Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes January 18, 2023

March 14, 2023 ELT Minutes

Extension Leadership Team Meeting Minutes
January 18, 2023
Penobscot County Office 10 AM to 2:30 PM

Facilitator: Lisa Phelps
Note taker: Ryder Scott

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

Check-In

Hannah gave us copies of the book “Love & Work” by Marcus Buckingham and asked us to read it so we can have a discussion at the Feb or Mar ELT meeting.

Our budget is due on Friday. Our presentation is on Feb 1.

All of the emeritus applications have been approved. Please encourage our retiring staff to apply if they’re interested.

Provost Visit on 1/27/2023

Let’s determine a preliminary draft of our time with the Provost. Tori reached out to Colt and he is onboard. Lisa has reached out to Jessy and Laura and they will both be at the 4-H Science Center on Friday the 27th at 4pm to give the Provost a tour.

EPC Discussion

On February 6, the ELT will meet with all Extension professionals to discuss actions to address professional salary issues. Along with the two additional career ladder steps and considering each professional successful in their career ladder application for an additional increase based on the set of criteria currently stated as part of the career ladder process but was suspended for a while due to a number of factors. It is likely that we will also be asked to discuss the possibility of hiring county programmers at the Lecturer level. That status will need to be agreed to and coordinated by our faculty.

The ELT is currently waiting for the EPC to send a draft agenda for that meeting.

Community First Responder (opiod use and misuse) Program with University of Rhode Island

UMaine is a sub-award partner with a 2 year grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). The goals of the Community First Responder Program are to educate communities about opioid misuse, and provide resources to these communities to help address opioid misuse including the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. This training is primarily provided through on-line modules. URI is working with Husson University to revise the modules for UMaine and they will reside on the UMaine Extension website. UMaine Extension’s role with this grant is to host the on-line modules on our website, provide an in person training option for interested staff, promote the training to extension client groups and host an in person meeting with URI staff at least once a year. More information about this program will be shared in the coming months.

Updates

4-H Foundation

Updates on the new Executive Director of the 4-H Foundation and moving forward. Laurie Bragg has been hired as the new Executive Director of the 4-H Foundation. The position will be supervised by the Maine 4-H Foundation.

Earmarks – PFAS, Food Innovation and Ag Roadmap

We are still awaiting word on how the money for these projects will be coming to UMaine and when to expect it. I would like to briefly discuss the projects and gauge interest in participating, not only from members of the ELT but from Extension as well. Cooperative Extension received the lion’s share of the Maine earmarks These are one-time funds:

$8M for PFAS ($3M for research support)

$6M for DRL (ticks)

$5M for Food Innovation (2.5 from earmark, matched by 2.5 from MJRP)

$1 M for Ag Road Map

Salesforce Update from Monica Palmer 1.03.2023

Plugged-In has been updated with more information about the Salesforce implementation for Extension including details about current projects. This page will continue to be updated as a resource for Extension staff.
Conversations around final architectural decisions for the Extension Salesforce org are coming to a close. Many datasets will soon be brought into our CRM including a current staff list, retiree list and contact information for county commissioners. These lists will help with our customer service across the state.
Phase 2 for the Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab is set to begin in January 2023. This will include an online submission form for digital samples.
Monica Palmer, CRM System Professional, and Whitney Yorston, CRM System Support Professional will be announcing weekly Office Hours, a virtual meeting time when anyone can join at any time during the hour to ask questions about Salesforce. These meetings will be held via Zoom. Keep a lookout for an announcement email in early 2023!
Food Testing Services is mid-implementation with Salesforce and Titan. The first phase of customizations to Salesforce is complete and the customer portal is in development. Further work includes document generation and product submission forms (including payments through Stripe). The tentative go-live is early 2023.
The Mailchimp reorganization and integration with Salesforce will commence in early 2023 as will the move from the CDMS into Titan.
Support continues for the Maine Business School with their recent implementation of Salesforce. They are now live with event registration, event reminder emails and internship tracking.
A new collaboration with the Office of Innovation and Economic Development will begin in early 2023 where we will support their implementation of Salesforce.

Search Updates

INITIATED – JD & RTF IN PROGRESS

AgrAbility Coordinator
Asst Extension Professor, Maine Sustainable Agriculture and Livestock Educator
Asst Professor, Maine Sustainable Agriculture and Farm Business Management Educator
Admin Specialist CL2, 4-H, Cumberland (with Melissa for HireTouch)
Smart Agriculture Professional
Urban Agriculture Professional
Professor Sustainable Agriculture and Ornamental Horticulture Educator (York/southern ME)
Professor Sustainable Agriculture and Food Insecurity Educator (Hancock/Washington) In review, JD / focus may be revised

WAITING FOR APPROVALS IN HIRETOUCH

Communications Professional (Penobscot/remote)

ADVERTISING / ANTICIPATING APPLICANTS

Parent Education Supervisor – Maine Families (Waldoboro)
Parent Education Professional – Maine Families (Knox/Lincoln) *Request for higher salary, revised location(s), etc. to repost
Assistant/Associate Professor, Seafood Technology, Food Safety Specialist (Orono)
Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture Professional (Aroostook)
Admin Specialist CL3 (And/Sag)
Community Education Assistant, CL1 EFNEP (And/Sag) Failed 1/19
Admin Specialist CL3 (DRL) Failed
Director Bryant Pond/Greenland Point 4-H Centers (BP/GP)

INTERVIEWING / OFFERING

4-H Youth Development Professional (Oxford)
Admin Specialist CL3 (Tanglewood/Blueberry Cove)
Admin Specialist CL2 (Somerset)
Veterinarian Specialist & Assistant Extension Professor (VDL)
4-H Community Education Assistant (Waldo) Declined, interviewing
Postdoctoral Extension Associate in PFAS Research and Outreach (Orono/Statewide) Offering

HIRED

Community Education Assistant, CL1 EFNEP (Franklin) Accepted
Potato Plant Pathologist, Faculty (Aroostook/Presque Isle) Accepted
4-H Community Education Assistant CL2 (Pen/Pisc) Accepted
Admin Specialist CL2 (Cumberland) Ali Mediate, February 1 or 6
Community Education Assistant, CL1 EFNEP (York) Mikaela Greenwald, Jan 9
Community Education Assistant, CL1 EFNEP (Washington) Karen Corbett, Jan 9
Web Professional (Orono/remote) Matt Thomas, Jan 2
CRM System Support Professional (Orono/remote) Whitney Yorston, Jan 2

PULLED TO REASSESS

Manager of Operations and Finance (TWBBC)

4-H Community Education Assistant (Washington, Brittany Foster replacement)

2023 ELT In-Person Meeting Dates

Dates	Facilitator	Notes	Location
February 15	Scott	Sulinski	Augusta
March 15	Sulinski	Arndt	Virtual
April 19	Arndt	Bailey	Somerset
May 17	Bailey	Bolton	Cumberland
June 21	Bolton	Carter	Andro/Sag
July 19	Carter	Dill	Aroostook
August 16	Dill	Harrington	Oxford
September 20	Harrington	Jackson	Hancock
October 18	Jackson	Prichard	Knox/Lincoln
November 15	Prichard	Phelps	York
December 20	Phelps	Scott	Virtual