Conference Tracks
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Early Childhood Education
Mini-Plenary: MP 3.4: Step it Up! The Keys to Eating Well and Playing Hard in Family Day Care Homes
Family child care providers influence the nutrition and physical activity habits of children in their care. By promoting wellness early they can help children avoid obesity-related problems later in life. Family child care providers can achieve this successful end through sustained relationships with coaches and trainers. Session attendees will learn about wellness strategies implemented in family child care settings in multiple states.
Please Click the Speaker names below to see their submitted biosketch.
Jan Bassmann, Public Health Nutritionist, Child and Adult Care Food Program, New York State Department of Health
Speaker submitted biosketch
Jan Bassmann, RD, is a Public Health Nutritionist with the NYS Department of Heath Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Ms. Bassman has coordinated the implementation of the two-year pilot project Eat Well Play Hard with Day Care Homes, an obesity prevention project designed specifically for family day care homes. Prior to serving in this position, Ms. Bassman conducted administrative reviews of CACFP sponsoring organizations across New York State. She completed her Bachelor of Science in human nutrition and food at the University of Vermont and Dietetic Internship at The New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center.
Speaker submitted biosketch
Jessica McDuff, M.A., directs the evaluation of New York State’s Eat Well Play Hard with Day Care Homes program, designed to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. As a senior associate at Altarum Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health and health care systems, Ms. McDuff has designed and implemented several public health program evaluations. Recent projects have included the Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Before/After School and Summer Program Evaluation for the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Start Right Up evaluation for the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation in the Bronx, New York.
Speaker submitted biosketch
Christi Smith joined Child Care Aware® of Kansas in May 2013. She holds a Master in Business Administration with an emphasis in Organizational Development and an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Child and Family Development. She is widely recognized for expertise in early childhood education and administration, organizational development, change management and adult learning. She has authored several evidence based curricula for early childhood professionals. Christi currently serves on several workgroups focused on health, safety, physical activity and nutrition for ECE obesity prevention.
Dianne Ward, Director, Intervention and Policy Division, Dept of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Speaker submitted biosketch
Dr. Ward led the development of the NAP SACC program and its new version, GoNAPSACC, which includes an updated self-assessment for centers and family child care homes, and an online, interactive version of the original program. She is leading three NIH intervention studies including KEYS to a Healthy Family Child Care Home); Caring and Reaching for Health, a worksite intervention for child care workers; Healthy Me, Healthy We, a social marketing intervention for child care centers (Our Year of Healthy Living).
Moderator: Kim Frinzell, Nutrition Education Administrator, Education and Nutrition Policy Unit, California Department of Education
Speaker submitted biosketch
Kim Frinzell, RD is the Nutrition Education Administrator for the Nutrition Services Division at the California Department of Education (CDE). In this capacity, she is responsible for overseeing the Education and Nutrition Policy Unit staff that develop nutrition education and training programs for sponsoring agencies. Kim joined the CDE in December 2013 after working for the California state WIC program for 12 years and Sacramento County Department WIC program for over 7 years. At WIC, Kim was responsible for managing the local agency nutrition education training activities and the retail vendor authorization, compliance, and training. Kim received her Bachelor’s in Agricultural Science from California State University and is a Registered Dietitian.
Presentations/Handouts
WS 1.1: Healthy Beverages in Early Childhood: Research to Policy to Practice
Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is a major contributor of childhood obesity. Although there have been policies to encourage intake of healthy beverages in schools, there have been few similar efforts in the pre-school and child care environment. This session will review healthier beverage recommendations for preschool/child care settings as well as share findings from studies before and after implementation of healthy beverage policies in the child care/pre-school setting. Practical lessons learned from implementing healthy beverage standards will also be shared.
Please Click the Speaker names below to see their submitted biosketch.
Tracy Fox, President, Food, Nutrition and Policy Consultants, LLC
Speaker submitted biosketch
Tracy Fox is a Registered Dietitian and President of Food, Nutrition & Policy Consultants, LLC with over 25 years of experience working in the federal government and the private sector. Areas of expertise include child nutrition and school health, nutrition education, food labeling and marketing, federal, state and local nutrition and physical activity policy, advocacy and government relations. Clients range from Federal, State and local agencies including the US Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Feeding America and the Partnership for a Healthier America. Tracy has served (and serves) on numerous boards and committees including IOM’s Nutrition Standards for Foods in School; Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity; and Front of Pack Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols. Previous positions included policy analyst with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Washington, DC office), past president of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, and retired Commander, US Navy.
