UWEC CERCA 2026: Full Schedule

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2:00pm CDT

Poster 035: A Qualitative Analysis of Family and Mentor Experiences in the Home for Good Program

Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Housing and homelessness constitutes a persistent public health concern, necessitating rigorous evaluation of intervention strategies. Home for Good (HFG), a non-profit organization based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, implements a unique housing and peer mentorship model to address homelessness among families with young children. Using mixed-methods, we evaluated HFG’s approach through quantitative survey data and in-depth qualitative interviews with both mentors and clients engaged in the program. Surveys captured mentors’ experiences with program implementation, and interviews explored clients’ personal narratives and the perceived impact of HFG on their trajectories. Our analysis has identified key trends and has generated evidence-based recommendations for program development. In this presentation, we describe our methodology, share findings to date, and discuss implications for policy and future housing interventions.

Presenters

Cady Muelken

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Amelia Tauer

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Faculty Mentor

Briana Rockler

Public Health & Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Davies Center: Ojibwe Ballroom (330) 77 Roosevelt Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701, USA

CERCA Posters, 2 Thursday

Department Public Health & Environmental Studies
Special Categories Graduate Student, WI Focus
College CAS

2:00pm CDT

Poster 104: Beaver Stress Ecology: Coping with Changing Environments in Norway

Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

Davies Center: Ojibwe Ballroom (330)

In the context of human-induced rapid environmental change, long-term data on individually recognized social mammals have the potential to offer novel insights into the extent to which animals can cope with social and ecological stressors. Long-term studies are needed to investigate the impact of climate change on the fitness of beavers, and minimally invasive measures of stress physiology offer meaningful biomarkers of these effects in the lives of free-living mammals. Here we present preliminary results of a newly established collaboration with the Norwegian Beaver Project. Glucocorticoids (GC) are steroid hormones that reflect physiological stressors. Because we are extracting GC metabolites from hair samples rather than directly from blood, species-specific validation is required. Thus, we performed an analytical validation for Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) for (i) cortisol and (ii) corticosterone to identify the predominant hormones in our samples. Our analytical validation will inform our ability to make meaningful connections between hundreds of GC samples and individual-level life-history and habitat measures collected from approximately 25 beaver families since 1997 (i.e., 25 years). Going forward, uncovering the social, ecological, and anthropogenic factors linked to this important biomarker and its associated fitness consequences will advance conservation goals.

Presenters

Thursday April 30, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Davies Center: Ojibwe Ballroom (330) 77 Roosevelt Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701, USA

CERCA Posters, 2 Thursday

Department Biology
Special Categories Graduate Student, Sustainability
College CAS

UWEC CERCA 2026

2:00pm CDT

Cady Muelken

Amelia Tauer

Briana Rockler

2:00pm CDT

Ella Oestreicher

Jada Wahl

Katelyn Boche

Robin Pence

Grace Hilst

Jennifer Smith

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