Posts Tagged: Claudia Diaz-Carrasco

New guides for engaging Latinx youth published

A series of ANR publications have been developed for people who wish to engage Latinx youth and families in their programs.

These briefs were inspired by a research project and the Journal of Youth Development article Guiding Principles for Reaching and Engaging Latinx Youth in Youth Development Programs, by Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam and Claudia Diaz Carrasco.

“We know that, in general, youth-serving practitioners do not read journal articles so we used the information to write easy-to-read briefs,” said Moncloa, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor in Santa Clara County.

The brief ANR publications are authored by Moncloa and Claudia Diaz Carrasco, UCCE 4-H youth development advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The five-part series are
Engaging Latinx Youth: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8690.pdf
Conceptual Foundations: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8691.pdf
Organizational Infrastructure: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8692.pdf
Program Elements: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8693.pdf
Building Relationships in Latinx Communities: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8694.pdf

Sen. Hueso honors UC 4-H program in Mexicali

California State Senator Ben Hueso honored California and Baja California 4-H with a resolution in the State Senate April 2 to recognize the cross-border team that established a 4-H Club in Mexicali, Baja Mexico, in January 2017.

The event, held in the Senate Chambers, was attended by Manuel Vallodolid Seamaduras, secretary of Agriculture Development in the State of Baja California, Mexico (Secretaría de Desarrollo Agropecuario del Estado de México - SEDAGRO); Hortencia Medellin Acosta, director of Rural Entrepreneurship, Mexicali, Baja California; Carlos Orozco Riesgo, member of the UC ANR 4-H Multicultural and Community Engagement Advisory Committee and former undersecretary of SEDAGRO; Belem Avendaño Ruiz, director of Inspection, health and safety SEDAGRO; Guillermo Gonzalez Rubio, director of the Livestock Health Department SEDAGRO; Agustin Manuel Velazquez Bustamante, legal advisor SEDAGRO; Mark Bell, vice provost of Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs; Shannon Horrillo, 4-H Youth Development Program director; Lupita Fabregas, 4-H Youth Development assistant director for diversity and expansion; and Claudia Diaz Carrasco, 4-H Youth Development advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Last year, UC ANR Vice President Glenda Humiston signed a memorandum of understanding with Baja California Secretary of Agriculture Development Manuel Vallodolid Seamanduras to offer UC's 4-H expertise to youth south of the border. The agreement increases the academic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation that are part of UC President Janet Napolitano's Mexico Initiative.

Hueso's resolution attests to the value of building relationships as a means of cooperative engagement between Mexico and California on shared concerns, such as drought and global climate change. The resolution notes that the creation of a 4-H Club in Mexicali is an inspiring reminder that the need for education doesn't stop at the border. 

Hueso represents the 40^th District, which includes parts of San Diego County and all of Imperial County, running along the entire border between California and Mexico.

 

Wilen, Soule and Haviland among Distinguished Service Award winners

Wendy Powers, associate vice president, announced the 2018 winners of the biennial Distinguished Service Awards on April 11 at the UC ANR Statewide Conference in Ontario.

Sponsored by UC ANR and Academic Assembly Council, the Distinguished Service Awards recognize service and academic excellence in UC Cooperative Extension over a significant period of time. Awards highlight the use of innovative methods and the integration of research, extension and leadership by UC ANR academics.

Awards were given for outstanding research, outstanding extension, outstanding new academic, outstanding team, and outstanding leader. Winners for each category are listed below.

Outstanding Research - Youth Retention Study Team

The Youth Retention Study examined the retention and drop-out rates (nearly 50 percent) of first year 4-H members. The team looked at re-enrollment trends over a seven-year period to understand the phenomena of why youth leave the 4-H program. While the focus of the study was on California, the team has engaged multiple states in this effort to document the national scope of this issue, and used the data to develop tools and strategies for addressing and extending that information through peer-reviewed articles, workshops and training. Two of the factors they found reducing retention were a lack of communication and the inability to understand and navigate the 4-H program. These findings led to development of a handbook for families to navigate the 4-H program and a Project Leader Checklist for implementing the 4-H project experience. 

The Youth Retention Study Team includes

• JoLynn Miller, CE Advisor - UCCE Central Sierra Multi-County Partnership
• Kendra Lewis, Academic Coordinator - UC ANR Statewide 4-H Program
• Marianne Bird, CE Advisor - UCCE Capital Corridor MCP
• John Borba, CE Advisor - UCCE Kern
• Claudia Diaz-Carrasco, CE Advisor - UCCE Riverside and San Bernardino
• Dorina Espinoza, CE Advisor - UCCE Humboldt and Del Norte
• Russell Hill, CE Advisor - UCCE Merced, Mariposa and Madera
• Car Mun Kok, CE Advisor - UCCE Lake and Mendocino
• Sue Manglallan, CE Advisor - UCCE San Diego
• Kali Trzesniewski, CE Specialist – UC Davis, Department of Human & Community Development

Outstanding Extension - David Haviland

David Haviland has been the UC Cooperative Extension entomology advisor in Kern County and affiliated IPM advisor with the UC IPM Program since 2002. He has developed an exemplary extension program to address the needs of clientele and support continued productivity in the third largest agricultural output county in the nation. Haviland's extension program is based on continuous needs assessment, applied local research to solve problems, collaboration with multiple partners, and extension programming focused on grower and pest control adviser adoption of improved pest management practices. Haviland uses his research outputs to drive his prodigious extension program. This includes 430 presentations to more than 32,000 people, primarily to farmers and pest control advisers. Haviland has developed a national and international reputation through publishing the results of his research in peer-reviewed scientific publications, and by giving national and international presentations.

