Design Thinking
The eXtension team met last week to design the upcoming Impact Collaborative. We are really excited about it and think you will be too! As part of the homework for that meeting, I read a book called “Change by Design” by Tim Brown. It is about how design thinking transforms organizations and inspires innovation.
Do you recommend any other reading material on design thinking? If so, share your recommendations by tweeting to@eXtension4u and using the #coopext hashtag.
News Roundup
New Staff Members. eXtension is thrilled to welcome three new faces (and one familiar face in a new role) to staff meetings.
- Ashley Griffin (Kentucky) has been with eXtension for more than 10 years supporting communities of practice. She is transitioning into the role of Program Manager for the Impact Collaborative. ashley.griffin@extension.org
- Melanie Weir (California) is the Food Systems Fellow. She will spend the next year setting up the support network for the Food Systems Impact Collaborative and helping teams progress through the Collaborative experience. melaniew1@extension.org
- Molly Immendorf (Wisconsin) has joined the staff as the Instructional Technologist and will be responsible for leading professional development for the Impact Collaborative. mollyimmendorf@extension.org
- Jennifer Cook (Colorado) will serve as the eXtension Digital Green Fellow and will work to pilot the innovative technology platform of Digital Green with selected Impact Collaborative projects. jennifer.cook@colostate.edu
Introductions for each are being written and will be sent out in the upcoming weeks. We are also close to announcing the Behavioral Health and Diversity & Inclusion Fellows for the Impact Collaborative. Stay tuned!
L to R: Ashley Griffin, Jennifer Cook, Molly Immendorf, Melanie Weir
Pesticide Education. The U.S. EPA Office of Pesticide Programs is awarding a cooperative agreement to support Extension educators through a partnership with eXtension and the newly-formed National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC). NPSEC seeks to strengthen the national system Pesticide Safety Education Programs by improving the quality, consistency, and accessibility of educational offerings, promoting collaboration, and increasing revenue generation of Extension programs. The eXtension Foundation provides contractual services to deliver online programs and temporarily serves as the Center’s fiduciary service provider. Additional partners include the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC), Association of Pesticide Safety Educators, and CropLife America Foundation. Learn more about the NPSEC…
Project Manager. eXtension is hiring a project manager for the above EPA Pesticide Safety Education Funds Management Program (PSEFMP). Applications will be reviewed September 29, 2017. Read the position description…
Success Stories. Thanks to her Issue Corps experience, Christy Mannering, University of Delaware, was able to not only tackle an issue near and dear to her heart, but also increase her visibility on campus. Read more about Christy’s Unity Event and online modules…
Ant Pests Community. A new resource topic has been added to the articles.extension.org website. The Ant Pests community has published a wide array of science-based information on dealing with troublesome ant species. Read more… | The community leaders are Paul Nester and Robert Puckett, Texas A&M University.
MFLN Virtual Conference. Is your state experiencing change? Change is hard! Do you feel change accelerating in your professional or personal life? Do you thrive on workplace change? Join the Military Families Learning Network Virtual Conference to LEARN strategies for managing change, GROW your understanding of your capacity for change and begin to THRIVE as you connect with colleagues facing similar challenges. September 26-29, 2017. Register or learn more…
4-H, Google & Computer Science. Congratulations to recent eXtension Fellows Paul Hill and Dave Francis, Utah State University, for leading a collaboration with Google to help 4-H members across the country develop their computer science skills! Read more… 4-H.org | Google blog
Health in All Policies Professional Development. Extension professionals looking to incorporate health impacts into programs and policy across Cooperative Extension should check out this free online course. Extension Health in All Policies (HiAP) was developed in partnership with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) action team for Cooperative Extension’s National Framework for Health and Wellness and delivered by Oregon State University. This educational resource emphasizes a systems perspective to strengthen Extension’s capacity to impact the culture and context for population health improvement and promote health equity for all people living in America. Learn more…
eXtension Blog. If you are not following the eXtension blog, you are missing out on innovation, inspiration, and impact. The topics of some recent additions to the blog include:
- The BeeWise innovation project has prototyped a smart beehive
- BeeWise also hosted several youth summer camps
BeeWise is one of five innovation projects funded by eXtension in 2017.
Upcoming Webinars
Check out these (among many more) upcoming professional development events listed on learn.extension.org
- Start Sharing Your Story Now! September, 19, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT. Learn more or register for this webinar…
- Composting Webinar Series: Site Selection and Design September 15, 2017 at 1 pm EDT. Learn more or register for the webinar…
Search Recordings on Learn
Visit learn.extension.org anytime and search for topics in your area or expertise or in areas in which you need to get started. Want to know about bugs, financial management, food safety, or composting? There are dozens of recordings being added every month to this valuable resource. Visit learn.extension.org…