2026 mental health hot takes: Be ready for these 5 trends in the upcoming year

Name: 2026 mental health hot takes: Be ready for these 5 trends in the upcoming year
Start: 2025-12-09T17:00:00.000Z

December 9, 2025

12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT

Hear from three benefits leaders as they unpack five key mental health predictions shaping the year ahead and share practical ways to get ahead before Q1.

Presenters

Dan Harrah

VP of Clinical Partnerships, Spring Health

Kelsey Witmer

VP, Total Rewards & People Ops, Spring Health

Kelly Ellis

Sr. Principal, Delivery Excellence, Piper Jordan, LLC

Why you should join us

Join us for a 45-minute discussion with leading mental health and benefits experts as they share five bold predictions shaping the year ahead. You’ll walk away with insights and practical steps to strengthen your 2026 workplace mental health strategy.

Join us to learn:

What five key mental health issues will define 2026
How these trends will shape the way you support your people
Actionable ways to future-proof your benefits strategy

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About the presenters

Kelsey Witmer

VP, Total Rewards & People Ops, Spring Health

With 10 years of People & Culture experience, Kelsey is a people-first leader who loves complex, ambiguous challenges that require creative problem solving. She is driven to deeply understand and empathize with people, champion experiences, and scale innovative solutions that drive behavioral/cultural change company-wide. As the Head of Employee Experience at Spring Health, Kelsey drives initiatives that enhance employee engagement, team collaboration, and organizational effectiveness. She leads a multidisciplinary team spanning Employee Experience & Belonging, Internal Communications & Change Management, and Talent Management, with a focus on launching cultural programs that engage team members, break barriers to cross-functional collaboration, and embed AI into internal operations.

Kelly Ellis

Sr. Principal, Delivery Excellence, Piper Jordan, LLC

With over two decades of expertise in employee benefits and client engagement, Kelly Ellis leads operational excellence and client relations at Piper Jordan. Since joining the firm in 2007, Kelly has held several leadership roles, including her current position as Sr. Principal, Delivery Excellence, where she drives innovation, quality, and service consistency across all client partnerships.

Kelly is driven by a deep passion to improve access to health benefits and strengthen workplace wellbeing for organizations and their employees. Her ability to combine operational precision with a client-first philosophy has been instrumental in designing and managing complex benefits strategies that align with each client’s unique objectives.

She holds a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University, which has shaped her collaborative, people-centered approach to leadership and continuous improvement. Throughout her tenure, Kelly has served in a variety of capacities—each reinforcing her commitment to operational excellence, meaningful client partnerships, and measurable outcomes.