Author: sHq_LoGiNz

WELLESLEY, Mass., June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Dan Fishbein, M.D., president, Sun Life U.S., released the following statement in support of the Workers’ Disability Benefits Parity Act, introduced today by Congressmen Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) and Robert Scott (VA-03). This legislation would enhance long-term disability insurance benefits by requiring that mental health conditions be covered similarly to most physical conditions. Sun Life first called on Congress in 2023 to make these improvements to disability coverage.

“This legislation rightly recognizes that mental health is health, and makes sure that workers will have the financial security they need to take care of themselves and their families, regardless of the cause of their disability. Mental health conditions must be given the same consideration as physical conditions in healthcare and in workplace benefits, especially disability coverage. A mental health condition can be just as disabling as a physical one, and can last just as long. Currently, most long-term disability benefits are typically capped at 24 months for mental health conditions. There should be a uniform federal standard to ensure long-term disability benefits cover mental health and physical conditions at the same level and length.

This is an opportunity to evolve the way we address mental health diagnoses in the assessment of a person’s ability to work. Stronger mental health expertise and management, paired with the vocational support already embedded in disability insurance, will help more people get the care and support they need to return to work and wellness.

A market-wide legislative solution is the best way to ensure coverage for workers while supporting a strong and sustainable market for disability insurance.

Disability coverage must evolve to meet the current needs of American workers. We applaud Congressmen DeSaulnier and Scott for introducing this important piece of legislation and stand ready to work with members of Congress and other partners to support its passing. Getting people back to health and work whenever possible remains the goal. Society benefits by helping more workers get the mental healthcare they need, and we now have the opportunity to do just that.”

About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1.55 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sun Life U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. Sun Life employs more than 8,300 people in the U.S., including associates in our partner dental practices and affiliated companies in asset management. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information visit our website and newsroom.

Media contacts
Devon Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
Devon.Portney.Fernald@sunlife.com
781-800-3609

Connect with Sun Life U.S.
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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.

Tour’s Goal to Reach One Million Fans and Save One Million Cups

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Ocean Conservancy and its partner GOAL announced the “Protect Where We Play Tour” launch, a partnership across GOAL’s network of venues to reduce their plastic footprint by deploying a reusable cup program during concerts and sporting events. The Protect Where We Play Tour will kick off at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which is hosting Coldplay on June 6-7. Other tour stops this summer will include Savannah’s Enmarket Arena for The Lumineers, two nights of Billie Eilish at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York and others.

It is estimated that this tour will prevent 1,000,000 single-use cups from entering the waste stream. Bold Reuse, a leading reuse service provider, is supporting the tour by managing all reusable cup operations at participating venues.

“We’re so excited about this activation because it’s the perfect combination of mission alignment and funding for operational changes. We’re grateful for Ocean Conservancy’s collaboration and openness to fund tangible solutions that help facilities implement sustainable change, while also elevating their mission. These are the types of win-win partnerships that enable the positive change that our sports and entertainment industry really needs,” said Kristen Fulmer, Executive Director of GOAL.

“With 50% of our oxygen coming from the ocean, whether you live on the coast or hundreds of miles inland, the future of your favorite game, concert, or event depends on a healthy, plastic-free ocean. By tapping into the joy of what it means to be a fan, we can inspire action and create a global movement that protects our planet for the next generation,” said Ocean Conservancy’s Chief Brand and Communications Officer Jenna DiPaolo.

Select tour dates include:

• June 6-7: Coldplay at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
• September 27: Lumineers at Enmarket Arena, Savannah, GA
• October 25-26: Billie Eilish at UBS Arena, Belmont Park, NY
• More stops coming soon!

In February, Ocean Conservancy launched the Protect Where We Play Initiative, aimed at rallying sports and entertainment fans to protect the future of our planet, leveraging the reach of athletes, artists, and events to mobilize millions of fans in support of ocean conservation. The program features “Team Ocean Captains” including WNBA’s Napheesa Collier, NFL’s Kelvin Beachum, MLB’s Brent Suter, Paralympian Ezra Frech, and American ballerina Katherine Barkman.

The Protect Where We Play Initiative is the newest Ocean Conservancy program among decades of work to protect the ocean from plastic pollution. Since 1986, Ocean Conservancy has led the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), mobilizing nearly 19 million volunteers to remove 395 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways worldwide. Ocean Conservancy has also led advocacy efforts to prevent plastic pollution through policies at the state, federal, and international levels.