Outstanding New Academic - Katherine Soule

Katherine Soule has been the youth, families and communities advisor since 2013 and director of Cooperative Extension in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties since 2017. Soule has guided programming to increase diversity and reach of the 4-H Youth Development Program. She has more than doubled overall youth participation to more than 16,000 youth in the two counties and increased Latino youth participation by almost 500 percent in less than 4 years. In addition, Soule has built a multicultural, bilingual UC CalFresh staff that focuses on developing sustained engagement with partnering school districts, administrators, teachers, families and other community-based organizations. In the previous two years, the UC CalFresh staff provided nutrition education to more than 17,000 youth; more than 8,500 families and community members attended community events where they received nutrition education; led peer educators in the participation of 4,700 hours of programming and engaged more than 6,600 students in nutrition and physical activities education. The Statewide 4-H Director said, “Despite the large assignment, she has provided incredible leadership in both program areas in both counties.” In partnership with 4-H volunteers and the California 4-H Foundation, she has raised $300,000 annually from grants and gifts to support and advance 4-H programming in Santa Barbara County. This youth, families and communities program also serves as the model for program integration and growth.

Outstanding Leader - Cheryl Wilen

Cheryl Wilen is the area integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties. Throughout her 23-year career, Wilen's work has represented outstanding leadership through a continual focus on positive changes.  Wilen has been an effective leader in the Statewide IPM Program, ANR and the western region. In this role, she has provided significant input on CE advisor performance and advancement evaluations, represented IPM advisors to UC IPM leadership, and coordinated the annual extension planning meeting for IPM advisors and affiliated advisors. In addition to significant leadership in UC IPM, Wilen was the ANR Strategic Initiative Leader for Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases from 2014 to 2017. She led development of the strategic initiative goals and worked with Program Teams and Workgroups to address these goals. Wilen's leadership style is a direct reflection of her approach to research and extension. If she identifies an important unmet need, then she seeks to address it. Similarly, when she identifies a leadership need that she is capable of meeting, she steps up to help the organization move forward. Her leadership is consistently pragmatic and focused on results.

Outstanding Team - Dairy Quality Assurance Environmental Stewardship Program Team

This team of CE specialists and CE advisors has provided outstanding service to California's dairy farmers as a partner in the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) through applied research, development of monitoring methods and tools, and implementation of educational programs to help dairy farmers comply with state water-quality law. The team developed the educational component of the “Environmental Stewardship Short Course,” delivering 377 short course workshops (750 classroom hours) throughout the state to date. They developed tools for producers including a lab manual for manure analysis, an e-learning module for sampling methods and an on-line decision support tool. These extension products were based on a prodigious research record including 15 peer-reviewed papers. The Dairy Quality Assurance Environmental Stewardship Program Team is an excellent example of UC ANR academics working together and with government and industry partners under the Sustainable Natural Environment Strategic Initiative. As a result of the team's work, the industry quickly reached a 95 percent compliance rate with water quality reporting requirements.

Dairy Quality Assurance Environmental Stewardship Program Team includes

• Deanne Meyer, CE Specialist – UC Davis, Department of Human & Community Development
• Betsy Karle, CE Advisor and UCCE Director– UCCE Glenn
• Jennifer Heguy, CE Advisor – UCCE Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced
• David Lewis, CE Advisor and UCCE Director – UCCE Marin and Napa
• Jeffery Stackhouse, CE Advisor – UCCE Humboldt and Del Norte

 

 

California 4-H helps launch hands-on learning club for children in Mexico

Over the last 100 years, the UC ANR 4-H Youth Development Program has taught California children about food, agriculture, leadership and community service using learn-by-doing practices. To offer 4-H expertise to children south of the border, Vice President Glenda Humiston traveled to Mexicali to sign a memorandum of understanding with Baja California Secretary of Agriculture Manuel Vallodolid Seamanduras on Jan. 20.

“The need for education doesn't stop at the border,” said Lupita Fábregas, assistant director for 4-H diversity and expansion and UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor. “The wonderful educational opportunities available to California youth are now being offered to a group of children in Mexicali. And that program will be a model for the rest of Baja California and Mexico.”

Addressing the children gathered at the signing ceremony, Humiston said, “We're excited to share the 4-H experience with you.”

Today, projects in new technologies – like drones and rocketry – join more traditional projects – like cooking, sewing, animal husbandry and farming – to give youths channels to explore a wide variety of options and interests.

“We are looking into expanding to community colleges and offering education for future entrepreneurs or youth interested in skilled trades,” said Humiston, who credits 4-H with enabling her to be the first in her family to attend college.

The establishment of a club like 4-H in Mexico is the fulfillment of a life's dream for Claudia Diaz Carrasco, 4-H youth development advisor in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

“I found my passion,” said the native of Mexico City. “To solve world hunger, we need to find solutions one community at a time. 4-H does that.”

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