Work & Wellness

Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., President and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, leads the nation’s largest, most influential employers’ organization, advocating on behalf of New Jersey’s large and small businesses for policies that will make New Jersey more affordable and regionally competitive.

Being known as a collaborative leader, Siekerka is leading an NJBIA established coalition (New Jersey Business Coalition) comprised of more than 100 business and nonprofit associations across the state to tackle the tough economic and business challenges our state is facing during COVID 19.

Well versed on the ‘boots on the ground” issues affecting our state’s business community, Michele is often the “go to” resource for media and is sought after to share her expertise in public forums across the state.

Chris Barton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who spent most of her career working in non-profit substance use, mental health and social service agencies. Chris joined the Horizon Behavioral Health team four years ago and is responsible for community partnerships and value based care. At Horizon Chris leads an employee Affinity Group for people with visible and invisible disabilities- and their caregivers. This is a passion for Chris, having grown up in a family deeply impacted by substance use, and later in life, as the mother of children, now adult children, with chronic mental health conditions. Chris knows firsthand the challenge of trying to find balance, or at least harmony, between the demands of work and life. Through Horizon’s Affinity Group, Chris is collaborating with partners across the organization to destigmatize behavioral health and to create a work environment that empowers employees to harmonize their life roles.

Bailey Frumen, MSW, LCSW is a psychotherapist, author, speaker, and coach mentoring ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs by providing the roadmap that takes them from frustration & overwhelm into action & purpose.

She has been named ‘one of the top 20 life coaches to watch’ by popexpert.com. Bailey is the author of Own Your Power: Your Guide to Feeling Powerful, Fearless, and Free. Her work has been published in Huffington Post, Elephant Journal, Aspire Magazine, Natural Awakenings, Popexpert, and numerous guest blogs. She is also a featured author in the best-selling anthology, Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Opening To Gratitude & Grace through Inspired Living Publishing.

Through her Own Your Power Mastery, live events, speaking engagements, mastermind groups and transformational coaching, Bailey helps leaders and entrepreneurs to find clarity and connection to purpose, so that they can take the action. With 10+ years of experience, Bailey guides driven women and men cut through the fog of feeling stuck and overwhelmed by feeling confident to master their mindset and live the life they’ve always wanted. For more from Bailey, check out TheMindrise.com or say hello on Facebook and Instagram!

Dr. Lisa LaCon graduated with a M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Rutgers University and became a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). She then earned her doctorate in Psychiatric Rehabilitation also from Rutgers University. She is the Co-founder and Director at BLESSED Ministries, Inc. (BMI), a non-profit workforce development agency servicing residents throughout New Jersey in need of employment acquisitions.

Dr. LaCon is also a Trustee at Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, a non-profit experienced in promoting and fostering recovery from mental illness and co-occurring problems. Currently, you can find Dr. LaCon’s podcast “Urban Tools for Change” on several platforms including Youtube, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Linkedin, Google Podcast, and Amazon where she discusses issues surrounding the Black community and psychiatric rehabilitation tools for their wellness.

Dr. LaCon resides in New Jersey with her husband, their four children, a cat, and dog. Also, she is an active member in her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

Stephanie Marcello leads the Institute in its mission to develop the behavioral health workforce. Dr. Marcello is actively involved in the design and delivery of the Institute’s trainings, conferences and consultation and workforce development for UBHC staff through the Institute’s Center for Continuing Education. She serves as Chief Psychologist for Rutgers UBHC, Director of the Psychology Internship Program for doctoral students and chair of UBHC’s Trauma-Informed Care Committee.

Dr. Marcello has certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and in motivational interviewing from the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). She is an expert in working with people who manage posttraumatic stress disorder, the disease of addiction, and serious mental illness. Dr. Marcello has directly supervised staff in how to use best practices in behavioral health, has conducted research in these topics, published in many peer-reviewed journals, and presented her work at several national forums. Her research interests include self-care of professionals working in the behavioral health field. She received her PhD from Temple University, completed a pre-doctoral internship at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Schizophrenia Research at UBHC.

