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Welcome to our February newsletter!
Wisconsin CONNECT is a collaborative. We seek to provide technical assistance and training opportunities for substance use prevention and treatment grantees, providers, clinicians, social workers, and support staff.
We draw on local and national academic and community resources to reduce and prevent substance use and improve overall health and wellness in Wisconsin.
To that end, we want to help you connect the dots with this newsletter. It is a tool to support our efforts to promote new research, share tools and trainings that aim to help you engage in different communities, enhance practice and improve the health of your clients and program participants.
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2026 Motivational Interviewing Conference
Keynote Speaker Announcement
The Great Lakes Motivational Interviewing Conference is back this August 5-7 for its 10 year anniversary! We will be "Renewing our Capacity for Change" with exciting keynote speakers, Jess Sneed and Carol DeFrancesco.
Join us in celebrating community, growth, and learning against the picturesque backdrop of Madison, Wisconsin in the summer.
Learn more here: https://www.wisconsinconnect.org/micon.html
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Jess Sneed (they/them) is a Motivational Interviewing trainer, facilitator, and instructional designer with experience developing and delivering behavior change training and curricula for behavioral and mental health startups.
Jess graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Jess is a passionate helper who takes a holistic, trauma-informed approach to helping folks make changes in their lives.
They became a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers in 2022 and have been working with a group of MINTies to uncover and define this new horizon with MI called Macro MI. Since beginning this work, Jess has co-facilitated several presentations and is excited to continue co-creating and training Macro.
| |  | Carol DeFrancesco, MALS, RDN (she/her) has been an active member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since completing her training for new trainers (TNT) in Quebec City in 2000 . She teaches a 12-week course in motivational interviewing to graduate level nutrition and nursing students. Carol also teaches a course in Sports Nutrition. She has 30 years’ experience in teaching, conducting health promotion research and clinical work, counseling patients in chronic disease prevention and lipid disorders. Carol directs health promotion research studying motivational interviewing, stress and mindfulness with wildland firefighters, long-haul truckers, bus operators, correctional and police officers and sport teams. Carol is works closely with Denise Ernst on her MITI (Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity) coding team and is also trained in the MICA (Motivational Interviewing Competency Assessment) coding system. Carol has developed and facilitated hundreds of tailored motivational interviewing workshops for doctors, nurses, dietitians, social workers, behavioral health clinicians, social workers, psychologists, health coaches, and sports coaches and provides training for trainers in evidence-based practices. Carol was a trainer for MINT sponsored TNT in New Orleans 2018, Tallinn, Estonia 2019 and support trainer for the virtual TNT in 2020. | | |
Prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Primary Care: Use of Office Champions Model to Address Alcohol Use
from Annals of Family Medicine
PURPOSE Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Despite no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, 13.5% of pregnant adults reported drinking, and 5.2% reported binge drinking during 2018-2020. This study aimed to improve alcohol screening and brief intervention (ASBI) practices in primary care settings using the Office Champions Quality Improvement Model.
Read the article here.
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Adolescent Vitamin D Supplementation Reverses Neuroplasticity and Motivational Deficits Induced by Developmental Alcohol Exposure and Early-Life Stress
from the National Library of Medicine
Early postnatal ethanol exposure (PNEE) and early-life stress (ELS) are major contributors to persistent deficits in cognition, motivation and emotional regulation. These insults disrupt hippocampal plasticity and increase vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. Vitamin D (VitD), a neuroactive steroid, has emerged as a potential modulator of neurodevelopment and plasticity. We investigated whether adolescent VitD supplementation could mitigate behavioural and neuroplastic impairments resulting from early exposure to ethanol and maternal separation. On postnatal day (PND) 2, 64 Wistar rat pups (male and female) were randomized into eight experimental groups (n = 8 animals per group, with sex balanced across groups): (1) control, (2) VitD, (3) ethanol (EtOH), (4) EtOH + VitD, (5) maternal separation (MS), (6) MS + VitD, (7) EtOH + MS, and (8) EtOH + MS + VitD. EtOH groups received 5 g/kg i.p. ethanol on alternate days from PND 4-10. MS groups were separated from the dam for 3 h/day from PND 2-14. From PND 22-37, VitD groups received 1000 IU/kg/day of cholecalciferol. Behavioural assessments included palatable food intake and reward omission-based task. Brains were processed for doublecortin (DCX) immunohistochemistry and Golgi-Cox analysis. EtOH + MS animals displayed increased latency to eat, reduced food consumption and persistent feeder-directed responding following reward omission. VitD treatment reversed these effects, improving motivational performance and reducing reward omission-induced responding. VitD also restored hippocampal neurogenesis and normalized dendritic complexity and length. Vitamin D supplementation during adolescence mitigates behavioural and neuroplasticity deficits induced by PNEE (corresponding to the third trimester of human brain development) and ELS. These findings support VitD as a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Read the article here.
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The Black Birth Initiative
Health equity and inclusive collaboration are core fundamentals of the Black Birth Initiative. What started in 2020 as a series of film and event programs addressing disparities in Black maternal healthcare culminated in the Black Birth Symposium one year later.
Now grown into a year-round initiative with supporting public events and an interactive professional network, the Black Birth Symposium expands to two days in 2026 to convene leading healthcare professionals and community advocates to advance interdisciplinary collaborations in maternal health. The Initiative, now in its fifth year, is a burgeoning network committed to maintaining the social infrastructure necessary to support the
ongoing efforts of regional maternal healthcare providers and expand their work's reach to the broader community.
2026 Black Birth Symposium
The Black Birth Symposium brings together healthcare
professionals, birth workers, advocates, researchers, social workers, and community members dedicated to advancing maternal health equity.
