Once a week throughout April, in the middle of the workday, traded in her business suit for a tracksuit — or at least a T-shirt, casual pants, and a pair of sneakers.
But you wouldn’t have found the new — and first — director of wellness for The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Academic Enterprise walking the track around the Alumni Field House on the Galveston Campus. On Wednesdays around lunchtime, she was out chatting, laughing, and walking with a group of UTMB employees taking part in her Wellness Wednesday Walk.
The walk, which captured exactly who she is — energetic, people-centered, and determined to make healthy living feel accessible, communal, and fun — was one of the first initiatives she launched after taking on the role at the end of January.
The campaign, which is likely to start again in early fall, may have been one of her first wellness initiatives, but it was far from the last.
Resetting the workday
“For the longest time, wellness was viewed as something outside of work,” Griffith said. “That thinking is evolving. Now it’s being baked into the workday."
Her early initiatives reflect that shift. In addition to the Wednesday Wellness Walks, which she describes as “a moment to reset for the rest of the day,” Griffith is working on walking trail maps across the Galveston Campus; wellness ambassador networks to share information at the unit level; sports leagues and activity groups using the Field House’s extensive facilities; and team-based challenges around walking, hydration, nutrition, and more.
To Griffith, a truly healthy workplace is one where people feel respected, supported, and energized — not depleted — by their work.
“It’s a place where people feel cared for,” she said. “They have the energy to go home to their families at the end of the day. They feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. Access to spaces to move, healthy food, water refill stations, walking trails — those things matter.”
From the soccer field to workplace wellness
Griffith’s path to UTMB began with a lifelong connection to health and performance. She played soccer as a child and continued that passion when she left home and high school at 16 to live in a boarding house in England and travel across Europe with the England Women’s National Soccer Team.
“Living on my own at 16 taught me discipline and resilience,” she said.
Her passion for health and fitness led her to study community health at Texas A&M and earn a Master of Public Health from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Then she went on to a job with UT MD Anderson’s Tobacco Treatment Program.
“Working directly with cancer patients who were trying to quit smoking so that they could proceed with potentially lifesaving treatments was the moment I realized the power addiction can have on people’s lives,” she said. “It opened up my vision of really trying to improve people’s lives and the totality of their quality of life.”
She later worked in corporate wellness in the oil and gas industry, then spent 14 years at Texas Children’s Hospital leading employee health and well-being.
“All of my roles have been concentrated on people,” she said, “and on improving their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health.”
A transformational moment at UTMB
Though she’s only been at UTMB a short time, Griffith feels the wellness culture is “evolving in the most positive kind of way,” and she credits leadership for encouraging that evolution. She said UTMB is at a pivotal point when it comes to wellness.
“We are in a transformational moment at UTMB,” she said. “We have huge tailwinds of support from [UTMB President and Health System CEO] Dr. Jochen Reiser, the focus on brain health, and with Blue Zones.
“I have never, in my experience, seen leaders like Dr. Reiser and [Senior Vice President, Provost, and Chief Academic Officer] Dr. Susan Chubinskaya who recognize the importance of creating an environment to help people thrive the way they do. There’s so much energy. People are excited and enthusiastic. They want to get involved.”
She said leaders at UTMB set the tone for what’s valued at the organization.
“I’ve learned that people don’t just listen to what leaders say, they watch what they do,” she said. “When they visibly prioritize their wellness it sends a powerful message and gives others permission to do the same.”
Living in Galveston County made the opportunity to work here feel personal for Griffith.
She lights up when she talks about the Blue Zones Project, a community-based initiative UTMB is partnering with to improve the overall health of island residents. The project’s main credo is making healthy choices the easy choices.
“It’s not complicated,” she said of the Blue Zones approach. “It’s about building the conditions for people to make healthier choices. Behavior follows environment. Partnering with Blue Zones is a beautiful way for us to improve the environment, the nutrition choices, the ability to move, and build a sense of community.”
Start small, give yourself grace
Her advice to UTMB staff looking to improve their wellness? Griffith encourages employees to start with small, doable actions — and to give yourself grace.
“One of the most powerful things you can do is just step away from your workspace,” she said. “Get outside. Take a walk. Reset.”
In her own routine, Griffith focuses on strength training because of the importance of muscle for bone health, mobility, longevity, and mood.
“It sustains everything,” she said.
But despite her athletic background, she’s not one to work out every day.
“I’m very much focused on strength training, so I am definitely trying to do that three or four times a week,” she said. “And I go through seasons, like everybody, where I'm not into it — but I know I'll get back to it if I'm having a hard moment. It’s OK for wellness to take a backseat at times. What matters is recalibrating afterward.
“If you’re looking for a sign to focus on your well-being, this is it. Start somewhere. It doesn’t have to be a giant goal. Action builds momentum.”