Plugged In: For UMaine Extension Staff and Volunteers

Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes May 20, 2019

Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes
May 20, 2019
Augusta – Room 111, Robinson Hall

Facilitator: Richard Brzozowski
Notetaker: Jon Prichard

Present: Dennis, Dick, Fran, Jon, Lisa, Hannah

Please note: Due to the confidentiality and sensitivity of some agenda items, these ELT minutes do not represent the full content of each meeting.

Follow Hannah on Her Instagram Account: extensiondean4me

Follow Hannah on Instagram, if you’d like to see what she’s up to in Maine Extension!

Future Agenda Items

June 10, 2019: Amanda Ashe Export Control Officer, Office of Research Compliance
will meet with us at 1PM to help the ELT and PAs understand the scope of export control regulations for staff travelling out of state.

Congratulations

Congratulations to PI Leslie Forstadt who has been awarded $19,766 by Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (NESARE) for her “Building Social Sustainability on Farms through Online and In-Person Education” project.  This project is focused on farmer well-being and will involve 2 farmer cohorts.  A social sustainability curriculum will be delivered to each cohort, with on receiving in-person education and the other receiving online education.  Each cohort will create personal sustainability plans after the education is complete and the researchers will validate the indicators of social sustainability comparing between the in-person and online education delivery, while also evaluating the curriculum.

Congratulations to PI Ron Fournier who has been awarded $189,900 by the State of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the “2019/2020 Moose Lottery Scholarship” project.  This finding will allow the University of Maine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Bryant Pond to reach up to 633 Maine Youth to enroll them in a 1-week Conservation Camp program that includes: Hunter, Bow Hunter, Boater, or ATV Safety, as a component of the conservation education program matrix offered at the camp and learning center.

Congratulations to PI Danielle O’Neill and Co-PI Ryder Scott who have been awarded $57,960 by the National 4-H Council (pass-through from the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) for the “National Mentoring Program Year 9 – Tech Wizards” project.  The Mentor ME Tech Wizards program is designed to increase the positive attitudes of youth towards learning, goal setting, social and life skills through service learning, and technology. The project embraces youth involvement and empowerment in program design and delivery through real life community problem solving.  Through applied, STEM-based projects, students are engaged in collecting real-world scientific data that has a direct impact on the communities they live in.

Congratulations to PI Pamela Hargest who has been awarded $2,100 by the Portland Housing Authority (pass-through funding from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development) for the “Portland Housing Authority Garden Days” project.  The purpose of PHA Garden Days is to provide low-income residents at 6 sites with the garden supplies they’ll need to feed themselves and their family for the entire growing season and to educate residents about the basics of good nutrition.  At each housing site, Master Gardener Volunteers help distribute the materials, answer any gardening questions, and assist with bed preparation for sites with community gardens. Eat Well Nutrition Educators provide residents with seasonal recipes and samples.

Search Updates

Extension Crops Entomology Specialist – Initial search failed, new search to start soon
Assistant Director – Tanglewood – Emily Collins hired
Parent Educational Professional – Sagadahoc – Marylou Cook hired
Program Coordinator – Bryant Pond – Gary Proulx hired
Administrative Specialist CL1 Cumberland – Marissa Caminiti hired
4-H Youth Development Professional – Penobscot & Piscataquis – Sheila Norman hired
4-H Youth Development Professional – Oxford County – Search Committee formed
4-H Youth Development Professional – Waldo County – Search Committee forming
Administrative Specialist CL1 – Libby Hall – Search Extended
Administrative Specialist CL2 – Cumberland – Advertising
Administrative Specialist CL2 – Waldo – Advertising
Community Education Assistant CL1 – Aroostook – Elizabeth Carroll hired
Community Education Assistant CL1 – Somerset – Advertising
Community Education Assistant CL1 – Oxford – Interviewing

2019 ELT Meeting Dates

Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, unless otherwise noted