Welcome to Community Currents, the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) Community Grantee information hub. This page is intended to provide connection and information for current WPP community grant recipients. Check here for the latest WPP events, funding updates and other news!
Join us to learn about a community-academic partnership between Marshfield Clinic and UW-Stevens Point to improve food security for children and families in rural northern Wisconsin.
June 11, 2026
Stevens Point
Registration is closed. Contact Anne Pankratz at apankratz2@wisc.edu with questions.
Celebrating the Story of Penothés Project: Forest County Potawatomi Autism Support Project
Join us for this community-wide celebration featuring grant partners from Forest County Potawatomi’s WPP-funded Penothés Project, which aims to address equitable access to programs, resources, and services for Indigenous children with autism, as well as presentations by WPP and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Native American Center for Health Professions.
Other Upcoming Events
Submitted by WPP grantee: Islands of Brilliance
June 17
Milwaukee
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WPP Communications Toolkit available for community grant recipients 📝
Thanks to our current community grant partners who attended our first WPP Learning Collaborative of the year. Attendees heard from Veronica Rueckert, chief communications officer for the SMPH Office of Social Health Sciences and Programs. Community grant recipients are invited to use this Communications Toolkit for information on crafting press releases and pitches, WPP grant acknowledgement guidelines and more.
Grantees in the Spotlight
Tracking Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
Tracking ticks and tick-borne disease risk across Wisconsin: Researchers at UW School of Medicine and Public Health are using WPP funding to improve how Wisconsin predicts, prevents and responds to tick-borne diseases. As we gear up for hiking and outdoor adventures, it's a great time to learn about how WPP-funded researchers are addressing this growing public health challenge.
WPP Staff Updates
Meet the WPP team: Sakiah Perez Rivera
Sakiah Perez Rivera
WPP is pleased to welcome our new administrative specialist, Sakiah Perez Rivera, to the WPP team!
In her role at WPP, Sakiah supports the operational and administrative needs of the team, helping coordinate activities across staff, partners and grantees to ensure projects and processes run smoothly.
Before joining WPP, Sakiah worked as a research project coordinator in Dr. Matt Anderson’s lab on the National Institutes of Health–funded Data for Indigenous Interventions, Implementations and Innovations: Tribal Data Repository (D4I TDR) project. This $9 million, multi-site initiative brought together collaborators across five institutional sites to strengthen data systems and support Indigenous-led health research.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Looking ahead, she hopes to continue building a career that supports underrepresented communities through science and public health initiatives that advance health outcomes and equity. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and her two dogs, traveling to Puerto Rico and Mexico, and trying out new restaurants. Welcome, Sakiah!
Conference Connections
WPP team members Kattia Jimenez, Natalie Kozitzky, Aimee Haese
The WPP team enjoyed connecting with participants at the annual Wisconsin Public Health Association Conference. Thanks to all who stopped by our booth to learn about our grant programs and opportunities to partner for improved health in Wisconsin!
Pictured back row left: Tonya Mathison and Justin Hajny (WPP); front row left: Jaimee Prado and Kattia Jimenez (WPP); right: Kelsey McDermott (Orion Initiative), Lindsay Barone (WPP), Maddy Vantassel (Orion Initiative), Aimee Haese, (WPP)
The WPP team and our colleagues at the Orion Initiative attended Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) conference. It was a great opportunity to connect with other funders for ideas and inspiration to support our communities and nonprofits.
Share your news! Do you have an event or update related to your WPP-funded project that you'd like to share here? Submit to Ashley Benitez at agbenitez@wisc.edu for consideration! Thank you!
