Our Health Can't Weight.
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Our Health Can't Weight. *
Michele Tedder
I help organizations move from intention to impact. By bridging over 25 years of clinical expertise, lived experience, and community trust, I partner with organizations to advance equitable health solutions in obesity and chronic disease care.
NURSE · HEALTH EQUITY STRATEGIST · OBESITY CARE THOUGHT LEADER
15+ years · $15M federal initiative led · 500+ community partnerships · National & international speaker
OAC Board of Directors | Obesity and Chronic Disease Expert | Board Certified Coach | AJPM Co-Author | Dear Healthcare Provider Podcast Host
H O W W E P A R T N E R
Let’s Create Impact Together
Every organization is different, which is why I offer multiple ways to partner, from keynote speaking and strategic consulting to coaching and thought-provoking conversations through my podcast. Every engagement is informed by lived experience, grounded in clinical expertise, and guided by a commitment to health equity.
Whether I’m speaking from the stage, advising leadership teams, coaching individuals, or facilitating meaningful dialogue, my goal is always the same: to build trust where science, strategy, and lived experience intersect, creating healthier, more equitable outcomes for the communities we serve.
There are several ways we can partner, depending on your goals. Whether you’re looking for a keynote speaker, strategic advisor, coach, or podcast collaborator, every engagement is designed to spark meaningful conversations, strengthen partnerships, and inspire action.
Speaking
Keynotes and panels on obesity, weight stigma, health equity, and patient aadvocacy, from the White House Conference on Hunger and Nutrition to national health conferences.
B O O K M E ↗
Coaching
One-on-one and group coaching for people living with obesity or type 2 diabetes, or starting a GLP-1 medication. Includes a six-week program built on lived experience and clinical expertise.
L E A R N M O R E ↗
Consulting
Village Empowerment Solutions, my strategic health equity consulting for nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and pharmaceutical partners. 15+ years building multi-sector programs.
C O N S U L T W I T H M E ↗
Podcast
Dear Healthcare Provider, where patients, providers, and policymakers have real conversations about access, care, and the issues that shape health outcomes.
L I S T E N N O W ↗
This is the show where the conversations your doctor has after you leave the room happen out loud. Patients, providers, and policymakers, in the same room and on the same page. I host with the credibility of an RN and the perspective of a patient who has lived it.
Dear Healthcare Provider
T H E P O D C A S T
Hosted by Michele Tedder, MSN, RN
Johnson & Johnson Healthy Voices Award Recipient
ACCESS TO CARE
OBESITY & GLP-1S
HEALTH EQUITY
WEIGHT STIGMA
CHRONIC DISEASE
PATIENT ADVOCACY
C O N S U L T I N G
Village
Empowerment
Solutions
F O U N D E D 2 0 2 1 | M I C H E L E T E D D E R , C E O
Village Empowerment Solutions (VES) is a strategic consulting practice founded by Michele Tedder, MSN, RN, a nationally recognized nurse leader, health equity strategist, and trusted advisor with more than two decades of experience advancing health outcomes in communities disproportionately impacted by chronic disease.
VES helps healthcare organizations, researchers, funders, advocacy organizations, and industry partners build meaningful relationships with the communities they seek to serve. Drawing on deep expertise in public health, patient engagement, clinical research, chronic disease prevention, and community partnership development, VES bridges the gap between institutions and communities to create solutions that are trusted, culturally responsive, and impactful.
Strategic Community
Engagement
• Community trust-building strategies
• Stakeholder engagement and partnership development
• Community Advisory Board design and facilitation
• Patient and caregiver engagement initiatives
• Health literacy and community-centered communication
Facilitation, Speaking & Thought Leadership
• Strategic convenings and stakeholder facilitation
• Conference presentations and keynote speaking
• Healthcare provider education
• Community listening sessions and engagement forums
• Panel moderation and expert advisory support
Health Equity & Inclusive Research
• Clinical trial awareness and research literacy initiatives
• Inclusive research engagement strategies
• Community-informed program design
• Equity-centered implementation planning
• Patient-centered outcomes and evidence generation
Program Design & Organizational Strategy
• Chronic disease prevention and management programs
• Obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic health initiatives
• Curriculum and educational resource development
• Cross-sector partnership development
P A S T P E R T N E R S H I P S & E N G A G E M E N T S
A B O U T M I C H E L E
"I bring both sides of this work. I know what it means to sit in that exam room and feel unseen. And I know what it means to be the person in the white coat who could do better."
I am a Registered Nurse, board certified life coach, and nationally recognized health equity advocate. For 15+ years I have been building programs, shaping policy, and standing on stages, from community clinics to Capitol Hill, to make the case that our health cannot wait. I live with obesity and type 2 diabetes, and that lived experience gives my clinical work a depth no degree alone can provide. My mother's death certificate listed "negative lifestyle" as a contributing cause. That line changed everything.
I have led a $15M federal workforce initiative, directed chronic disease strategy for the Black Women's Health Imperative, co-authored a peer-reviewed article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and earned a board seat at the Obesity Action Coalition, all while building VES and hosting a nationally recognized podcast. I am warm, credentialed, and unapologetically myself.
T I M E L I N E
Former Director, Chronic Disease at BWHI. received the J&J Healthy Voices Award; expanded national and international speaking
2 0 2 5
Co-authored. Co-authored AJPM article on ending weight stigma; joined the OAC Board of Directors
2 0 2 4
Launched. Launched the Dear Healthcare Provider podcast; spoke at the ADA ADCES Conference in Houston
2 0 2 3
2 0 2 2
Board Chair. Black Women's Policy Center
Founded Village Empowerment Solutions. joined BWHI as Senior Program Manager
2 0 2 1
Project Director. CCAC; led a $15M federal health workforce initiative and 500+ community partnerships
2 0 1 6
Published. Don't Let Grief Steal Your Joy
2 0 0 3
Contributor. Your Weight Matters Magazine, "Rewriting Your Inner Voice"; six-week GLP-1 coaching program in development
2 0 26
S P E A K I N G
Whether you need a speaker who stops a room, a coach who has genuinely lived this, or a strategic partner who understands what health equity actually requires — there's a way in.
Recent Engagements
2 0 2 5
Endocrine Society
Patient Perspective Panel
Panelist for Endocrine Fellows
2 0 2 5
Society for Women's Health Research
Invited Speaker
2 0 2 5
Malama Black Maternal Health Week Summit
Pittsburgh · Invited Speaker
2 0 2 5
India Global Summit to End Diabetes
International Speaker
2 0 2 5
Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
Invited Speaker
2 0 2 3
ADA ADCES Conference
Panelist — Lifestyle Change Programs
A S S E E N I N
Media & Press
Whether you need a speaker who stops a room, a coach who has genuinely lived this, or a strategic partner who understands what health equity actually requires — there's a way in.
THE PLUS SIDEZ
PODCAST
G E T I N T O U C H
Our Health
Can't Weight!
"The fastest way to change healthcare is to change who is in the room, and what they are willing to say out loud."
Whether you are booking a speaker, exploring a consulting partnership, interested in coaching, or reaching out about media and the podcast, I read every message personally. Reach out below and my team will respond within two business days.
Keynotes, panels, and national stages
S P E A K I N G
Through Village Empowerment Solutions
C O N S U L T I N G
One-on-one and group programs
C O A C H I N G