Learn more about Protect Where We Play HERE.

You can find the Protect Where We Play media kit HERE.

ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY 

Ocean Conservancy has been working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, we create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram. 

ABOUT PROTECT WHERE WE PLAY

Protect Where We Play is Ocean Conservancy’s bold, new initiative that aims to inspire a new wave of fan engagement and action by leveraging the sports and entertainment industries as a first entry point to activate a broader and more diverse array of “Team Ocean” advocates. You can watch the sizzle reel here, read Forbes’ coverage of the launch here, and Pollstar’s Earth Day coverage on the origin story of this initiative here. For more information, visit protectwhereweplay.com.

ABOUT GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership)

GOAL is a pioneering sustainability-driven membership and support network of over 55 global members from sports, entertainment, and live event venues, including stadiums, arenas, theaters, and convention centers. The GOAL Medals Awards program is the first industry-wide benchmarking and recognition tool to validate incremental sustainability efforts across 10 ESG topics. GOAL utilizes Salesforce Net Zero Cloud for carbon accounting and customized industry comparisons, which informs action-planning, goal-setting, and corporate partnership support, including connections to vetted vendors. By fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and offering tailored support, GOAL empowers organizations to enhance their sustainability efforts, no matter where they are in their journey. The Founding Partners of GOAL are Oak View Group, the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena, Fenway Sports Group, and green building trailblazer Jason F. McLennan, founder of McLennan Design.

Roya Fox
Sr. Communications Manager
rfox@oceanconservancy.org
202.280.6285

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SOURCE Ocean Conservancy

LOS ANGELES, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Unlikely Collaborators has awarded a Spark grant to fund an innovative collaboration between Crim Fitness Foundation and Prison Yoga Project to support From Inside Out: Transforming Justice Through Mindfulness, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at sparking systemic change within the Genesee County justice system. Phase One of this project will strengthen the existing partnership between the Crim and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, enhancing the weekly mindfulness programming offered to incarcerated individuals through I.G.N.I.T.E.® (Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education).

This first phase includes a new collaboration with the Prison Yoga Project to train the Crim team in evidence-based, trauma-informed mindfulness practices tailored to the needs of incarcerated populations, as well as providing the Prison Yoga Project’s Mindfulness Immersion Curriculum to the Crim’s existing program. By equipping participants with tools for emotional regulation, stress reduction, and self-awareness, the initiative seeks to shift perceptions and promote healing from within the jail environment. The first phase will run throughout 2025 and lay the foundation for future phases that will expand mindfulness programming to include re-entry workers and correctional officers. The goal is to build a more compassionate and conscious justice system from the inside out. It is important to note that this project is not a research study and that incarcerated individuals are in no way being used as research subjects. Rather, participation is voluntary and focused solely on supporting personal growth and emotional well-being.

Unlikely Collaborators’ sister organizations, Tiny Blue Dot and Unlikely Collaborators Foundation, have previously supported both the Crim and Prison Yoga Project. The Spark grants, launched in 2024, support bold, collaborative projects that integrate the Perception Box^TM lens to reimagine narratives and create meaningful change. Each grant prioritizes 501(c)(3) partnerships between organizations and individuals who have not worked together before, fostering innovation and unexpected synergy.

Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit organization, founded and chaired by Elizabeth R. Koch, dedicated to fostering transformative storytelling, developing human connection, and resolving internal conflict. UC’s perspective is that external conflict is the direct result of unconscious, unresolved internal conflict inside each and every one of us. Founded on the belief that the way we perceive the world is highly subjective, Unlikely Collaborators supports projects that challenge assumptions, spark meaningful dialogue, and invite humans into deeper self-awareness – in community.

Central to this mission is the groundbreaking Perception Box framework developed by Koch. More than just a metaphor, it represents the often unseen matrix of biases, beliefs, and personal narratives that influence how we interpret reality. Rooted in cognitive science and psychological research, this framework illustrates how each person’s unique mental model shapes their understanding of the world—often limiting their ability to connect with new perspectives and ideas. By investigating and untangling our Perception Box beliefs, individuals and communities can unlock compassion, creativity, and new ways of thinking.

