• Iowa State University
• University of Illinois
• Kansas State University
• Michigan State University
• University of Minnesota
• University of Missouri

• University of Nebraska
• North Dakota State University
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• University of Wisconsin - Extension

I have been an extension educator in Steele County for the past 20 years and I am currently serving as County Extension Leader. My primary responsibilities are in agriculture (crop production) and giving support to the 4-H program and some community vitality programs. I enjoy research and have been participating with other educators and the Southern Research and Outreach Center on a Soybean Education Project for SE Minnesota. My wife Debra and I have two children, Andrew, a Jr. in high school and Mike a freshman at the U of M. I'm looking forward to meeting every one at the first seminar.

Education: MS degree in Crop & Weed Sciences, awarded from NDSU, 1994. BS degree in Agronomy, awarded from UM, St. Paul, 1980.
Employment: Sept. 1996 to present, Extension Educator, Agriculture, UM Extension Service - Olmsted County. July 1980 - Sept. 1996, Extension Educator, Agriculture, UM Extension Service - Becker County
Experience: Certified Crop Advisor, 1995 - present

I have been an Extension Educator in Otter Tail County MN since July 1974. My work has been in the area of Family and Consumer Science as well as support to 4-H. Current program focus includes Positive Parenting Education including positive parenting of teens, Parents Forever, violence prevention/healthy community collaboration and other programs that support healthy families. I have 3 college age children and enjoy quilting as a hobby.

I graduated from Iowa State with a BS in Ag Ed and married my wife Karen in 1984. We went overseas to a rural, Nigerian secondary school where I taught, agric., integrated science and biology. When we got back I taught agricultural science at East Union High School in Afton, Iowa for a year before going to the University of Illinois where I earned a MS (92) in Ag Ed. While there, I worked on an agriculture science project and in the Agro-Ecology program. I have been in Extension for the last eight years; three years in Shelby County, Illinois as a Unit Extension Assistant in Youth and Crops and five years in Faribault County, Minnesota, working chiefly with the 4-H Youth Development Program. My current work interests are diversity issues, community youth development and keeping rural communities alive. Karen and I have three children: Bess - 5, Emily - 9 and Nathan - 13.

I am in my fourth year of being a natural resource educator in central Minnesota focusing mainly on the protection of water and soil. When I am not working I enjoy a variety of activities from fishing and hunting to cooking, reading and gardening. I love just about anything that gets me outside, especially if my husband Brian and my dog Sammy are with me.

I am in my 25th year of employment with the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Most of this time has been spent in Wabasha County located in S.E. Minnesota along the Mississippi River. I specialize in community vitality and I have been very involved in tourism and community development extension program efforts. Last year I had the opportunity to serve as President of the Minnesota Association of Extension Educators. My husband is self employed in a marine business and our daughter is a senior in high school so we are about to experience high school graduation and college farewell. I have always wanted to apply for NELD but it was one of those things I kept saying I would do in the future. I am excited to finally have the opportunity to learn more about this program that many of my colleagues have experienced.