Maternal & Child Health (MCH)
The Division of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Workforce Development nutrition programs provide graduate education, continuing education, and consultation and technical assistance to State Title V agencies and other MCH-related organizations and agencies. Training focuses on leadership in pediatric and maternal nutrition and provides both clinical and public health approaches to working with mothers, infants, children, youth, and their families.
This Health Services and Resource Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau training grant, which funds the University of Tennessee’s MCH Nutrition Leadership Education and Training Program, is a prestigious award that helps address the need to provide well-trained public health nutrition leaders with special interests in the maternal and child population. The MCH Nutrition Leadership Education and Training Program at the University of Tennessee is one of only eight programs in the country for nutrition leadership education and training for the maternal and child population.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number T79MC09805, Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Health Nutrition, $223,777, 50% funded by the University of Tennessee, Department of Nutrition. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Interviews with Maternal and Child Health Nutrition Leaders
Leaders in the field of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition who had recently retired or were nearing retirement were interviewed. The purpose of the interviews was to gain and preserve insight of these individuals and share it with young professionals and emerging leaders in the field.
Emerging Nutrition Leaders (ENL) in MCH Nutrition Training
The Emerging Nutrition Leaders in MCH Training Institute is a year-long program designed to train future leaders in the area of MCH Nutrition. This program is a joint collaborative effort of MCH Nutrition Training Programs at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Arizona State University, Baylor College of Medicine, Tulane University, University of Minnesota, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
The Emerging Leaders Institute focuses on leadership skill development centered on the MCH Leadership Competencies and the ability to develop a policy brief. During the first six months, participants complete a leadership assessment, readings, case studies, complete modules developed from the MCH Navigator’s 5-minute MCH micro-learning series, and participate in monthly conference calls with faculty to enhance understanding of material and applicability to leadership in nutrition. In the second six months, participants work in teams on a policy brief project and participate in 6 months of individualized professional coaching by a certified Strength-Based Leadership coach. Faculty are available throughout the Emerging Nutrition Leaders Institute to continue building the nutritionists’ leadership skills and provide guidance on the policy brief project. There is no registration fee for the Emerging Leaders in MCH Nutrition Training Institute.
Learn more and apply for the upcoming cohort
Maternal and Child Health Leadership Skills Development for Graduate Students
MCH Nutrition Leadership Program faculty and funded trainees facilitate four leadership training workshops each year, each fall for graduate students in the Department of Nutrition and Public Health Sciences. The interactive workshops help build knowledge and skills associated with the MCH Leadership Competencies. If you would like assistance in leadership development workshops for MCH professionals or students, please contact [email protected].
MCH Nutrition Leadership Team
Marsha Spence is a professor of practice and director of the Public Health Nutrition Graduate Program and is a registered dietitian/nutritionist and community nutrition researcher with a focus on healthy nutrition and physical activity environments for pediatric and maternal populations; improving food and nutrition security among mothers, children, adolescents, young adults and their families; leadership development; positive youth development; and parent engagement in nutrition and physical activity education programs for youth. Professor Spence, who is a first-generation college graduate, was a funded MCH leadership trainee during her master’s and doctoral programs at the University of Tennessee. The training program provided Professor Spence with numerous opportunities to explore her leadership and professional potential and developed her passion for strengthening the MCH workforce, promoting healthy environments, and decreasing hunger, especially among the MCH population in Appalachia and the Southeast.
Professor Spence is an active leader in local, state, and national associations and agencies, including serving as past president of the Association of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition; past chair, section councilor, and governing councilor of the American Public Health Association’s Food and Nutrition Section; national advisory committee member for Georgetown University’s Embedding Cultural Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competence: A Guide for UCEDD Curricula and Training Activities; and a past board member for Our Daily Bread of Tennessee. Currently, she serves as a steering committee member for the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists’ Farm to Early Care and Education. The president of the East Tennessee Childhood Obesity Coalition and serves as a board member for the Greater Knoxville American Heart Association.