WIPPS Shares Projects at Campus Compact 2026
Last week, members of the WIPPS team traveled to Chicago for Campus Compact 2026, a national conference that brings together higher education institutions and community partners focused on civic engagement and community-based work. The team presented two posters highlighting recent projects.
One poster, done in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin, shared how a bilingual, community-based outreach effort addressed a lack of CPR training in rural Hispanic communities by providing trainings in the community.
The other poster detailed Let’s Talk, Marathon County and how deliberative dialogue can help build trust and find common ground on politically charged topics.
See the full descriptions of the poster presentations and the posters below.
Enhancing Rural Hispanic Health Engagement and Emergency Readiness via Bilingual CPR Training
Click here to view the poster.
Focus area: Student-led, student-driven engagement and leadership
Rural Hispanic communities are at higher risk of never having received CPR training, while also being further from medical services. This project used a bilingual, community-based approach to teach CPR and assess confidence and preparedness in these populations. A medical student and community health worker brought the 50-minute American Heart Association Family and Friends course to community settings. and subsequently administered an anonymous post-survey. Participants in Spanish-language courses noted that the format reduced barriers that would have otherwise prevented them from seeking training. All reported increased confidence in performing CPR, and most felt adequately prepared despite the shortened framework. These findings highlight how bilingual community CPR programs can build emergency readiness and encourage broader health engagement.
Presenters: Benjamin Zinmer, Medical College of Wisconsin; Corina Norrbom, Medical College of Wisconsin; Gustavo Perna, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service
Lessons Learned from Let’s Talk, Marathon County
Click here to view the poster.
Focus area: Bridge building, dialogue, and discourse to support an engaged democracy
This session provides key findings and lessons learned from Let’s Talk, Marathon County, an initiative that uses deliberative dialogues to foster civil conversations among community members around a variety of highly-charged public issues. Beginning in 2023, a panel of nearly 100 politically and demographically diverse residents from across urban and rural areas of Marathon County, Wisconsin has met regularly in small groups to weigh approaches to topics such as homelessness, immigration, and gun violence. To date, 50 separate dialogues have been conducted, including 8 Spanish-language sessions. The Let’s Talk team will share practical insights, as well as participant outcomes about finding common ground and increasing confidence in the community’s ability to engage in civil discourse.
Presenters: Eric Giordano, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service; Noah Colletti, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service; Gustavo Perna, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service; Francisco Guerrero, Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service; Corina Norrbom, Medical College of Wisconsin