NUEL is thrilled to recognize our 2020 Regional Award Winners! 1890 Region Leadership Award: Misty Layne Watkins , Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with Tennessee State University Misty Layne Watkins' Homebuyer Education Program has provided 138 counseling sessions and 8 first-time homebuyer classes, resulting in $ 18.8 million in mortgage loans. Southern Region Leadership Award: Diana Doggett , Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent at the University of Kentucky Diana...

High-speed internet service is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. But too many families go without high-speed internet because of the cost or have to cut back on other essentials to make their monthly internet service payments. Lowering prices—including the cost of high-speed internet service—is President Biden’s top priority. In early May 2021, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced that they have secured private sector commitments that will lower high-speed internet costs...

2022 National Urban Extension Conference Hosted by Rutgers Offered Opportunity to Inspire and Reconnect JUNE 28, 2022 BY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS Attendees at 2022 NUEC networking and connecting. Photo: Avi Steinhardt The National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) presented the 2022 National Urban Extension Conference in Camden, NJ, on May 23 -26. The conference, hosted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension and held at the Rutgers Camden Campus Center, attracted 300 participants from over 85...

The New York State Integrated Pest Management Program (NYSIPM, Cornell University) is looking for a Community Integrated Pest Management Associate, with expertise in applied entomology, pest or wildlife management, and/or turfgrass management, to support statewide community pest management programs and to develop an outstanding extension and applied research program in community settings. A portion of time will also be allocated to extension responsibilities that support urban agricultural...

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS) has created an outreach opportunity in collaboration with partners to expand conservation assistance to historically underserved producers and underserved communities and to provide opportunities for students to pursue careers in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. The following is a list of priority areas that NRCS will consider. Addressing local natural resource issues, promoting potential conservation career opportunities,...

Penn State Extension will be hosting the BEAD Broadband Navigator in New York City on November 13, 2023. BEAD is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and may mean millions of dollars in broadband development for your state and local communities. Program highlights: Over $42 billion dollars in government funding is available. How can your state and local communities leverage these funds? Collaboration opportunities to accelerate local broadband deployment. Discover how broadband spatial...

Greetings and Happy Holidays to my colleagues and to Extension Directors around the country. I am writing to share a few brief updates as NUEL is working to our momentum and address the needs of our Extension system working to remain relevant, responsive, and recognized in our urban communities. The NUEL Steering Committee held our latest Bi-Annual Face to Face meeting in New Orleans, LA, December 6-8, 2023 . Special thanks to Anthony Tuggle and the Tennessee Extension System for their...

For decades, urban farms and community gardens have helped meet demand for fresh and local produce. Urban farming creatively utilizes limited space, conserves land and transforms vacant lots or buildings into productive greenspaces. Farming in cities can be a rewarding way for communities to grow healthy food while receiving a wide range of other interrelated environmental, economic and social benefits. SARE Outreach’s newest bulletin, Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Farm , outlines...

The NUEL Northeast Region begins 2024 with the year's first Regionwide Meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2024 (1:00pm - 2:30pm). Our work this year will focus on providing support for ongoing Extension collaborations across the Northeast, from West Virginia to Maine. Our mission emphasizes innovative Extension programming, and professional development options to meet the local needs of our diverse region. We invite colleagues from the Northeast Region to join our Steering Committee. For more...

(above) Legacy City of Springfield, Massachusetts, where basketball was invented. Today's New York Times (2/3/2024) has an article about Gary, Indiana. The midwest "Legacy City" of nearly 70,000 people, like many other once vibrant manufacturing centers, is looking to reinvent itself. Many Extension professionals working in similar cities, as I do, are finding new ways to leverage the many assets that these cities have. One important point that the article makes is that investing in existing...

Join the Conversation on May 17! Many cooperative Extension systems have experienced a recent influx of people seeking asylum. For many states, this is a new target audience to welcome and introduce to Extension programming, but they have questions about how to support them. These questions range from who are considered asylum seekers versus refugees to how we support their integration into the workforce. Please join us as Nick Ogutu, President of Safari Yangu , answers these questions and...

Register now and book your hotel room! Registration prices increase on May 25 and hotel reservations close May 21. UrbanFoodSystemsSymposium.org The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) hosts the 2024 Urban Food Systems Symposium in Columbus, Ohio on June 11-13. The event includes keynotes, a grower panel, 40 presentations , a reception with more than 30 posters , a choice of off-site educational tours , and dinner at The Waterman...

The NUEL Professional Development Program Action Team recently hosted their third webinar focusing on NUEL 4 - P's. This webinar focuses on "Positioning" and includes leaders in urban Extension programming from around the country. Our overall discussion topic will be "What are the elements of successful urban Extension Programs?" Our guests are Christina Nadolne (New York), Sonja Mitchell (VA) and Kenneth Jones (KY). Jeff Young (KY) will be the moderator. Here is a link to the webinar - ...