The EAP Wasn't Built for This: What AI Changes About Mental Health Benefits

Michelle Shirley is a seasoned Human Resources leader with more than 25 years of experience driving people strategy, organizational culture and employee wellbeing across the hospitality, healthcare, and scientific research industries. Currently serving as Senior Director of Benefits, Wellbeing & Belonging at Choice Hotels International, Michelle leads initiatives focused on creating inclusive, people-centered workplace experiences that support a resilient workforce.

Mental health advocacy is deeply personal to Michelle and serves as a driving force behind her passion for wellbeing and belonging in the workplace. Having navigated a challenging childhood that included a decade in foster care, along with raising an amazingly curious and awesome neurodiverse child, she understands firsthand the importance of compassion, psychological safety, and access to professional support. These experiences have shaped her desire to create spaces where people feel seen, supported, and valued both personally and professionally.

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Matt Hawrilenko, PhD, has 15 years of experience in mental health as a clinical psychologist, researcher, and research leader. His work has focused on using data to understand how mental health treatments work, for whom, and how they can be improved to work better for more people.

He completed his clinical internship and postdoctoral training at the Seattle VA and later served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington, where he conducted grant-funded research and led a data team supporting clinical trials and other federally funded studies.

At Spring Health, Matt leads the Health Economics and Outcomes Research team, a group of seven PhD-level researchers who evaluate the effectiveness of Spring’s products through real-world data analyses, clinical trials, and peer-reviewed studies. His team’s work helps Spring learn from its own outcomes, improve its products, and share evidence with external audiences through academic publication and scientific review.