Wisconsin Public Health Association

05/28/2026

05/28/2026

The 2026 awards were presented to the recipients at the Annual Public Health Conference Awards Ceremony. Thank you to everyone who was able to join.

We also asked recipients a few questions to help get to know them better, and we're excited to share their responses. Learn more about the award recipients here: https://www.wpha.org/page/2026Awards

05/27/2026

WPHA regularly receives requests or recommendations for consulting support, and our Consultant Directory helps connect organizations with the expertise of WPHA members.

Looking for a consultant or specialized expertise? Explore the directory here: https://www.wpha.org/page/ConsultantDirectory

Are you a WPHA member and available for consulting opportunities or new contracts? Submit the form to be added to the directory!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVin67fcLquepwaVcvpP2ZeX5J7eOXAgG-PXYdDgVNzzPV4A/viewform?usp=dialog

05/22/2026

Join us in celebrating our Public Health Nurse, Emilie Marx, as the 2026 Wisconsin Public Health Association's New Public Health Nurse of the Year!

Emilie brings passion and integrity to her role. She approaches community work with curiosity, respect, and a genuine desire to improve the health of Outagamie County's population. It is demonstrated by the work she did in building regional partnerships and her dedication to strengthening her professional competencies, which illustrate the qualities of a nurse who is not only committed to excellence in practice but also invested in the long-term future of public health.

We are so grateful at Outagamie County Public Health to have Emilie on our team and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes for our community!

05/22/2026

A quick shift from the conference to join us for a webinar next week, featuring Dr. Kee Chan! This webinar offering is free for all!

Design Thinking in Public Health: Co-Create Solutions for Inclusive Environments

This session equips participants with design thinking tools to understand stakeholder needs, define the right problem, and prototype inclusive solutions that fit real-world constraints.

Participants will be able to:

Use empathy-based tools to understand needs and barriers across diverse stakeholders (community members, staff, partners) in a system thinking framework (i.e. community-, state-, and global level impact)

Create an actionable “How might we…?” problem statement that avoids deficit framing and supports inclusive practice.

Prototype a feasible improvement (service, workflow, communication, policy, or program component) and identify early signals of success, including equity measures.

https://www.wpha.org/event/May2026RacialEquity

05/22/2026

It was great connecting with so many public health partners and professionals at the 2026 Wisconsin Public Health Association 2026 Annual Conference this week in Wisconsin Dells.

We were especially excited to see two AHW-funded projects featured in conference sessions focused on collaboration, systems change, and community health:

• Systems, Not Silos: A Public Health Strategy for Maternal Health Collaboration presented by Emily Jacobson of the Wisconsin Doulas Association

• Evolving Youth Mental Health Systems: Collaborative Strategies in Marathon County presented by Aaron Ruff and Hannah Schommer of the Marathon County Health Department

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the AHW booth and shared in the important conversations happening across Wisconsin public health. We’re grateful to support partners working to improve health and advance meaningful change in communities statewide.

05/22/2026

05/22/2026

05/22/2026

This week on Wednesday, we celebrated the heart of public health. 💙

From lifelong leaders to emerging changemakers, our award recipients represent the very best of what public health looks like in action — compassion, leadership, innovation, advocacy, and an unwavering commitment to healthier communities across Wisconsin.

The work of public health often happens quietly, behind the scenes, but we paused to recognize the people making an extraordinary impact every single day. Their dedication inspires all of us to keep showing up, building partnerships, and creating healthier futures for everyone.

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees. Your work matters, your leadership matters, and our communities are stronger because of you.

Brown County Public Health City of Milwaukee Health Department Southwest Suburban Health Department Winnebago County Public Health Community Medical Services Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health, UW-Milwaukee Wood County Health Department University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing

05/22/2026