About the Author

Dr. Rose K. Gantner, EdD, senior director of health promotion, consumer education, training and innovation at the UPMC Health Plan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has over thirty years experience in wellness, health management and counseling/ organizational psychology. She has worked as chief executive officer for two hospitals in the Magellan Health System, and as vice president of managed care, employee assistance programs, and wellness at Corphealth. Dr. Gantner owned her own private practice, Center for Life Coping Skills, and taught psychology full time at several universities. She has published several articles and educational training materials on wellness, health, stress management, resilience, and motivation, and has given several presentations at national conferences and to large, commercial employer groups nationwide. Some of her most significant awards were the World's Who's Who of Women and the Civilian Service Award from the Department of Defense for serving two tours in the Republic of South Vietnam as the executive director of the recreational program for the American Red Cross. The wellness and health productivity programs she helped develop and implement at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center system have won platinum awards for three consecutive years from the National Business Group on Health. She earned her doctorate degree from Auburn University, her master's in health education from the University of Pittsburgh, and her undergraduate degree in health and physical education from Slippery Rock State University in Pennsylvania. She also is a diplomate member of the American College of Wellness, the National Wellness Institute, the International Positive Psychology Association and the International Association of Worksite Health Promotion. Dr. Gantner also serves on the Leadership and Incentives Committees for Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO).