Conferences & Industry
Bringing the Conversation Home — Atlanta Life Hosts IBI Regional Conference
Date TBD · Atlanta, Georgia
Conference · Thought Leadership · Industry · Community
There is something different about hosting. When Atlanta Life Insurance Company opened its doors to the Integrated Benefits Institute's regional conference, it was not simply a logistical decision — it was an invitation. An invitation for the HR leaders, benefits professionals, and organizational decision-makers who filled our conference center to step inside a company that has been doing the work of supporting people and their families for more than 120 years, and to see what that history looks like up close.
The result was one of the most layered and meaningful events we have been part of in recent memory — a day of research, conversation, expert presentations, and an experience that took attendees off campus and into the heart of Atlanta's history.
The Conference
The IBI Regional Conference brought together a cross-section of health and productivity professionals from across the region for a program built around the issues shaping today's workforce. Atlanta Life's conference center served as the setting — a space that felt appropriate for conversations about the future of work happening inside a company with deep roots in the communities those workers belong to.
Atlanta Life's own panel — led by Courtney Johnson, Vice President of Group Solutions, Dr. Kristin Tugman, Workplace Mental Health & Health Productivity Specialist, and Trish Payne of the Group Solutions team — brought their GenZ in the Workforce presentation to a regional audience. The session explored what it means to attract and retain the new generation of workers while supporting their growing role as the incoming stewards of corporate America.
The Integrated Benefits Institute presented new data on employee benefits — sharing current research on workforce health, productivity, and the evolving landscape of what employees need and expect from the organizations they work for.
Mellie, one of Atlanta Life's digital point solution partners, joined the program to present on caregiving as a workplace benefit. Mellie's platform supports employees who are navigating the demands of caring for older adults and loved ones with special needs — an increasingly significant and often overlooked dimension of workforce well-being.
A Tour Unlike Any Other
No conference agenda could have anticipated the moment that stood out most from the day — and it was not a presentation. It was a bus.
Atlanta Life chartered transportation to take conference attendees to the Herndon Home — the historic residence of Alonzo Franklin Herndon, Atlanta Life's founder and Atlanta's first Black millionaire. There, attendees received a guided tour of the home and a history lesson on Atlanta Life's founding, its role in the civil rights movement, and its more than 120-year journey from a single office on Auburn Avenue to the institution it is today.
To be in that space — to stand in the rooms where Alonzo Herndon built a vision that became a company, a legacy, and a movement — and then to return to that company's modern offices and continue a conversation about the future of workforce health and productivity, was something no breakout session could replicate. It was context. It was meaning. And for many attendees, it was the part of the day they are most likely to remember.
What the Day Reflected
Hosting the IBI Regional Conference was an opportunity for Atlanta Life to do something we believe in deeply — to use our space, our relationships, and our reach to bring people together around work that matters. Health and productivity is not an abstract field. It is the study of what happens to people when they are supported well and what is lost when they are not. That is a conversation Atlanta Life has been part of — in one form or another — for over a century.
We are grateful to IBI for the partnership that made this event possible, to Mellie for bringing their expertise to our stage, and to every attendee who came ready to engage. And we are especially grateful to the Herndon Foundation for their continued generosity in welcoming people into a space that belongs to all of us.
About the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI)
The Integrated Benefits Institute is a leading nonprofit research organization focused on workforce health and its impact on employee productivity and organizational performance. Through research, events, and member resources, IBI advances the conversation on health, productivity, and the future of work.
About Mellie
Mellie is a caregiving support platform that helps family caregivers plan, manage, and coordinate care for older adults and loved ones with special needs — giving employees the support they need to navigate one of life's most demanding responsibilities.
Atlanta Life Insurance Company is committed to the communities it serves — through purposeful partnerships, meaningful presence, and a mission that has guided this organization for more than 120 years.