Staff
Student Wellness Promotion
About Student Wellness Promotion
Student Wellness Promotion and Education conducts programs to help Mines students build and access the tools needed to stay well during college and beyond. These activities and trainings promote holistic student well-being and address issues of community health and wellness, with a priority on: mental health, suicide prevention, alcohol and substance abuse prevention, resilience, stress management, and sexual wellness. Our department also addresses other topical areas such as connectedness, sleep, imposter syndrome, nutrition, financial wellness, and others. These are informed and evaluated by data collection.
Student Wellness Promotion Staff
Emma Griffis
Director
egriffis@mines.edu
About Emma
Emma Griffis (pronouns she/her/hers) is Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred, but she’s called Colorado home since 2011. She earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Colorado School of Public Health and wound up in the field of higher education. After focusing on mental health promotion and suicide prevention at Red Rocks Community College, Emma joined the Mines community in January of 2019. She particularly enjoys working with the Betsy’s Friends Peer Educators, teaching CSM202 (Introduction to Well-Being), and conducting QPR suicide prevention trainings.
Some fun facts: Emma lived in Ukraine for two years and worked at a technical college as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She is lucky to have traveled internationally quite a bit. Emma likes to exercise and go camping with her family, and they are solar-eclipse-chasers. She stays resilient by approaching life as an adventure – just go with the flow and know that things might not always go as expected, but it all usually works out in the end. Her college days were some of the best days, and she loves working with university students!
Christine Harders
Program Assistant
christineharders@mines.edu
About Christine
Christine Harders was born and raised in Colorado and is a third generation native. She has 25 years of combined knowledge and background with both certificates/degrees in office management and practice in medical, dental and counseling offices. Christine is excited to Manage our Student Wellness Center that comprises multiple Student Life direct service programs/departments: Student Wellness Promotion, Counseling Center, Dental Clinic, and Student Health Insurance, as well as the SHAPE Office. She has a passion for helping others and working in higher education.
Christine loves spending time with her husband and two daughters in the great outdoors, camping, fly fishing and photography.
Molly Kilby
Assistant Director of Well-Being Curriculum
molly.kilby@mines.edu
About Molly
Molly Hutchison (pronouns she/her/hers) holds a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan. At the University of Michigan, she worked in the health promotion office developing health communication materials and partnering with Fraternity and Sorority Life to embed well-being into educational opportunities. This was Molly’s first-time being part of a college health promotion team, and where she found her passion for working in higher education. Most recently, Molly spent three years at Johns Hopkins University as the health education specialist supporting student well-being, specifically in emotional, sexual, and physical well-being, and advising peer health educators. Molly is excited to continue embedding well-being into various areas at the university in addition to developing the new core course CSM 202. To promote her well-being, Molly enjoys spending time with her cats and partner, hiking and exploring the outdoors, and listening to podcasts while working on puzzles.
Claire VanWieren
Assistant Director of Student Wellness Promotion
claire.vanwieren@mines.edu
About Claire
Claire VanWieren (she/her) earned her Master of Public Health in Population Mental Health and Well-Being from the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz. Prior to Mines, she worked in Health Promotion at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she researched and developed campus-wide wellness programs and co-directed the Peer Education program. Her experience at CU and in the Denver community strengthened her commitment to harm reduction, overdose prevention, and substance use education – experiences and passions that guide her work within higher education today. At Mines, Claire advises Betsy’s Friends Peer Educators, teaches CSM 202 and 101, oversees Blaster Box resource distribution, and collaborates across campus to promote alcohol and other drug education. As the newest member of the Student Wellness Promotion office, she is especially looking forward to building deeper connections with students, expanding wellness initiatives, and contributing to a culture of public health on campus. When she’s not on campus, Claire can be found at concerts, hiking and camping across the Western U.S., or binge-reading a historical fiction book. She also loves criminology, science podcasts, and spending time where she grew up on the beaches of Lake Michigan.