Each year, MHDI hosts a conference to create space for students, researchers, community health professionals, policymakers, and organizations to come together and share strategies and resources for advancing health equity in Nebraska and beyond. The 2026 Health Equity Conference will be held on Friday, February 20, 2026, at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Attendees can look forward to a variety of health equity speakers, networking opportunities, and research sharing.
The conference is FREE and open to the public. Please click the buttons below to register for the conference, explore sponsorship opportunities, or view the call for abstracts. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at mhdi@unl.edu.
Register Now Sponsorship Info Call for Abstracts
Agenda
8:30am – 9:00am CT Check In
9:00am – 9:15am CT Indigenous Land Acknowledgement & Welcome
9:15am – 10:15am CT Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session 1A
Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities in Rural Settings
Led by: Catherine Jones-Hazledine
This session will focus on behavioral health disparities in rural areas, including historical bases of the disparities and strategies being explored to address these.
Breakout Session 1B
Addressing Health Challenges Among Immigrant & Refugee Communities: A Public Health Perspective
Led by: MariaElena Villasante
This session will explore the health challenges faced by immigrant and refugee populations and highlight the comprehensive public health strategies employed by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.
10:15am – 10:30am CT Break & Mindfulness Meditation
During the break, Laura Madeline Wiseman, meditation and yoga instructor at UNL Campus Recreation, will lead "Grounding for Equity: A Mindful Reset" for those who are interested. This brief guided meditation invites participants to pause, breathe, and reconnect with the present moment. Through gentle breathwork and mindful awareness, attendees will cultivate clarity, compassion, and resilience—essential tools for advancing health equity. No prior experience needed; all are welcome to join this moment of collective restoration.
10:30am – 11:30am CT Poster Session
This session will showcase a multitude of projects in health equity research through brief presentations that will allow for more personal conversation and discussion.
We're accepting poster abstracts until December 5, 2025, at 11:59 PM CT. Click the button below to view the call for abstracts.
11:30am – 12:30pm CT Lunch
12:30pm – 1:30pm CT Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session 2A
Care Access & Mental Health for Minority Populations in Nebraska
Led by: Alex Dworak
This session will address care access and mental health, with a focus on current events, for the following overlapping and non-exclusive minority groups:
Latinx, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, Rural Nebraskans, PLWHIV, and PWUD.
Breakout Session 2B
From Grant Reviewer to Grant Writer
Led by: Justine Olsen & Laura Contreras
Drawing on insights gained through the evaluation of proposals, this session will highlight key factors that influence funding decisions, common pitfalls that can weaken an application, and effective strategies for producing competitive submissions.
1:30pm – 2:15pm CT Connect & Collaborate: Building Bridges for Health Equity Solutions
In this networking session, participants will be divided into groups and provided with a list of health equity themes to spark discussion. The session will allow attendees to foster new connections by working together to strategize ways to improve health outcomes for underserved communities in Nebraska.
2:15pm – 2:30pm CT Break
2:30pm – 3:30pm CT Keynote Speaker
Jeneile Luebke, PhD, RN | "Reimagining Research as a Space for Relationality, Justice, and Healing"
Dr. Luebke, Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will join us as this year’s keynote speaker. Rooted in Indigenous feminism and decolonizing methodologies, her presentation will explore how Two-Eyed Seeing and Indigenous ways of knowing can shift our understanding of structural barriers and pathways to healing for Indigenous women after gender-based violence. Grounded in both research and lived experience, this keynote invites participants to reimagine and embrace research as a practice of relationality, justice, advocacy, and collective healing.
3:30pm – 4:00pm CT Closing Remarks