Extension Presentations

4-H Youth Gardening (1999-2000)

Developed a county-wide youth gardening program with EFNEP staff and 4-H summer assistants. Program focused on creating summer youth gardening groups in urban neighborhoods.

Organizational Development for Non-profits (1997-99)

Organized and facilitated workshops on strategic planning, grantwriting, fundraising and board development for directors and volunteers. Workshops focused on practical skills and group work.

Dairy Business Expansion and Retention (1998-2000)

Chaired a committee of Extension educators, industry representatives and dairy farmers that planned and delivered two regional conferences on dairy farm expansion and retention.

Alternative Agricultural Enterprises (1997-98)

Designed and implemented multi-county workshops aimed at landowners and small farmers to raise awareness of small-scale food production, processing, marketing and agri-tourism.

Growth Management for Municipal Officials (1997-98)

Organized and taught sections of a workshop aimed at local municipal officials. The workshop made connections between growth, local economy, taxes, land use planning and local services.

Land Use Planning (1997-98)

Conducted community surveys of resident views of land use planning and organized public meetings on history, legal basis and administration of zoning ordinances in local communities.

Water Quality and Watershed Protection (1997-98)

Conducted needs assessments and presented over a dozen municipal water quality meetings for local officials and citizens on well-head protection, alternative septic systems and water testing.

CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

Keystone Leadership Forum: Enhancing Leadership Development in the 21^st Century. June 21-22, 2001. Facilitated Workshop: Leading Communities Toward Sustainable Land Use.

Statewide Inservice for Community and Economic Development. February 2001. Penn Stater Conference Center. Workshop Presentation: Essentials of Organizational Leadership.

World Campus Convocation: Penn Stater Conference Center. November 15, 2000. Internet-based Poster Session: Community and Economic Development Certificate Program. (co-presenter: Dr. Drew Hyman, Program Coordinator)

Extension Education in Amish and other Anabaptist Communities: A Conference for Extension Educators, April 21-24, 1998. Held in Shipshewana, IN. Paper presentation: Farm Survival and Specialization: The Adaptation of Mennonite Households on the Belizean Frontier.

Australia-United States Conference on "Strengthening Postsecondary Education's Contribution to Economic Development", June 9-11, 1997. Paper presentation: "Building a University-Based Public-Private Partnership for Local Community and Economic Development: the CEDAP Project." (Co-author: Dr. Drew W. Hyman, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Penn State University).

Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, March 9-10, 1997. Held in Seattle, Washington. Paper Presentation: "Household Production Strategies on the Belizean Frontier." (Co-author: Dr. Sara E. Alexander, Departments of Environmental Studies and Anthropology, Baylor University).

Caribbean Association of Professionals and Scholars, 10th Annual Conference on "Enriching the Caribbean-American Experience", June 7-8, 1996. Paper presentation: "Household Adaptation among Mennonite settlers in Western Belize".

1996 Fulbright Foreign Student Seminar on "Diversity in a Changing Urban Environment". April 11-14, 1996. Sponsored by the United States Information Agency and the Institute of International Education. One of ten American Fulbright alumni invited to conference.

Graduate Student Conference on Social and Public Policy, February 23, 1996. Center for Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh. Paper presentation: "Agricultural Adaptation and Household Decision-making Among Mennonite Farmers in Belize, Central America."

Association of Third World Studies Conference, October 12-14, 1995. University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Fla. Paper presentation: "Mennonite Settlement and Agricultural Development in Belize."

International Intentional Communities Conference, August 23-26, 1993. Evergreen State University, Olympia, WA. Paper presentation: "Communitarianism: The Politics of Intentional Community."

Great Lakes Economic Development Conference, May 15-17, 1991. Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, PA. Administrative assistant and participant in roundtable discussions.