Jennifer welcomes Heather Caplan, founder of WIND, to the Pursuing Private Practice Podcast.

Providing events focused on continuing education and connection for weight-inclusive dietitians, WIND fills a gap in the industry by bringing dietitians together for community, education and connection where weight-inclusive care is the norm.

The story of how WIND was conceived, launched and has evolved is what Heather shares with Jennifer in this episode. Together they discuss her own journey of overcoming an eating disorder, the process of un-learning, and the initial confusion of establishing her role as a dietitian with a weight-inclusive approach.

When she discovered the paradigm of Intuitive Eating, Heather expanded her learning curve and embraced the weight-inclusive niche that led to opening her own private practice. Now three years into her own business, together they discuss how a natural progression happened from working with clients, to also supporting other dietitians, and the reward of giving back to the profession and helping to shift the perspective in the industry.

"If we're not having these topics represented at the major Dietetic conferences, let's have our own conference." – ­Heather Caplan

Some of the topics discussed include:

• The ways her private practice has evolved from its origins with her prior clientele as a running coach.
• How starting a nutrition podcast early on was the key to growing her practice, and why she shifted her message from addressing clients, to other dietitians who were already listening.
• What sparked the idea to start hosting small conferences to supplement the limited number of HAES-aligned sessions at FNCE.
• How she tested the concept, gathered support, and successfully hosted a small sold-out test event in February 2019 that Jennifer spoke at.
• The benefits of in-person smaller events versus hundreds of people, and the lessons she's learned with limited event planning experience.
• How WIND is evolving, Heather's plans for upcoming events in 2020, and how dietitians can get involved.

Visit https://pursuingprivatepractice.com/ to learn more about resources to start and grow your dietitian private practice!