To clarify the who, what, when, why, and where of this event, we thought it would be helpful to share some FAQs that were created in advance of the inaugural Lead Well Retreat in 2025.

What is a Leadership Wellness Retreat? Truthfully, we should have called it Leadership + Wellness because the goal is to incorporate skill-building around both during this multi-day session. Much like Ronald McDonald House Global’s Executive Leadership Program, we have engaged trained leadership coaches to curate 2 full days focused on integrating leadership development and wellness practices designed specifically for our org leaders. The overall retreat experience, which includes guided self-care and peer support elements, emphasizes skill-building, personal growth and rejuvenation.

Why do we need this? Our extraordinary network of org leaders provides trauma-informed care to families with seriously ill children, guides large teams of staff and volunteers, raises millions in philanthropic funding, and directs complex non-profit organizations, providing 24/7 housing and support services. Leadership wellness, mental health, and work-life balance emerged as top priorities at our 2024 Org Leader Meeting and our Global Impact Strategy Framework identified “Prioritizing People” as one of four essential pillars for our work. We saw an opportunity to try something new - skill building + community building for personal and professional development, with a healthy dose of respite and rejuvenation.

How does this relate to our Annual OL Meeting? We believe that our Annual OL Meeting should be a top priority, every year, for every leader. And we believe that leadership and wellness will continue to be important themes and discussions at these meetings. Just as the Executive Leadership Program has in the past, the Lead Well Retreat is designed to be a supplemental experience. And while the programming at the Lead Well Retreat is customized for Ronald McDonald House Org Leaders, the work is not focused on operational topics such as Chapter growth, mission impact, fundraising, or Global initiatives as it is at the OL Meeting. The Lead Well Retreat is meant to be a supplemental experience for those in need. It is in no way an alternative or replacement of the OL Meeting.

What is Ronald McDonald House Global's involvement? Ronald McDonald House Global was invited to collaborate on this project and was given the opportunity to simply participate, own the project outright, collaborate on the planning committee, provide sponsorship support (as long as that support didn’t negatively impact OL Meeting sponsorship dollars), and/or pass altogether. They’ve again chosen this year to contribute sponsorship dollars to the event and collaborate on the planning committee via Sue Mackey, Director Culture & Learning and participate.

Who is on the planning committee? So far, the Lead Well Retreat planning committee has been comprised of Executive Leadership Program alumni from every US time zone who want to ensure that Org Leaders have regular opportunities for leadership training, wellness practices, group bonding, and personal development. Nate Graham from Lexington, Hal Hedley from Louisville, Amber Kaylor from Central Illinois, Jessica Jarratt Miller from Oregon, Emmanuel Ramirez from Lubbock,Lisa Suprenand from Tampa Bay, and Jessica Wright from New Mexico.