FEI Behavioral Health's expertise in managing crisis in a retail environment is featured on the website of Retail Merchandiser. Terri Howard, senior director for FEI, authored the article "Managing a Retail Crisis."
FEI Behavioral Health recently contributed to the rapidly growing dialog about the importance of understanding social media within the context of crisis management. Our article, "Weathering the Social Media Storm: How to Integrate Social Media Into the Threat Assessment Process" appeared in the newsletter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.
Vivian Marinelli, senior director of crisis management services for FEI Behavioral Health, recently contributed her expertise to an article about managing disruptive behavior in a retail environment. The story was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Nick Zarcone, chairman of the FEI Behavioral Health Board of Directors, will become CFO of Robert W. Baird & Co. April 1, 2011.
Zarcone joined Baird in 1995. Since 2004 he has served as managing director and COO of investment banking. He became chairman of FEI's board in January 2011.
Financial issues have become a primary concern for many Americans. Financial counseling is an important aspect of FEI Behavioral Health's employee assistance program (EAP) services. The counseling services we provide to the employees of Prudential were recently featured in an article on Fox Business.
The FEI Behavioral Health Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to hire Ted Uczen as president of the Milwaukee-based crisis management services, employee assistance program, and work-life services company.
Dan Potterton, Chief Operating Officer of FEI Behavioral Health, recently presented during the Employee Assistance Professionals Association Annual World EAP Conference in Tampa, Fla., Oct. 6-9, 2010. Attendees will have the opportunity to better understand how their younger and older co-workers think and work, as well as how to capitalize on those unique characteristics.
FEI has announced the debut of Manager Exchange. Manager Exchange is a blog created to facilitate sharing expertise and exchanging ideas as well as sharing views, experiences and resources subjects relevant to workforce resilience.
A company's workforce is its most valuable asset, and employee morale, engagement, and productivity often form the glue that holds the business together. According to a recent white paper by Towers Watson, 44 percent of health care employees are capable, caring and ready to be engaged, but they don't feel motivated by company executives.
Dan Potterton, chief operating officer for FEI Behavioral Health an industry veteran gives his expert advice on best practices regarding when and how to launch a wellness program. The employee benefit news article “Preparing for Open Enrollment 2011: Covering all bases” gives wellness the spotlight it deserves.
All it takes is a quick read of the headlines to recognize the added stress on educators and students as they deal with the potential for violence. Today’s news contains a rising number of stories about disruption at our schools—from altercations between staff or students to disastrous events like shootings. It’s important for school leaders to understand basic crisis management principles—and how social media might play a role in the event of a crisis, for better or worse. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Keys to Organizational Resilience - The Value of Being Prepared
With the pace of business accelerating to an ever-more frantic pace, it is often too easy to set aside concerns about preparing your organization for a crisis.
Yet, the headlines make it clear that “It Can Happen Here.” A wide spectrum of events can disrupt your ability to conduct business and put your staff at risk.
Even the most basic levels of preparedness can help your organization get back on its feet, minimizing the debilitating long-term effects of a crisis.
Today we mourn the loss of a profound leader in the non-profit community.
On Friday August 12th, Peter Goldberg, President and CEO of Families International died unexpectedly while on vacation in Maine. Families International is the non-profit parent company of FEI Behavioral Health. Our hearts go out to his family and our colleagues/friends at our sister companies the Alliance for Children and Families, United Neighborhood Centers of America and Ways to Work. Peter's expertise, passion and devotion for his work will have a lasting impact for years to come.
Families International, the Alliance for Children and Families, United Neighborhood Centers of America, Ways to Work, and FEI Behavioral Health will hold a memorial service to celebrate the life of the late Peter Goldberg, our leader and friend, on Sunday, October 16th, at 6:30–7:30 p.m. EDT.
The service will be held in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington D.C.
A small Milwaukee company played a big role in the crisis communications following the 9/11 terrorist attacks 10 years ago.
