8:00 - 9:00 am EST

Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 am EST

General Session - NWICA, NYSDOH, USDA

On behalf of Corie Nadzan, NYS WIC Director

It was lovely to see everyone in person and I was so excited, I got a little ahead of myself in my update on our collaborations with state partners and would like to provide a correction. To clarify, the Child Care Assistance Program is working towards including WIC as an adjunct qualifier for their program. This has not yet occurred and is anticipated later this year. We will use the WIC Watch and other routine communication channels with local agencies to announce this once finalized. As a reminder, last year, we included the Child Care Assistance Program in the WIC Participant Rights and Responsibilities to allow for data sharing between programs to support outreach. Stay tuned for progress on our collaborations and hope to see you again soon!

10:30 - 11:00 am EST

Break

101 - Reduce the Risk of Lead Poisoning: the role of nutrition in prevention and treatment

Lead exposure is an environmental health problem for millions of households in the United States. Nutritional status has an impact on the outcomes of elevated blood lead levels on health and growth. Qualified WIC Nutritionists have an important opportunity to provide anticipatory guidance and effective nutrition education to improve the nutritional status of children, pregnant and breastfeeding parents, and therefore reduce their risk of lead poisoning.

Experienced WIC dietitian and nutrition education author, Susan Krahn, MS, RDN, CD, CLC, will provide an overview of the current research and recommendations related to nutrition’s role in the prevention and treatment of lead poisoning, specifically for children under the age of 5, pregnant people and breastfeeding parents. After this session, attendees will be able to identify key nutrients of concern related to lead poisoning and identify 5 easy nutrition messages that families can make practical use of to incorporate WIC-approved foods into their diet as a strategy to limit lead absorption.

Presented by:

Susan Krahn MS, RDN, CD, CLC

102 – Substance Use and Women: Putting the Pieces Together

Substance use among women of childbearing age is a growing issue across this country. It contributes to poor birth outcomes, maternal deaths and much more. This session will address basic knowledge related to substance use including trauma, ways WIC staff can assess and educate participants and provide strategies to reduce stigma regarding this ever evolving chronic disease.

Presented by:

Elisabeth Salner, LCSW, MPH, PMH-C

Andreá N. Hamilton, MA, MFT

103 - An innovative program for breastfeeding education and training

Health care professionals and WIC providers are critical to help families achieve their personal breastfeeding goals. However, some breastfeeding training sessions focus only on advocacy or “cheerleading” for breastfeeding. This is not adequate.  This session will focus on the need to teach people the science of human milk and the physiology of lactation. Case exemplars from Dr. Spatz’s research and clinical practice will be highlighted. 

Presented by:

Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN 

12:30 - 1:30 pm EST

Lunch

1:45 - 2:45 pm EST

General Session - Food Dignity®: Strategies to Create Nutrition Security

Clancy Cash Harrison, the founder of the Food Dignity® Movement and Registered Dietitian, dramatically shifts the conversation around food access, health, and social responsibility. Audience members awaken (or in many cases reinvigorate) their sense of professional responsibility to improve food equity for everyone. This interactive session integrates thought provoking storytelling with statistics so audience members are inspired to initiate effective collaboration, inspire Food Dignity®, improve health outcomes, and bust through the stigma associated with poor food access, hunger, food equity, and food injustice.

Presented by:

Clancy Cash Harrison MS, RDN, FAND

201 - Food Dignity: A Deeper Dive and Conversation

Join the continuation of the Food Dignity® keynote. In this interactive discussion, Clancy dives deeper into your questions and thoughts around food equity, hidden biases, and participant engagements. Bring your thoughts, questions, and stories! Together, the group will challenge each other to shift to a learning mindset and open up our minds to create more inclusion, dignity, and compassion in our daily routine. 

Presented by:

Clancy Cash Harrison MS, RDN, FAND

202 - Supporting parents who have to go back to work and/or school to sustain their lactation journeys

Dr.Spatz has a long-standing history of working with both employers, schools and universities to develop comprehensive lactation programs for both employees and students. She will provide case exemplar programs that can be replicated locally. She will also discuss the historical context of the PUMP Act and what passing of this law means for our families. PUMP Act implementation strategies and enforcement will be discussed.

Presented by:

Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN 

203 - Strategies to Support Human Milk Feeding Among Black Women and Birthing People: Improving Staff Cultural Humility and Structural Competence

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in maternal and infant health are well documented. Studies show that Black women and birthing people face significant social and structural barriers to human milk-feeding. This focus will provide an overview of emerging strategies to promote human milk feeding within Black families and communities with a key focus on improving cultural humility and structural competence.

Presented by:

Angela Odoms-Young, PhD