Day One 3 Friday, May 8 at the Baird Center
- Keynote address and breakout sessions focused on fostering solution based dialogue on significant maternal health topics
- Self-care activities, onsite resources, partner engagement, and complimentary meals
- Programming shaped by interdisciplinary committees and real community experiences
- Facilitated cross-disciplinary engagement; 270 participants in 2025, with growth expected in 2026
Day Two 3 Saturday, May 9 at ThriveOn King
- Interactive professional-development workshops for healthcare providers and birth workers
- Resource-focused sessions for mothers, fathers, and families
- Designed to foster dialogue, equitable access, shared understanding, and co-created knowledge
- This two-day symposium creates meaningful opportunities for learning, collaboration, and community engagement across the maternal health ecosystem.
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Voices of the Front Lines
Podcast from Samad's House
Step into the fight against overdose deaths with the Voices of the Front Lines podcast. Host Tahira Malik, founder of Samad's House, shared her journey from addiction and incarceration in Milwaukee to founding Samad's House, one of the Midwest's leading women's sober living homes and access to harm reduction resources.
The Voices of the Front Lines showcases unsung heroes—survivors and devoted neighborhood outreach workers by telling their raw, inspiring stories. The podcast reveals the profound impact of life-saving, compassionate harm-reduction services. Through authentic narratives, Voices of the Front Lines fosters empathy and hope. Join the urgent fight against overdose deaths, which disproportionately strike Black communities.
Listen to the podcast here.
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Verbal De-Escalation Techniques
from Community Advocates Public Policy Institute
Tuesday, February 17
9:00-10:30am CT
During this virtual workshop, you will learn how to increase safety by utilizing verbal de-escalation techniques. Participants will explore foundational information on how to reduce the level of conflict through self-knowledge, understand how past experiences influence current behavior, and practice de-escalation.
Register here.
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ECOM Workshop: Autism and Disability Services
from The Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee
Wednesday, February 18
The Empowerment Coalition of Milwaukee (ECOM) is a monthly gathering that aims to bring social service professionals and advocates together. It is a networking, educational, and professional development opportunity, featuring multiple presentations from experts in the field.
This month’s topic is Autism and Disability Services. Learn about respite care, special needs services, the evaluation of autism, and disability programs available.
ECOM will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon on February 18 and will be held at Community Advocates, 728 N. James Lovell St., Milwaukee.
Fee is $5 for light refreshments and materials and can be paid via credit card. Registration is not refundable. Kindly make sure to RSVP by Friday, February 13.
RSVP here.
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QPR Question Persuade Refer Suicide Prevention Training
from Community Advocates Public Policy Institute
Wednesday, February 18
9:00-10:30am CT
We can all save lives.
The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know.
This interactive introduction to suicide awareness and prevention is free and open to all.
Register here.
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Postpartum Period Handouts: How Sleep, Exercise, Mindfulness, and Babywearing Support Health and Well-Being
from ACEs Aware
The perinatal period provides a tremendous opportunity to prevent and address the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) — for multiple generations. ACEs Aware has developed new handouts, created in collaboration with La Clinica de la Raza and with the help of ACEs Aware patient advisors, that offer trauma-informed education and tips for postpartum well-being related to sleep, exercise, mindfulness, and babywearing, with attention to benefits for mental as well as physical health. The handouts emphasize tapping into support, and connecting with the family's new baby, to help families have the best possible start.
Download the handouts:
· Babywearing with Soft Carriers
· Exercise after Pregnancy
· Practicing Mindfulness
· Sleep in the Postpartum Period
· Supporting Baby’s Sleep
The handouts are also available in Spanish on the ACEs Aware website.
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Save the Date for 2026 Conferences
Annual Advances in Perinatal-Neonatal Care Virtual Conference
March 4
Virtual.
Mental Health Summit
March 7
Hybrid. In-person at Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI.
Help and Hope Conference
March 13
In-person at Gateway Technical College Racine Campus Conference Center in Racine, WI.
Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling Annual Conference
March 19-20
In-person at the Milwaukee Marriott West in Waukesha, WI.
NAMI Wisconsin Annual Conference
April 10-11
In-person at the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley in Appleton, WI.
Wisconsin Maternal and Child Health Conference
April 13-14
In-person at the Glacier Canyon Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells, WI.
Supporting Clients Navigating Health Conditions: A Professional Symposium
April 17
Virtual.
Wisconsin Peer Recovery Conference
April 20-22
In-person at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, WI.
Circles of Life Conference
May 14-15
In-person at Holiday Inn Stevens Point Convention Center in Stevens Point, WI.
Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Annual Conference
June 15-17
Hybrid. Location TBD.
Wisconsin Substance Use Summit
August 5-6, pre-conference August 4
Virtual and in-person at the Oneida Hotel in Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Motivational Interviewing Conference
August 6-7. pre-conference August 5
In-person at the Best Western Premiere Park Hotel in Madison, WI.
Prevent Suicide Wisconsin Conference
June 16-17
Virtual.
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Check out our video archive to find a session you might have missed.
You can also go back to the training session webpage to find other resources, slides and handouts.
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Click here below to see all the upcoming trainings and events across topics. | | |
Have a training interest? Looking for technical assistance? Simply fill out this online form with what you are seeking, and we will follow up to further explore your needs. | | Wisconsin CONNECT Social Media | | Go follow the new Wisconsin CONNECT social media pages for regular updates on training opportunities as well as to connect and network with other professionals. | | |
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We do this in partnership with the Bureau of Prevention, Treatment and Recovery within the Wisconsin Department of Health Service's Division of Care and Treatment Services, UW-Milwaukee, and our network of training providers. |
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