UNHEALTHY DIETARY PATTERNS AND OBESITY ARE MAJOR CAUSES OF DEBILITATING AND COMMON DISEASES, PARTICULARLY CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES. INDICATORS OF OBESITY ARE PRESENT AS EARLY AS INFANCY. TO PROMOTE THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN AT THE POPULATION LEVEL, STRATEGIES DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THEIR CAREGIVERS ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED. MOST CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 5 YEARS SPEND OVER 35-HOURS PER WEEK RECEIVING CARE OUTSIDE THEIR HOME AT CHILDCARE CENTERS, THEREFORE, EARLY CHILDCARE EDUCATION (ECE) PROVIDERS ARE INFLUENTIAL ROLE MODELS WHO HAVE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON OUR NATION'S CHILDREN. YET, DESPITE THEIR CRUCIAL ROLE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, ECE PROVIDERS ARE AMONG THE LOWEST PAID IN THE COUNTRY AND HAVE WORSE HEALTH THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION. THEY FACE A DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH RISK OF DEVELOPING PREVENTABLE CHRONIC DISEASES. INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THIS WORKFORCE ARE URGENTLY NEEDED.HEAD START HAS LONGSTANDING BIPARTISAN SUPPORT AS AN EFFECTIVE AND WORTHWHILE CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN THE US. THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF ECE PROVIDERS AT DIVERSE HEAD START CENTERS, THE NATION'S LARGEST FEDERAL EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM. WE WILL EXAMINE WHETHER HEALTHY NUTRITION BEHAVIORS OF ECE PROVIDERS AT HEAD START SPILLOVER TO IMPACT NUTRITION BEHAVIORS OF THE CHILDREN IN THEIR CARE. HEAD START PROVIDERS WILL BE OFFERED IN-PERSON GROUP PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY A STRONG WEB APPLICATION FOR HEALTHY EATING AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. THE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT WILL HAVE ENORMOUS DIRECT RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES ENCOURAGING GOVERNMENT HEALTH PLANS AND PRIVATE HEALTH INSURERS TO OFFER OBESITY PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS AS A ROUTINE SERVICE. ULTIMATELY, WE AIM TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR A SUCCESSFUL WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAM IN THE ECE FIELD TOWARD NATIONWIDE SCALING TO REDUCE HEALTH DISPARITIES AND CREATE SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOR CHANGES, LEADING TO A HEALTHIER, MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT WORKFORCE.WE WILL FIRST IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AND BARRIERS TO CREATING A WORKSITE WELLNESS AND HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM FOR HEAD START PROVIDERS BY CONDUCTING A NATIONWIDE SURVEY. USING THESE INSIGHTS, WE WILL DEVELOP AND TEST A NOVEL WORKSITE WELLNESS INITIATIVE IN DIVERSE HEAD START SITES THROUGH A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL THAT DETERMINES IF THE PROGRAM REDUCED THE RISK OF ECE STAFF DEVELOPING PREVENTABLE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS. WE WILL ALSO EXPLORE WHETHER THE INTERVENTION IMPROVED THE HEALTHY NUTRITION BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN ENROLLED AT HEAD START. FINALLY, WE WILL MODEL WHETHER THE PROGRAM CAN RESULT IN ADDITIONAL BENEFITS TO ECE PROVIDERS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS AS WELL AS COST SAVINGS, SUCH AS REDUCED ABSENTEEISM. THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS WE WILL DEVELOP, DELIVER, AND EVALUATE AN EXPERIENTIAL GRADUATE-LEVEL (MS AND PHD) TRAINEE COURSE, "APPLIED IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH IN NUTRITION AND AGRICULTURE INTERVENTIONS: DESIGN, DELIVERY, AND ASSESSMENT," TO TRAIN A COHORT OF NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS TO IMPLEMENT AND CONTINUE THIS WORK. THE GOAL OF THIS NOVEL GRADUATE TRAINING COURSE IS TO SUPPORT FUTURE GENERATIONS OF RESEARCHERS AND STAKEHOLDERS WHO PROMOTE EQUITY, REDUCE DISPARITIES, AND WORK WITH UNDER-RESOURCED POPULATIONS, PARTICULARLY CHILDREN WITH LOW INCOME AND LOW WAGE WORKERS, TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF OUR COUNTRY. DISSEMINATION WILL OCCUR VIA SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS, TRAININGS, AND ONLINE RESOURCES.