August 2021

Under the direction of the NUEL Executive Committee and in collaboration with the NUEL Communication Action Team, the Fellow will provide coordination and facilitation of the NUEL Steering Committee to assuming the following responsibilities and achieve the following project deliverables: A communication plan for NUEL that identifies audiences that NUEL should be communicating with, what types of information or messaging NUEL should be targeting towards each audience, and what communications...

Navigating the grocery store aisle is challenging for many consumers—especially those who want to buy the most nutritious food and stay within their budget. The University of Connecticut (UConn) Extension New Technologies in Agricultural Extension (NTAE) team developed an interactive learning activity (or game), Unpeeled: The Case Studies of Maya McCluen . Our team sought to clarify food marketing labels and empower consumers to make science-based decisions while shopping. We hosted a...

You're smart. You don't need me going on about, well, anything really. Most of the time what we all need is just a reminder. Here goes... What we tolerate we condone. What is rewarded is repeated. Think about it...

Have you ever Googled "leadership"? The other day I got 2.5 Billion search results in under half a second. That might indicate I've got to get a whole lot better at searching for content on the internet. It also means the real messages of leadership can get buried in all that great information. Here are a few qualities (as verbs) that might resonate with you. L – Listening E – Empathizing A – Acting with awareness D – Dedicating time for others E – Encouraging R – Removing doubts S – Serving...

The Juntos program out of NC State University has been receiving support from the Extension Foundation through New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE). The NTAE program is funded by USDA-National Institute of Food & Ag through a partnership with Oklahoma State University. The Juntos program, like others served through NTAE, receive one-year of support from the Extension Foundation and its services to help accelerate their work. We had the pleasure of working with Diana Urieta, Senior...

Keynote and Roundtable Speakers for the 2021 Healthy Aging Symposium On September 8 and 9, HHS/ODPHP and Trust for America’s Health are hosting the 2021 Healthy Aging Symposium. During this free, 2-day virtual event, attendees will hear from researchers, local and state health officers, aging directors, and policymakers from across the nation who are making a positive impact in the lives of older adults and their families. The symposium will feature prominent speakers focused on important...

Transactional and Transformational leadership are different. Different in their approaches. Almost opposites in application. Transactional leaders focus on the task. Focus on the process of getting work done Transformational leaders focus on people. Focus on engaging & inspiring There is a need for both. A need to fix processes to remove barriers to getting work accomplished. A need to coach people to become the person they want to be. Fix processes so the "event" serves the people...

Navigating the grocery store aisle is challenging for many consumers—especially those who want to buy the most nutritious food and stay within their budget. Food manufacturers and distributors cover their boxed, canned, and bottled foods with labels like “whole grain” and “low-calorie” to suggest that their food has certain health benefits. Among the most misunderstood food marketing labels are “non-GMO,” “natural,” and “organic." The UConn Extension New Technologies in Agricultural...

In 2020, select members of the National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) steering committee served in a fellowship through the Extension Foundation to identify existing work across Cooperative Extension in the area of climate and extreme weather. Their research resulted in the 2020 report on Extension Climate/Extreme Weather Programming . In a continued partnership, NECI worked with the Extension Foundation on the development of Climate & Extreme Weather program questions for...

Are you confused or do you have questions about GMOs? Do you feel inadequate when discussing GMOs? Are you given opposing information of GMOs and not sure what is right? Do you wonder how the misinformation about GMOs spreads like a wildfire? UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources is offering an online course, Let’s Talk GMOs: Creating Consistent Communication Messages . Participants are introduced to the basics of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). They will learn...

The Extension Foundation welcomes three new Catalyst team members: Dr. Barbara Board , District Extension Director Emeritus, Virginia Tech; Retired Eastern Region Extension Director and Interim Associate Administrator, North Carolina A&T State University. Dr. Dyremple Marsh , Retired College Dean, Research Director, and Extension Administrator, Delaware State University Dr. Dawn Mellion , Retired Vice-Chancellor for Southern University Cooperative Extension. The New Technologies for Ag...

Do you choose to succeed? Successful people very often believe they're doing what they're doing because they choose to...not because they have to. They are committed, not simply compliant. This is normally a positive belief. Here's the issue... The more committed we are to anything, the harder it is for us to admit it's not working. This is very difficult for any successful person who's committed, chose to do it and who's heart & soul is in it. It's great to believe we're committed. It's...