios and Wellness Council Chair. “Creating the Wellness Council now means that we can work with TEA Staff, International Board, and Divisions to create a suite of coordinated initiatives around mental and physical wellbeing.”
Throughout the rest of 2024, members can look forward to such Wellness Council initiatives as “net-walking mixers” (non-alcoholic and healthy alternatives at events), “success guides” for major conferences, and guidance on wellness content for individual and in-person sessions. To enable the Council to fulfill its stated purpose and provide full member value, the Council is asking TEA members to fill out a three-minute Wellness Survey. The survey will assess where members are in their wellness journey, how their current work environment is supporting that journey, and what the Council can do to provide additional support and community. The survey will be available on TEA’s website, “TEA Tell” newsletter, and social media channels, as well as via QR codes at TEA booths and mixers over the coming months. An expanded slate of in-person and virtual programming is slated for 2025 and will reflect the information gained from the survey.
In addition to Rice, charter members of the Council include Michael Acevedo (The Nassal Company), Erik Essig (B Morrow Productions), Björn Heerwagen (Walt Disney Imagineering), Courtney Kleinman (nFusion), Kate McConnell (THG Creative), Emma Newell (7thSense/Magnetic Moon Coaching) and Danielle Tanton (RWS Global and TEA EME President Elect). The Council’s TEA International Board Liaison is Matt Barton (7thSense and TEA International President Elect). Because approaches to wellness and mental health vary around the world, the Council hopes to add members from the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
Barton believes that the Wellness Council’s activities could prove transformational at all levels of TEA membership. “Regardless of where you are on your career path, centering physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is absolutely essential. For students and young professionals, it means establishing wellness strategies from Day One. For more established professionals, it means embracing healthy practices and coping mechanisms in the face of our industry’s perpetual ebbs and flows. And for companies and leaders of companies, it means offering advice on how to create workplace communities that enable employees to thrive. I am excited to see where this Council’s journey takes the TEA and the industry at large.”
Goals of the Wellness Council include:
- Cultural change: Destigmatizing the term “mental health” over time and in turn, celebrating when members invest in their mental health and wellbeing.
- Establishing an inclusive TEA community vision: Creating a supportive community where “emotionally and physically thriving” is considered the highest personal priority and is talked about as naturally as designing an attraction.
- Producing TEA events designed to allow people to thrive: Re-evaluating physical environments for wellness in event planning and offering content designed to energize members and inspire action.