“This support from Unlikely Collaborators allows us to deepen our commitment to the well-being and growth of individuals impacted by the justice system,” said Ka’Sella Matière, Mindfulness Coordinator at the Crim. “By integrating the Perception Box framework with our trauma-informed mindfulness practices, we’re not just teaching tools for stress reduction — we’re inviting people to shift how they see themselves and their potential. That’s the first step toward real transformation.”

“We’re honored to partner with the Crim and bring our experience into such a visionary initiative,” said Nicole Hellthaler, Executive Director of Prison Yoga Project. “Our work is rooted in the understanding that healing begins with self-awareness. This project offers a meaningful opportunity for incarcerated individuals to access that healing, through embodied movement practices, while also challenging the systems and perceptions that often stand in the way of compassion and change.”

“The only way to change the prison system is to address the Perception Box limitations of everyone in the system,” said Koch. “And that’s exactly what this spark between the Crim Fitness Foundation and Prison Yoga Project aims to do – turn the focus away from the punishment model and toward one of healing, so everyone from inmates to correction officers to re-entry workers can come alive into their full potential.”

The Crim is a participant in the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation’s neuroscientific research projects related to “The Science of Perception Box,” having been awarded funding of a study being conducted with Brown University and Mindful Badge. Titled  Courageous Connection: Changing Perceptions and Reducing Bias by Building Mindful Awareness and Compassionate Relationships among Police and Black Community Members, the project aims to address the broken trust and violent encounters between police officers and Black community members in the United States, by developing mindfulness-based interventions for both police officers and Black community members.

Unlikely Collaborators Foundation awarded Prison Yoga Project a grant to support Prison Yoga Project initiatives through 2026, including a wellness program for correctional staff and others working across the justice system – such as judges, officers, and treatment professionals – who are impacted by secondary trauma, and the development of a youth graphic novel designed to bring accessible, trauma-sensitive yoga practices into juvenile detention settings and diversion programs.

For more information on the Crim, please visit https://crim.org/; for more information on Prison Yoga Project, please visit https://www.prisonyoga.org/; and for more information about Unlikely Collaborators, please visit https://www.unlikelycollaborators.com/.

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SOURCE Unlikely Collaborators

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Sierra Northern Railway (SERA) today received the West Sacramento Civic Leadership Award for Progress for its recent success in developing the first four-axle hydrogen-fueled zero-emission switching locomotive. The award was presented by West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero at the annual West Sacramento State of the City event.

The Civic Leadership Award for Progress recognizes those who continue to make West Sacramento, year after year, a great place to live, work, and play.

Sierra Northern, based in West Sacramento, on April 8, 2025, received industrywide attention when the company announced that it had successfully completed testing in West Sacramento of the first four-axle zero-emission hydrogen-fueled switching locomotive. That successful test puts hydrogen-fueled locomotives within realistic commercial reach for the short line industry in California and around the world.

“We’re very excited about the cutting-edge work Sierra Northern Railway is doing in West Sacramento that will provide huge benefits to our own community, and many others throughout California and elsewhere,” said Mayor Guerrero. “Sierra Northern is the type of company we want here, and we look forward to supporting its continued efforts.”

Expanded use of hydrogen-fueled switching locomotives will help improve local air quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and odors for communities where short lines operate. Most switcher locomotives in California use an average of approximately 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year, potentially leading to an annual statewide reduction of more than 12 million gallons, about the same amount of fuel used each year by 20,000 light-duty vehicles.

“We’re extremely pleased to have our hard work on the hydrogen-fueled switching locomotive recognized by the City of West Sacramento,” said Ken Beard, CEO of Sierra Northern. “It’s nice to know we have strong local backing as we push to dramatically expand the use of this environmentally beneficial technology that we believe will fundamentally change our industry for the better.”

Sierra Northern’s hydrogen-fueled switching locomotive project was funded through a $4 million grant from the California Energy Commission and administered through GTI Energy. Other funding partners include the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, SoCalGas, and the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative. Other project partners include Velocity Strategies, Railpower Tech, WHA International, Inc., OptiFuel Systems, Ballard Power Systems, UC Riverside, and Valley Vision.

