Resilience Over Time: Women’s Evolving Perceptions of Health, Balance, and Well-Being Across Careers

Afternoon Breakout Session

Women working in higher education often manage sustained professional responsibility alongside evolving personal roles, caregiving demands, leadership expectations, and institutional change. Balance and resilience are not one-time achievements, but ongoing processes shaped by career stage, identity, and lived experience.

This interactive workshop is informed by a longitudinal study that began in 2011 with women business owners and follows up with the same participants 15 years later. The original study explored women’s self-described perceptions of physical, emotional, and spiritual health using surveys and in-depth interviews. One notable finding revealed that while many women reported fewer positive views of their physical health as they aged, they demonstrated strong emotional awareness, adaptability, and a deepened sense of purpose—key indicators of resilience. The current follow-up study uses the same qualitative interview questions to explore whether—and how—these perceptions of health, balance, and resilience have shifted over the 15-year span.

Although the original participants were entrepreneurs, the themes that emerged closely mirror the lived experiences of women staff in higher education: redefining success, managing boundaries, sustaining energy over long careers, and finding meaning in work that often prioritizes others. The follow-up study examines how these women’s perceptions of health and wellness have evolved over time and what has supported—or challenged—their resilience.

Participants will be invited to reflect on their own wellness journeys and engage in small-group discussions focused on shared experiences, practical strategies, and institutional realities. They will be encouraged to examine their own perceptions of wellness across career stages, share strategies for sustaining resilience, and consider how institutional cultures can better support long-term well-being for women in higher education. Two of the participants from the original and follow-up study will join the workshop to share their lived experiences with balance and resiliency – Beth Faucher of EGF Tax and Accounting Services and Dr. Kim Queenan, Assistant Professor at SNHU.  The workshop emphasizes connection, reflection, and actionable insight, offering space for women to learn from research, from one another, and from their own stories.

 Learning Objectives: 

  1. Recognize longitudinal patterns in women’s perceptions of health, balance, and resilience, and relate these patterns to their own experiences in higher education.

  2. Examine the relationship between professional identity, emotional well-being, and physical health, identifying adaptive strategies women use over time.

  3. Apply research-informed insights through reflection and small-group dialogue to generate ideas for personal practice and institutional support that promote sustainable, resilient careers.

Dr. Leslie Campbell

Dr. Leslie Campbell is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Business Administration and Management Department in the School of Business at Southern New Hampshire University, joining the institution in 2017. Prior to this, she was an Associate Professor in the Business Department of Colby-Sawyer College for six years. She has been an adjunct faculty member with St. Anselm College, Rivier University, and Franklin Pierce University. Her professional experience includes nearly 25 years in leadership roles in the human resources field, most recently as the president of Landon Associates LLC, a Human Resources consulting firm, and Vice President of Employee and Sales Services with the New Hampshire divisions of the Middleby Corp.

Dr. Campbell currently serves as the Secretary of the Manchester Area Human Resources Association (MAHRA). She is a frequent participant at academic conferences, presenting her research at both the Academy of Management (AOM), the Eastern Academy of Management, and the Southern Management Association. Dr. Campbell’s excellence in pedagogy has led to numerous publications, including in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice. As an educator, she is well-regarded by her students and peers, being nominated for the 2018 Excellence in Teaching Award at SNHU. She previously served as the Program Director for the SNHU International Business PhD program and has chaired numerous doctoral dissertation committees.

Dr. Campbell holds a Doctor of Arts in Leadership from Franklin Pierce University, as well as an MBA with a concentration in Human Resource Management from Rivier University. She spent her undergraduate years at Assumption University, where she earned her B.A. in Psychology.