Project Summary:
The Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics' goal is to help advance the field of nutrition and shape a healthier future for all Wisconsinites. Wisconsin faces persistent nutrition-related health challenges, including rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and food insecurity. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and County Health Rankings, more than one-third of Wisconsin adults live with obesity, and significant disparities persist across rural communities and communities of color.
The 2026 WAND Annual Conference: Fueling the Future through Inclusion, Integrity, & Impact addresses a key professional development gap. Nutrition professionals must be prepared to implement inclusive practices, navigate complex ethical decisions, and translate evidence into strategies that reduce disparities and improve outcomes. Many nutrition professionals continue to express a need for structured training in health equity implementation and systems-level leadership to advance population health. The goal of this event is to strengthen Wisconsin’s nutrition workforce to lead with inclusion, uphold integrity, and create measurable impact on community health outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
- Integrate inclusive nutrition practices across practice settings to promote health equity
- Apply the Academy’s Code of Ethics to complex professional challenges
- Implement innovative, evidence-based strategies to improve patient and community outcomes
- Evaluate how diverse perspectives enhance cultural competence and professional effectiveness
- Design leadership approaches grounded in inclusion, integrity, and measurable impact.
Through expert-led sessions, attendees will gain practical tools directly applicable to Wisconsin communities, strengthening capacity to improve equitable nutrition care statewide. Nearly 200 attendees are expected at the 2026 WAND Annual Conference. This includes WAND members and non-members, including retired professionals, active practitioners in the field, students and interns, and other nutrition-related partners and professionals.
The content delivered at the Conference has been compiled by the WAND Professional Education Planning (PEP) Committee. Members of the PEP Committee are volunteers with WAND who provide their time and expertise to carefully craft the conference theme, develop learning goals and objectives, solicit speakers from diverse backgrounds and fields of study and practice, and work with the WAND association management company to implement a successful learning event.
The PEP Committee has put out a call for presentations to invite members, non-members, and students to provide an opportunity to share knowledge with colleagues and partners, contribute to the most recent advances in the field, and advocate for their work and science either through a breakout session or a poster presentation. Additional presenters, often with a regional or national scope and/or who are leading innovators in the field, are sought out and invited to share additional content to create a well-rounded learning experience.
Community Partners: Rogers Behavioral Health, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay, Mount Mary University