FEI Behavioral Health, 11700 W. Lake Park Drive in Milwaukee, was founded in 1979 to handle crisis communications and employee assistance programs for other companies. Most of FEI’s 35 employees have at least a master’s level degree in a behavioral health field, said Vivian Marinelli, senior director of crisis management services.
“They’re all mental health professionals, so they already know how to work with people in crisis,” Marinelli said.
Innovative financial wellness approach allows access to emergency funds and builds credit
Sept. 13, 2011— FEI Behavioral Health, a national EAP, wellness and crisis management company based in Milwaukee, has partnered with Emerge Workplace Solutions to offer an exclusive new financial wellness program aimed at strengthening workers’ financial resiliency.
FEI Behavioral Health to Feature Two Workshops at 2011 ASIS Seminar Conference
MILWAUKEE – Sept. 19, 2011 – FEI Behavioral Health, a leading Milwaukee-based crisis management, EAP, and work-life services company, will present two workshops as part of 2011 ASIS Seminar in Orlando, FL, running Sept. 19-22.
Reaching Forward, Reaching Back: Mentoring Women in Security
From Nonprofit to For-Profit: A Story of Organizational Transformation
MILWAUKEE- Sept 30th, 2011 – FEI Behavioral Health, a leading Milwaukee-based crisis management, EAP, and wellness services company, will present an engaging workshop at the 2011 NIB/NAEPB Annual Training Conference. This session will outline how a nonprofit program, at a nonprofit membership organization, has reinvented itself multiple times over the past 30 years to become a multimillion-dollar, for-profit business, owned by a social enterprise.
Terri Howard, director of crisis management for FEI Behavioral Health, recently contributed her expertise to an article about the importance of having a preparation plan in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. In the article Howard discusses the importance of leveraging the resources available through an employee assistance program (EAP) in the wake of a disaster. The article, “Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst,” was published in the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA- HR) HR News magazine.
MILWAUKEE — Oct. 12, 2011 — Susan N. Dreyfus, secretary of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services has been named President and CEO of Families International, Inc., parent company of FEI Behavioral Health. She will replace Peter Goldberg, who died suddenly on Aug. 12, 2011. Dreyfus will also become a board member for FEI Behavioral health, in addition to several leadership roles within Families International, Inc. effective Jan. 2, 2012.
An employee with personal financial problems spends an average of 20 work hours per month dealing with them, according to Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation, a financial literacy nonprofit organization. And according to the Center for Responsible Lending, more than 50 percent of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, with no savings set aside for emergencies.
When the for-profit company FEI Behavioral Health, Milwaukee, prospers, members of the Alliance for Children and Families earn a social and capacity-building dividend. Yet, they are insulated from the risks typically associated with being corporate shareholders.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 15:47
How Public Safety Leaders Can Use Social Media to Effectively Manage Campus Crises
Today's news contains a rising number of stories about disruption at our schools - from altercations between staff or students to disastrous events like shootings. This creates added stress on educators and students as they deal with the potential for violence. It's important for public safety leaders to understand basic crisis management principles - and how social media might play a role in the event of a crisis, for better or worse. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
published by Amber Alles on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 13:47
MILWAUKEE- Jan. 30, 2012 – FEI Behavioral Health, a leading Milwaukee-based crisis management, EAP, and wellness services company, is pleased to announce Diane Barbieri and Dan Potterton as the winners of the 2011 Amy Kallas Customer Advocate Award for the 4th Quarter and 2011 Amy Kallas Customer Advocate of the Year Award, respectively.
published by Amber Alles on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 08:48
FEI is dedicated to supporting our country’s Veterans by providing these workers with the assistance that is needed to make a smooth transition from military to civilian life. In an effort to enhance our current programs, FEI is interested in researching how our customers and partners have also made this commitment to Veterans. We have developed a brief survey to gather information about current trends in Veteran assistance programs across the country. This survey should take no more than 3 minutes to complete, but will produce some highly valuable information that will provide even more support to our country’s Veterans and their families.
published by Amber Alles on Fri, 02/17/2012 - 09:20
Just as immediate medical care can mean the difference between future complications and a swift recovery after an injury, immediate psychological first aid can mean the mean the difference in the time it takes for a company’s employees to psychologically heal after the event.
The Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America are seeking a talented individual to represent the interests of the Alliance and UNCA to the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government and engage and mobilize our membership and their constituents to impact policy that promotes the wellbeing of children, families, adults and communities. For more information about the Alliance and UNCA, please visit www.alliance1.org and www.unca.org.
published by Amber Alles on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 10:26
Susan Dreyfus took over in January as president and chief executive of the Alliance for Children and Families and its parent organization, Families International. She said she wants to raise the visibility of the organizations to make them more vital, participatory and important to Milwaukee. And she thinks she's perfectly suited to do that because of her history, experience and long ties to the state.
published by Amber Alles on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 10:18
FEI is pleased to announce the debut of the Crisis Management Blog page. We envision this blog as a virtual forum where clients and those within the crisis management community can exchange ideas with their peers, as well as share their views, experiences, and resources on any relevant subject. The Crisis Management Blog will allow leaders in the field to tap into FEI’s expertise, through a professional, respectful and confidential exchange.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 03/08/2012 - 16:06
It CAN Happen Here: A Proactive Approach to Violence Prevention in Schools
As horrifying and unthinkable as violence in schools may be, we are tragically reminded far too often that it is a possibility every community must take seriously. Preparing for crisis is certainly no promise of prevention, and from the vantage of hindsight the diligent course may seem obvious. Nonetheless, it is worth remembering that while awareness is the most basic tool of crisis prevention, its importance is often overlooked.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 03/15/2012 - 10:28
Lending a Hand and a Personal Touch to Employees
Employee assistance programs—referred to as EAPs—can be a valuable support system for associations and their employees. EAPs can advise association employees about child care and elder care services and connect them to resources for substance abuse issues or grief counseling. A good EAP will also help people get back on their feet and refocused on their job. Whether an association consists of a handful of employees or hundreds, there’s an EAP that can help your group foster a better work environment.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 03/22/2012 - 14:45
FEI is dedicated to supporting our country’s Veterans by providing these workers with the assistance that is needed to make a smooth transition from military to civilian life. Through the use of a short survey, FEI has been researching how our customers and partners have also made this commitment to Veterans. In order to learn more about the purpose of our survey, and our research initiative, we invite you to view our new Returning Veterans Initiative Video introduced by FEI’s Chief Operating Officer, Dan Potterton.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 10:23
Susan Dreyfus, CEO of FEI Behavioral Health’s parent company, Families International Inc., speaks to her role in the nonprofit human services sector and highlights the work of FEI:
FEI Behavioral Health achieves the collective vision by protecting the most valuable asset an organization possesses — its workforce. “FEI has taken the traditional employee assistance program model and partners with organizations of all sizes to protect and enhance their workforce effectiveness and organizational resiliency,” said Dreyfus.
“FEI also provides for the ‘people side’ of crisis preparedness and response,” she continued. “It utilizes the strength of the Alliance for Children and Families network in both of these program areas. FEI has contracts within the government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors — including crisis management contracts with the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate.
published by Amber Alles on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 11:07
As horrifying and unthinkable as violence on campus may be, we are tragically reminded far too often that it is a possibility every community must take seriously. Preparing for crisis is certainly no promise of prevention, and from the vantage of hindsight the diligent course may seem obvious. Nonetheless, it is worth remembering that while awareness is the most basic tool of crisis prevention, its importance is often overlooked.
“Behaviors rarely happen in a vacuum,” says Dr. Vivian Marinelli, senior director of crisis management with FEI Behavioral Health. “Particularly in students, there tend to be signals and precursors to violent behaviors. Increasingly, these signals are in plain view, thanks to the various forms of social media. It is crucial for all stakeholders in our communities to take these signals seriously. Oftentimes the ability to do that comes from simple awareness.”