Tracy Parris-Benjamin is a master’s-level licensed Social Worker, integrator, and equity champion, who works to sustain support for advancing diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion, and development. Ms. Parris-Benjamin holds a distinguished record of health care innovation and transformation. With the primary goal of achieving equitable health for all, Ms. Parris-Benjamin works with Horizon’s extensive value-based network to lead the development of innovative health programs targeted toward marginalized populations. As the current Senior Director of Health Equity and Community Health at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, she translates executive strategy into tactical implementation, for a broad variety of community health initiatives and care models. Ms. Parris-Benjamin is responsible for leading payer/provider integration work and addressing social determinants of health. She also works with provider systems that are positioning themselves toward assuming global risk.

Ms. Parris-Benjamin’s experience demonstrates her work as an advocate for community-based programs and other healthcare initiatives. She leads several workgroups and discussions around increased awareness and stigma reduction of substance use disorders and has championed programs for HIV-positive pregnant teens and their families, survivors of domestic violence, individual and group counseling, parenting workshops to reunite families, and care coordination for underserved and chronically ill persons. She promotes the need for increased cognizance on the impact of health disparities and inequities in healthcare, for underserved populations and persons of color.

In 2019, Ms. Parris-Benjamin received distinguished honors from Diversity MBA as one of the Top leaders under 50 and was featured in the 2020 inaugural issue of the top 100 Women of Influence. She has led the development and implementation of Peer-Recovery models and served as a key speaker for the Partnership for a Drug Free NJ’s ‘Knock Opioid Out of New Jersey’ Initiative. She is a fellow of the New Jersey Healthcare Executives Leadership Academy and was voted into Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ 85th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Ms. Parris-Benjamin was featured on WBGO radio, where she led a discussion on trauma informed care and has often served as a panelist for discussions related to impending social determinants of health. She was featured on NJ Spotlight where she raised awareness on the importance of community engagement to mobilize health education, specifically around COVID-19 and access to resources in high-risk communities.

Ms. Parris-Benjamin is recognized, by her colleagues, as a strong leader and role model. She has engaged in several formal and informal mentor relationships. She is passionate about helping others and bringing awareness to topics and challenges that affect the lives of many. Ms. Parris-Benjamin currently serves on the boards for the Northern NJ Region American Heart Association and the Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition. In her role as President of the Northern NJ Region Board of the American Heart Association and Chair for the Go Red for Women 2021-2022. She is responsible for raising awareness on the importance of Heart and Stroke health through various speaking engagements, fundraising and developing innovative collaborations to expand treatments opportunities, research and prevention with a keen interest in vulnerable communities. She is also an active member of Horizon’s Diversity Counsel where she leads efforts to raise awareness of racial injustices and systemic structures that continue to promote healthcare disparities and racial inequities.

Through her work, Ms. Parris-Benjamin has witnessed the importance and value of investing in a community and devotes time to volunteering. She has supported many projects, such as community garden restorations, fundraising to support homeless teens, women’s empowerment seminars and other activities in conjunction with local churches and community board organizations, to name a few.

When she is not tackling social issues within healthcare, Ms. Parris-Benjamin enjoys spending time with her family. She is a cherished wife, and mother of two school-aged children. She is also an entrepreneur and proud business owner of a children’s entertainment venture that focuses on developing confidence in children and young adults.

Ms. Parris-Benjamin holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Social Work from St. John’s University and a master’s in social work from Fordham University.

Judy Sailer is the Director of Learning and Development for Primepoint HR & Payroll. She holds a Masters Degree in Management & Organizational Leadership from Springfield College, received her Human Resources Cert from Rutgers University, and is a certified SHRM CP and PHR. She has presented for NJBIA, CCSNJ, NJACP, Tri-State SHRM and Garden State SHRM and has been featured in Forbes and Jersey Matters. She is well-versed in all aspects of management and leadership; her passion is staff development.