VP message to the ANR community

Colleagues,

As we near the end of February and look ahead to the spring, there continues to be a tremendous amount of activity and good work going on within ANR. Thank you, as always, for your efforts.

This month, I'd like to focus on an event that likely hasn't hit your radar just yet – the Strategic Initiatives Conference scheduled to take place Oct. 5-7. Our Strategic Initiatives (SI) are a vital component of ANR's overall vision, and I truly hope as many of you as possible can take part in the conference to gain an appreciation for what's already been accomplished with the SIs and to get inspired for what's to come.

The conference will offer a rare opportunity for the entire SI community to come together. The organizing team is planning individual SI meetings, in-service training, and meetings with program teams and workgroups, among other activities. The individual SI gatherings give us a chance to discuss the broader direction of SI programmatic activities within each topic area.

We'll kick the conference off with a welcome dinner on the 5^th.  Hopefully, it will be an opportunity for all of you to meet the new VP of ANR.

One portion of the conference will be open to legislators and their aides. We'll focus that session on highlighting to our elected officials the progress made by each of the SIs, demonstrating to them our effective use of grant monies.

You'll soon see a save-the-date email, but it's not too early to get this important event on your calendars now.

Also, don't forget that the Work Environment workshops begin on Monday, March 2. Please attend the one in your region to engage in a lively discussion about the results of the Work Environment Assessment and how you can help the Division move forward.

I hope you'll enjoy this edition of ANR Report. As always, it's packed with news and features, including information on a bioeconomy conference coming up in April, new software and licenses available to UC ANR staff and academics, a poultry website offering answers about backyard chickens, the updated California Master Gardener Handbook, and other topics.

Barbara Allen-Diaz
Vice President

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