About Us
What we do
The Stanford BeWell Program promotes a culture of care and well-being at Stanford. BeWell is part of Employee Support Programs & Services and inspires Stanford community members to lead healthy lifestyles.
BeWell provides evidence-based education, events, and services to help you achieve optimal well-being.
Our history
BeWell launched in 2008 and was originally powered by Stanford Recreation and Wellness and the former Health Improvement Program (HIP). Born out of the School of Medicine in 1983, HIP was a pioneer in developing methods of workplace health education and promotion.
In 2019, BeWell and HIP merged under the umbrella of University Human Resources to support Stanford’s mission of fostering a productive work environment where people feel valued.
BeWell continues to evolve to meet the needs of the Stanford community. With a robust wellness program and nearly 300 health education offerings each year, BeWell creates a culture of wellness at Stanford.
Our milestones
1983: Founded by Jack Farquhar, the Stanford Health Improvement Program (HIP) was based on research showing that workplace wellness programs could positively impact the health of employees.
1996: HIP hosted its first annual Stanford Alumni Retreat and educational and restorative weekend with Stanford and Bay Area health experts. The annual retreat successfully continued for 25 years.
2002: HIP initiated Living Strong Living Well™ (LSLW), a 12-week small-group program designed for adult cancer survivors to improve functional ability and quality of life. LSLW was absorbed into various health centers across the U.S.
2007: Campus leaders convened to create a coordinated and collaborative wellness program, which would be the basis for BeWell. The first Cardinal Walk was held.
2008: BeWell began offering employees incentives. HIP initiated LeadWell, now known as Healthy Living for Teams, a program designed to bring wellness classes to workgroups at various university or hospital locations.
2009: BeWell expanded to offer more incentives and events.
2010: BeWell launched biometrics screenings.
2011: Initially administered by Kaiser Permanente, BeWell biometric screenings were brought in-house.
2012: HIP partnered with Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health to create HealthySteps to Wellness, a program designed to help hospital employees adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviors.
2015: BeWell expanded to encourage more employees to live healthy lifestyles.
2019: HIP and BeWell moved to University Human Resources as part of Stanford Benefits.
2020: BeWell pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic to become fully remote, ensuring the needs of Stanford employees were met during a challenging time. In response to the pandemic, Stanford created Employee Support Programs and Services (ESPS). The new department was created to bring together programs such as WorkLife, the Faculty Staff Help Center, BeWell, and Healthy Living. HIP and Healthy Living were integrated into BeWell under Employee Support Programs and Services (ESPS).
2022: BeWell switched to a new platform to give participants a streamlined, personalized, and flexible experience that reflected Stanford’s desire to help a distributed workforce prioritize their well-being.
Leadership |
Team |
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Phyllis Stewart Pires Associate vice president, employee support programs & services |
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Carol Hunter | Deborah Balfanz | Linda Lydon |
Charelle Fernandez Senior director, wellness programs |
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Cecille Tabernero Gutierrez | Dominique Del Chiaro | Maia Tamanakis |
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Cheryl Mejia | Jamie Silacci | Rosalyne Tu |
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Christi Cerna | Jerrie Thurman | Soowon Kim |
Claire Palomo | Julie Anderson |
Get Support
Got questions?
We’ve compiled answers to common questions in this FAQ.
Submit a ticket
Submit a ServiceNow ticket for assistance with BeWell, Healthy Living, or Lifestyle Coaching.
Help with BeWell platform or mobile app
If you have questions about the BeWell platform and/or mobile app powered by Virgin Pulse, get support online at support.virginpulse.com. You can also call the Virgin Pulse help desk at 1-888-671-9395 Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, or email support@virginpulse.com.
Note: Beginning Jan. 1, the Virgin Pulse name will change to Personify Health. While the current Virgin Pulse support email address and phone number will remain the same throughout 2024. Beginning Oct. 1, any emails from Member Services will come from an @personifyhealth.com email address. While the name will change, the same great resources you know will continue, and you’ll still be supported by the same dedicated team.
Talk with a BeWell team member
Register for an appointment to get support setting up the BeWell platform from a BeWell team member.
Contact BeWell
Incentive Program
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Healthy Living
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Champions
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OUR MISSION