Abstract
The purpose of this applied dissertation is to develop a white paper outline that shares lessons learned from the research-informed development of the Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition (MAWC), a community-driven initiative designed to strengthen wellbeing and resilience in Midland, Michigan. In response to community challenges and a shared desire to move beyond deficit-focused approaches, local leaders - led by Mayor Maureen Donker -explored how the science of positive psychology and wellbeing could be translated into community-level practice. Beginning with intentional training of community leaders in 2018 and 2020, these efforts catalyzed the formation and evolution of MAWC. Grounded in pragmatic, interpretive-constructivist, and transformative paradigms, MAWC’s development was informed by the PERMAH model, Self-Determination Theory, and the Me-We-Us framework. Together, these models shaped a strengths-based, upstream orientation that positioned wellbeing as shared coalition-based infrastructure across individual, organizational, and community levels. This applied dissertation shares twelve recommendations organized through Bolman and Deal’s Four Frames - Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic - to guide MAWC’s continued growth and inform other communities seeking to build a coordinated, systems-informed wellbeing initiative.