ECOP National Leadership Transition

Doug Steele, Director for International
Extension Outreach and Education,
Borlaug Institute for
International Agriculture

Doug Steele has accepted a position as Director for International Extension Outreach and Education with the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture. Doug served in a number of national leadership roles, including ECOP Chair in 2012 and Chair for the Centennial Task Force 2013-2014. Until further action by the ECOP Executive Committee meeting, Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, will take the lead of ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee and represent ECOP on the Budget and Advocacy Committee, and Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, will step in to fulfill her duty as Alternate Cooperative Extension Section representative to the of the Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors. ECOP is grateful to all for their national leadership and devotion to the System.



Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders Special: Framing Cooperative Extension's Response to the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity - ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd and 3 deep-thinking, distinguished presenters explore this emerging opportunity. The Land-grant Cooperative Extension Section (CES) is strongly positioned to address the challenging issues in Rural America. Highlights:

• Develop a shared template intended to showcase efforts
• Generate a single CES report telling the story holistically
• Each state/university tell own story in its own way

The link to the presentation is provided below and comments and questions are welcome at ecopblog@gmail.com.

Ali Mitchell, Executive Director
Northeast Regional Extension Directors

Ali Mitchell Joins EDA Team - Ali Mitchell has been named Executive Director of the Association of Northeast Extension Directors (NEED). Ms. Mitchell most recently served as a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Transportation in a dual role as Policy Liaison to the Executive Director of the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System and Advisor to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Port Performance Freight Statistics Program. Ms. Mitchell graduated with a BA from Williams College where she majored in religion and earned a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Brown University where she focused on the power of storytelling for policy goals and the integration of data analytics and social science to create, evaluate, and implement effective public policy. Her interdisciplinary professional experiences include working as a blacksmith, as a documentarian, as part of the executive team for the Williams Mystic Maritime Studies Program, and as an independent public policy consultant, among others. Please join ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd and the EDA Team welcoming Ali! Her email is amitchell@northeastextension.org.


Opportunity – National Cooperative Extension Award Nominations Are Due May 1 - Stellar Programs and Extension Educators Wanted! Go to: www.aplu.org/CESawards for full details before time runs out by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, May 1. All nominations must be submitted electronically using the designated online platform, JotForm.com. Contact Sandy Ruble sandyruble@extension.org with questions or concerns.


Farm Bill Proposes Changes in Nutrition Education - The version of the Farm Bill that passed out of the House Agriculture Committee last week proposes changes to nutrition education for people with low income. The changes pose opportunities and challenges for the Land-grant University (LGU) System. The LGU SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT) is a group of Extension professionals from each region working in nutrition education for individuals with low income. The aim of the PDT is to maintain and improve the consistency and effectiveness of SNAP-Ed programming that is delivered through the LGU System and address challenges in this work through a national lens. The PDT is committed to supporting our colleagues throughout the Farm Bill process. The PDT's first step was an informational webcast, Nutrition Education Program for Limited Resource Audiences: House Ag Committee Farm Bill Proposal, held on April 18. A graphic illustrates the legislative process of the Farm Bill outlines the Farm Bill process, including its future once approved by the House Ag Committee.