Anisha Patel, Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco
Speaker submitted biosketch
Dr. Anisha Patel is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Patel completed her medical degree at the University of North Carolina, residency at Stanford and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Patel conducts childhood obesity-related research, with a focus on encouraging healthy beverage consumption in school and child care settings. Dr. Patel has received funding for her research from foundations and the NIH, and has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts in this area. In 2012 Dr. Patel received the American Academy of Pediatrics Outstanding Achievement Award.
Lorrene Ritchie, Director, Nutrition Policy Institute, UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Speaker submitted biosketch
Lorrene Ritchie, PhD, RD, is Director, Nutrition Policy Institute and Cooperative Extension Specialist, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. She has devoted her career to the development of science-based and culturally-relevant solutions to child obesity. She recently co-authored the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Position Paper on pediatric weight management and was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Evaluating Progress of Obesity Prevention Efforts. Current research interests involve evaluation of the relationship of programs and policies on children’s dietary intakes and weight status in school, childcare and other community settings.
Julie Shuell, Project Director, Nemours National Office of Policy & Prevention
Speaker submitted biosketch
Julie Shuell, MPA has 20 years of management and leadership experience in early childhood education (ECE), child welfare, child health and parent support. She has a BA in political science and a MA in Public Administration, both from Michigan State University. Ms. Shuell is currently Nemours’ Project Director of a Center Disease Control funded initiative, The National Early Care & Education Learning Collaborative. The project is a national demonstration approach to promote childhood obesity practices into ECE settings.
Speaker submitted biosketch
Ellen is a Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., working in support of healthy community environments on behalf of vulnerable children and their families through policy and systems change. Previously, Ellen was the Senior Nutrition Policy Advocate at CA Food Policy Advocates, a Program Officer with The CA Endowment and an attorney with CA Rural Legal Assistance. Ellen earned her JD and M.Ed from UCLA and a BA from U.C. Berkeley.
Presentations/Handouts
WS 2.2: Running with Streamers! Creating Active Environments for Young Children
This session highlights the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations on physical activity (PA) in early childhood settings and will showcase two successful interventions; 1) an innovative Physical Activity Specialist model program where experts in rural New York create change through training and technical assistance and 2) “Painting Playgrounds for Movement,” a cost-effective environmental intervention being implemented in preschools throughout California.
Please Click the Speaker names below to see their submitted biosketch.
Michele Buran, Physical Activity Coordinator, CSU Chico Research Foundation
Speaker submitted biosketch
Michele Buran, Physical Activity Specialist for CSU, Chico Center for Healthy Communities earned a Master of Arts Degree in Physical Education from California State University, Chico and has over 13 years of experience in the field of physical activity and early childhood obesity prevention. Michele has expertise in designing, implementing and evaluating physical activity programs. She currently provides training and technical assistance throughout California with an emphasis on creating policies, systems and environmental changes to increase the quality and quantity of physical activity for young children.
Diane Craft, Professor, State University of New York at Cortland
Speaker submitted biosketch
Diane H. Craft, Ph.D., Professor, Physical Education Department, SUNY Cortland, teaches elementary and adapted physical education courses. She also promotes developmentally appropriate, inclusive physical activities for young children. Since 2000 she has co-authored four books and given over 120 presentations on preschool physical activities to audiences across the nation. Craft is a past-president of the National Consortium of Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. In 2005, she was recognized as the National Professional of the Year in Adapted Physical Education.
Arlene Turner, Physical Activity & Nutrition Program Manager, Children and Families Commission of Orange County
Speaker submitted biosketch
Arlene Turner, M.S., earned her degrees from CSU Fullerton where she concentrated her studies on exercise prescription for special populations. In her role as Physical Activity & Nutrition Program Manager with the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, she provides technical assistance, through trainings and workshops, for community partners, school districts, home-based and center-based child care providers on ways to increase active play opportunities for young children. She currently works with the Child Signature Program classrooms to implement practical, economical, fun and developmentally appropriate physical activities for preschoolers through teacher coaching, parent education, and playground improvement strategies.
Moderator: Candice Taylor Lucas, Assistant Clinical Professor, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
Speaker submitted biosketch
Dr. Candice Taylor Lucas is a Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCI School of Medicine and physician-researcher with the UCI Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center. She completed public health school at UCLA, medical school at USC, pediatric residency and chief residency at UCLA, and an academic general pediatric fellowship at the NYU School of Medicine. She also promotes evidence based practices for early childhood obesity prevention with support from the Children and Families Commission of Orange County.