Sierra Northern has started the process to assemble and test three additional hydrogen-fueled switching locomotives in West Sacramento with funding from the California State Transportation Agency. That project will be administered through the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District with technical leadership from Railpower, Inc. When the CalSTA project is completed in late 2027, it will expand Sierra Northern’s hydrogen-fueled switching locomotive fleet to four and pave the way for the company to eventually convert its entire fleet of 40 switchers, and potentially all 260 switchers estimated to be in use statewide.

Sierra Northern Railway (https://www.sierranorthern.com) is the freight division of privately owned Sierra Railroad Company, which also is the principal owner of Sierra Energy Corporation that has developed a proprietary waste-to-clean hydrogen technology: FastOx^® gasification. Sierra Northern Railway currently operates approximately 75 miles of track in Northern California and 30 miles of track in Southern California, including through several prime industrial areas, and serves a wide variety of customers while interchanging with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

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SOURCE Sierra Energy Corporation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Advanced Biological Research Group (ABRG), a 501c3, has announced its second study to determine the effects of mRNA on women’s reproductive systems. The group’s 2024 pilot study focused on abnormal vaginal bleeding after exposure to mRNA and also the impact of mRNA shedding.

The new 2025 study will investigate the causes of the decrease in ovarian egg reserve and the overall decline in female fertility, as reported by a growing number of OB/GYNs globally.

The ABRG team includes founding members Kimberly Biss, MD, Kirstin Cosgrove BM, CCRA, Ryan Cole, MD, Dan McDyer, MD, noted specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, James A. Thorp, MD. and Dr. Steven J. Hatfill Emeritus, who now serves as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Dr. Thorp recently testified in front of the Senate Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations (Senator Ron Johnson, WI [Chairman]; Senator Richard Blumenthal, CT [Ranking Member]) on the issue of mRNA vaccine adverse effects in the most vulnerable patients: pregnant woman, the unborn and newborn children. Members Dr. Biss and Dr. Cole had testified previously on several topics, including adverse effects in reproduction and the mRNA platform.

For information on supporting ABRG and its studies, please contact:
396338@email4pr.com or visit abrg.org.

Please direct all media inquiries to RECURSION MEDIA GROUP Inc. 396338@email4pr.com or 352-282-0778, or visit recursionmediagroup.com.

Recursion Media Group, Inc. (RMG) owns and operates Recursion Publishing, RMG Innovations, Recursion.Live, and RMG News Daily. For more information, please visit recursionmediagroup.com

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SOURCE Advanced Biological Research Group

DETROIT, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Inspire Autism, a growing provider of evidence-based therapy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, announces the appointment of Kristin M. Hustyi, MA, BCBA, as its new Chief Clinical Officer. This strategic addition highlights Inspire Autism’s commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes to families across Metro Detroit.

Kristin Hustyi brings over 15 years of experience in behavior analysis, clinical innovation, and research leadership to Inspire Autism. She holds a Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of the Pacific and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Western Michigan University.

Previously, Hustyi served as Vice President of Research at LittleStar ABA Therapy and National Director of Outcomes at Invo Healthcare. She currently serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her clinical work is backed by more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and over 50 national presentations, positioning her as a leading voice in the field.

“Inspire Autism has always been dedicated to building a team that delivers high-quality, compassionate, and results-driven care,” said Brandon Boudreau, CEO of Inspire Autism. “Kristin’s appointment underscores that mission. Her unique blend of clinical experience, research excellence, and thought leadership will be instrumental in elevating the standard of care we offer families.”

Hustyi will lead Inspire Autism’s clinical vision, ensuring the delivery of data-driven therapy rooted in the latest advancements in the field. She will focus on client outcomes, clinician mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration with diagnostic professionals and pediatricians throughout Southeast Michigan.

“I’m honored to join Inspire Autism at such a pivotal moment in its growth,” said Hustyi. “This organization is deeply committed to families, and I look forward to expanding access to individualized services that change lives.”

Inspire Autism provides early intervention services including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), speech therapy, and occupational therapy to children across the autism spectrum. With Kristin Hustyi at the clinical helm, Inspire Autism aims to expand its regional impact and strengthen partnerships with pediatric providers, diagnostic centers, and local communities.

About Inspire Autism
Inspire Autism is an autism spectrum disorder therapy provider specializing in comprehensive services for children. The organization focuses on data-informed outcomes to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Contact:
Inspire Autism
info@inspireautism.com 
(844) -427-7700
inspireautism.com

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SOURCE INSPIRE AUTISM LLC