Posts Tagged: Keith Nathaniel
4-H Youth Development team wins national diversity award
UC 4-H Youth Development advisors Dorina Espinoza, Russell Hill, Fe Moncloa and Keith Nathaniel and 4-H associate director Shannon Horrillo have won the National Extension Diversity Award for systematically enhancing the intercultural competency of 4-H personnel and others in California. The National Extension Diversity Award was presented Sunday, Nov. 13, at the 129th Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.
The award, given by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Cooperative Extension System and the APLU, honors the team for developing and institutionalizing a professional development strategy to increase staff and academics' intercultural competence.
To support the development and well-being of California's culturally and ethnically diverse youth population, research indicates that building intercultural competence among youth development professionals is critical.
“We have been making changes to our programs to remove barriers and make 4-H more accessible. We are also testing new delivery models to expand 4-H's reach, particularly among Latino youth and families,” Horrillo said.
“This effort has been extremely successful and we are seeing the benefits in our membership,” said Horrillo. “The program's growth over the last year was significant, with a 16 percent increase in youth participation and a nearly 42 percent increase in Latino youth participation.”
“We asked Latino parents how we can help,” said Lupita Fabregas, assistant director for 4-H Diversity and Expansion. “Working parents suggested after school programs so they don't have to drive their kids to a different location.”
Through a pilot initiative in seven counties – Riverside, Orange, Kern, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Merced and Sonoma counties – UC ANR's 4-H Youth Development Program now offers in-school, after school and special interest clubs that explore subjects such as robotics. Children can join clubs that focus on projects for four to six weeks, rather than 4-H's year-long commitment. Bilingual and bicultural program representatives provide materials in English for the children and Spanish for parents. Although the activities are structured differently, they aim to teach Latino children science, leadership, civic engagement and other life skills taught through the traditional program.
The team of change agents applied the professional development strategy over three years, providing 176 hours of intercultural communication feedback sessions, learning communities and regional conferences to enhance the intercultural competence of 65 California 4-H personnel.
The UC ANR 4-H Youth Development Program has also assembled an advisory committee for 4-H multicultural and community engagement that includes Latino leaders Mary Lou de Leon Siantz, a professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis and director of the Center for Advancing Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS); Steven Olmos, chief schools officer for Santa Clara County Office of Education; Albert Maldonado Jr., youth program manager for The California Endowment; and Juan P. Garcia, deputy director of the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.
UC ANR's action plan and resulting positive change provides a model for 4-H in other states to improve professional development and expand the program's reach. A summary of California's IDI professional development activities can be found in the National 4-H Latino Youth Outreach: Best Practices Toolkit, Professional Development.
Nominate UCCE academics for ANR Distinguished Service Awards
Nominations are being accepted for the 2016 ANR Distinguished Service Awards, which are sponsored by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and Academic Assembly Council.
Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to recognize outstanding achievement by yourself or your colleagues.
The biennial ANR 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.
The purpose of these awards is to recognize and reward outstanding accomplishments in five areas:
- Outstanding Research
- Outstanding Extension
- Outstanding New Academic
- Outstanding Team
- Outstanding Leader
Winners of individual awards will receive a certificate and $2,000. Winners of the team award will share $5,000. Complete award criteria and instructions for submitting nominations are at http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=16765.
Submit all materials in the nomination packet by 5 pm., Feb.15, 2016.
Academic Assembly Council Website: http://ucanr.edu/sites/UCAAC/
For further information, feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
The AAC Program Committee
Becky Westerdahl, bbwesterdahl@ucdavis.edu
Jennifer Heguy, jmheguy@ucanr.edu
Keith Nathaniel, kcnathaniel@ucanr.edu
Susie Kocher, sdkocher@ucanr.edu
View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
/span>ANR forms CD Council
ANR has formed a County Director Council in order to provide an efficient means to identify issues and gather information on matters of importance to Cooperative Extension prior to wider discussion and gathering of input. The council will provide county director perspective on:
- development of policies and procedures
- identification of training needs
- issues and topics to be addressed in monthly county director calls/meetings
- future ANR resource allocation processes
In addition, the council members will be responsible for communicating with their county director and advisor colleagues to gather information, vetting approaches to issues and assisting in distribution of information.
The inaugural council members are:
- Chris Greer
- Greg Giusti
- David Lile
- Valerie Mellano
- Keith Nathaniel
- Jim Sullins
Bill Frost
Director, Research & Extension Center System
Associate Director, Cooperative Extension & Agricultural Experiment Station
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Distinguished Service Award winners named
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the 2011 recipients of the ANR Distinguished Service Awards, which are given biennially for outstanding contributions to the teaching, research and public service mission of the Division.
Awards were given in six areas:
- Outstanding Extension – Walt Bentley, area IPM advisor based at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center
- Outstanding Research – Steve Koike, plant pathology farm advisor for Monterey and Santa Cruz counties
- Outstanding New Academic – Jim Bethke, floriculture and nursery advisor for San Diego and Riverside counties
- Outstanding Team – Money Talks. The Money Talks team is composed of Charles Go, workgroup chair and 4-H youth development advisor for Alameda County; Margaret Johns, nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for Kern County; Keith Nathaniel, 4-H youth development advisor for Los Angeles County; Shirley Peterson, nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor emeritus; Brenda Roche, nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for Los Angeles County; Karen Varcoe, consumer economics specialist based at UC Riverside; Patti Wooten-Swanson, nutrition, family & consumer sciences advisor for San Diego County
- Outstanding Leader – Richard Enfield, county director for San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties
- Outstanding Staff – Connie Costello, program representative for consumer economics
Each of the recipients will receive $2,000 and a certificate, except for the team award recipients, who will receive individual certificates and share $5,000.
The 2011 Academic Assembly Council Distinguished Service Award committee was chaired by Rachel Surls and included Jim Bethke, Joe Grant, Scott Oneto and Becky Westerdahl. Although Bethke was on the committee making these awards, he did not participate in any part of the decision-making on the Outstanding New Academic award.
On behalf of ANR, I thank the DSA recipients for providing excellent service to the people of California and congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition.
Barbara Allen-Diaz
Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.