Presentations/Handouts
WS 3.2: Using Child Care Licensing Laws to Improve Health
This session outlines intervention and policy strategies to promote nutrition and physical activity in child care settings. Presenters will discuss the national child care legal landscape, provide a summary of a 50-state review of child care licensing laws, highlight California examples of child care nutrition policy, including the recent addition of child nutrition training, and showcase Minnesota examples of policy implementation strategies. Attendees will gain an understanding of the national child care legal landscape, as well current state examples of child care nutrition policies.
Please Click the Speaker names below to see their submitted biosketch.
Natasha Frost, Staff Attorney, Public Health Law Center at William Mitchell College of Law
Speaker submitted biosketch
Natasha Frost is a staff attorney for the Public Health Law Center. She provides legal technical assistance to the American Heart Association, Kansas Health Foundation, and various communities around the country in developing effective policies to promote healthy eating and active living. She has developed several fact sheets and training modules, and has completed several 50-state reviews, including one on state child care laws. She has a J.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the Center, Natasha spent 10 years at the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a non-profit in Los Angeles, California.
Speaker submitted biosketch
Elyse Homel Vitale is a Nutrition Policy Advocate for California Food Policy Advocates. She primarily works on projects that aim to increase access to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and improve the licensed child care nutrition environment. She leads CFPA's Federal Advocacy and school meal enrollment advocacy. Prior to CFPA, Elyse worked as a preschool teacher, a research associate, and a community-based anti-hunger advocate. Elyse obtained her MPH at UCLA and started with CFPA in 2010.
Moderator: Lindsey Turner, Director, Initiative for Healthy Schools, Boise State University
Speaker submitted biosketch
Lindsey is a research associate professor in the College of Education at Boise State University. She also leads the College's Initiative for Healthy Schools, a partnership with schools to help facilitate the implementation of health-promoting practices to improve children's health and academic outcomes. For 20 years, her research has focused on the development, evaluation, and implementation of strategies to improve the health of children, youth, and families. Her current research focuses on the implementation of wellness policies in elementary schools and early care settings. She is currently collaborating on an evaluation of a new city ordinance regarding nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in all early care and education settings (family childcare homes and centers) in Boise, Idaho.
Presentations/Handouts
WS 4.7: Tools of the Trade: Current Early Childhood Resources and Training
Practice and evidence-based resources and training are critical to advancing obesity prevention efforts in early care and education settings. Session attendees will become familiar with resources and training developed through the Let's Move! Child Care, Growing Healthy Children, and National Early Care and Education Collaborative models. Interactive session discussions will help attendees consider the application of these resources and training models in their local efforts.
Please Click the Speaker names below to see their submitted biosketch.
Jenna Larsen, Project Coordinator, Nutrition Education Programs, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Speaker submitted biosketch
Jenna Larsen has coordinated nutrition education programs at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since 2011. In her current role, she advises the development of health promotion publications delivered to child care centers across the city, coordinates for the Eat Well Play Hard preschool program, and oversees the database for the Stellar Farmers' Market program. Jenna holds a B.S. in nutritional sciences from the University of Arizona and an M.S. in the same field from Columbia University.
Rachel Powell, LMCC Operations Manager , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Speaker submitted biosketch
Dr. Rachel Powell is the Operations Manager for Let’s Move Child Care. She currently serves as an ORISE fellow on the Early Child Care and Education Team in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Rachel graduated with a PhD in Health Promotion and Behavior from the University of Georgia in August 2014. Her areas of interest include childhood obesity, media literacy, food marketing, and breastfeeding.
Julie Shuell, Director, Prevention and Practice, Nemours National Office of Policy & Prevention
Speaker submitted biosketch
Julie Shuell, MPA is currently the Director of the National Early Care & Education Learning Collaboratives at the Nemours Foundation's National Office of Policy and Prevention. Prior to that, Ms. Shuell ran several national technical assistance centers for the federal Office of Child Care. Previously she worked with the National Head Start Association and was Vice President for Early Childhood at a large community based non-profit in Northern Virginia. Ms. Shuell has a BA in Political Science and an MA in Public Administration both from Michigan State University.
Moderator: Kelley Knapp, Nutrition Education Consultant, Nutrition Services Division, California Department of Education
Speaker submitted biosketch
Kelley has worked in the Nutrition Services Division for more than 17 years providing training and technical assistance to agencies that serve infants, children, and older adults in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program. She earned her B. S. in Dietetics and Food Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and her M.S. in Nutrition Science from San Jose State University.
Presentations/Handouts
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