On the frontlines of workplace wellness.

For 25 years Matt Bloom was a tenured professor at the University of Notre Dame. He recently changed roles so he can devote his time to bringing the vast but esoteric body of research on wellbeing to a wider audience, and to working with his co-founders and team at Ritual.

Matt’s research focuses on the wellbeing of helping and healing professionals. Matt and his WorkWell team have studied how people find and live into deeply meaningful work, the joys and sorrows they face, and the factors that help make that work life-enriching instead of life-depleting. In his more recent work, Matt explores the spiritual dimensions of work and wellbeing.

Matt is currently working on two books. Wise Wellbeing Practices presents the wide range of wellbeing practices that have emerged from cutting-edge science. Mindfulness meditation is just one of many great practices, and in this book, he hopes to provide people with resources they can use to create personalized practices that fit neatly into their lives.

A Savage Yes describes the results of a 15 year study on people who feel “called” to their work. It chronicles the experiences of over 200 people and offers insights for people who want to find ways to make their work experiences more meaningful.

Matt received his Ph.D. from Cornell University. Before becoming a professor, he was a consultant for Arthur Young and a financial advisor for Shearson Lehman Brothers. At Notre Dame, Matt taught classes on design thinking and innovation to undergraduates, MBA students and a variety of work organizations.

Matt lives in the mountains of Lost River West Virginia with Kim and their English Shepherds, Blaze and Ember. His son, Nicholas, holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Duke University and works as a human-centered design specialist at the National Archives. His other son, Keaton, is an architect in Manhattan, New York where he and his wife, Maíra Fonseca, a dermatologist, are parents to Matt and Kim’s first grandchild, Mateo.

One of Matt’s passions is backcountry hiking, so he loves going “off the grid” on backwoods trails whenever he can. He also enjoys gardening, rock climbing, and writing.

Judy Miller is the Administrative Assistant for the Wellbeing at Work Program. Prior to joining the team, Judy worked in the Nonprofit Professional Development Program in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, as an events and project coordinator in MBA Student Services at Mendoza, and as an administrative assistant at the Purdue University School of Technology. She earned her degree in business administration from Michiana College.

Judy lives in South Bend with her dog, Roxie. She enjoys the great outdoors, gardening, and traveling—particularly when a lake or ocean is involved—and spending time with her three children and four grandchildren.

Laura Schmucker fills several key roles on our team. She leads the work for all of our technology platforms, including our WorkWell mobile applications, and supervises our contract software developers. She also serves as a liaison across all partner organizations and participants, coordinating all survey development and distribution, as well as managing the logistics and data for the team’s research studies. Laura received her B.S. in accounting from Valparaiso University before serving as a CPA for a major accounting firm. In addition, Laura has filled a variety of leadership roles at a large church in the South Bend area.

Laura lives in South Bend with her husband, Ron, and loves the outdoors, spending her free time golfing, biking, playing tennis, and boating on the lake. Laura has three children. Zach lives in Chicago and works in the mortgage industry. Brian is an accountant at the University of Notre Dame. Her daughter, Madison, recently completed her masters degree in nutrition science.

Manuela Casti Yeagley is a Research Assistant Professor with the Wellbeing at Work team, where she works in the area of data collection and analysis. Manuela received both her Master’s and PhD from King’s College, London. Her research area is Practical Theology, with a specific focus on congregational studies, missiology and youth ministry. She is also particularly interested in ecumenical spirituality, and recently completed a research project on the Taize’ Community. Before joining the Wellbeing at Work team Manuela was involved for almost two decades in ministerial education, as faculty member of three different theological seminaries (Italy, France, and United Kingdom). In this capacity, she also led the European Valuegenesis Survey, an international project aimed to study youth faith development within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Manuela is married to Steve, and they live in Berrien Springs, Michigan. They have a little Havanese dog, Chico, and they greatly enjoy travelling and discovering new cultures. Both Manuela and Steve are passionate cinephiles, and they love to explore the intersection between faith and culture, particularly through music, movies, and art.

Sarah Klinedinst fills several important roles on the team. She manages all of the content on our WorkWell mobile applications. She supervises our research assistants, coordinates all of our qualitative research studies, and serves as a key member of the qualitative research team. Sarah received her B.A. in sociology from Saint Mary’s College and her M.A. in sociology from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the team, she was a program coordinator for the Office of Pre-College Programs at the University of Notre Dame.

Sarah lives in North Liberty with her husband, Richard. She enjoys reading, cooking, and finding unique spots for good food in the area.

Having spent the last 8 years as the Associate Campus Pastor for Community Care at Azusa Pacific University, Chris is the new Director of the Kern Center for Vocational Ministry & Associate Professor of Pastoral Care & Counseling at Azusa Pacific Seminary. He is a third generation pastor’s kid, and an ordained minister. In addition to his role as a professor in undergraduate and seminary teaching and training, he is also active as a denominational/church consultant, and frequent speaker at pastors’ retreats and conferences. Having spent a number of years in local church and parachurch ministry leadership, Chris developed a passion pastoral and church health issues. A graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, he is currently participating in research on pastoral health and effectiveness, including the Duke Clergy Health Initiative and Profiles in Ministry Project for the Association of Theological Schools. Chris also facilitates the clergy candidacy assessment, selection, formation, and ongoing care processes for a number of denominations and seminaries.

Chris is married to Lori, a cardiac nurse, and they have two children, Lexi (5), and Cole (10 months). Chris enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, scuba diving, and music (especially jazz) in addition talented, multidisciplinary team highlighted below, we also partner with scholars, practitioners, and experts from a wide range of fields. n addition talented, multidisciplinary team highlighted below, we also partner with scholars, practitioners, and experts from a wide range of fields.