Posts Tagged: director
Schmitt-McQuitty named Director of County Cooperative Extension
I am pleased to announce the selection of Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty as Director of County Cooperative Extension effective Oct. 1. Lynn has served a 50% assignment as interim Director of County Cooperative Extension since David Bunn retired in September 2022 and 50% Director of our statewide 4-H Youth Development Program.
The Director of County Cooperative Extension position was created to provide leadership to the county office administration. The direct supervision of county director positions is something that we take very seriously and Lynn, who served as a county director for seven years, has and continues to provide the highest possible levels of guidance and oversight for our county offices and programs. Her vast experience with the land-grant system and her knowledge of ANR operations make her more than qualified to serve as the Director of County Cooperative Extension. I have absolute confidence in her abilities to lead in our organization.
While the 4-H leadership position is under recruitment, Lynn will serve as interim Statewide 4-H Director with continuing assistance from Keith Nathaniel and Steven Worker, who each have 25% Interim Assistant 4-H Youth Development Program Director roles.
Lynn is also serving as the Healthy Families and Communities Strategic Initiative Leader until a new leader is chosen to begin on Nov. 1.
Please join me in congratulating Lynn on her new leadership role.
Brent D. Hales
Associate Vice President for Research and Cooperative Extension
County Director meeting filled with great information
Happy Mother's Day to one and all! It was nice to have a day for family and friends after a very...
WEDA and WAAESD meet in Denver
Ever wonder how Extension and Ag Experiment Directors share information? The Western Extension...
Gonzalves begins as new UC Cooperative Extension director for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties
David Gonzalves started on Feb. 1 as director for University of California Cooperative Extension in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. UC Cooperative Extension connects communities across California with UC research and science-based solutions through agriculture, natural resources, nutrition and 4-H youth development programs.
Responsible for the overall operation of UCCE educational and applied research programs in the region, Gonzalves also will build and expand partnerships with county and city governments, public agencies and community organizations.
“David brings tremendous expertise in administration, fostering strong relationships, and building effective teams,” said Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president for programs and strategic initiatives at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, which administers UCCE statewide. “His track record of engaging local agencies, business partners, stakeholders and community groups will be invaluable as we explore new collaborations to reach and serve more Californians.”
Gonzalves was most recently a campus building official at UC Merced. Beginning his career at the County of Merced as a fire inspector, Gonzalves worked his way up to supervising building inspector and eventually assistant development services director. Then, for the City of Merced, he filled the role of chief building official and ultimately director of development services, leading the city's Building, Planning and Engineering teams. For three years, Gonzalves served as Tuolumne County's Community Resources Agency director.
“David's past experience as an administrator in county government and at UC Merced makes him the ideal candidate for the work we do at UCCE, as he has demonstrated success in being able to successfully negotiate these two worlds,” said Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, interim director for county Cooperative Extension at UC ANR.
Gonzalves said he looks forward to meeting with county leaders, members of local boards, growers, UC Master Gardener volunteers, 4-H members and community members to learn how UC Cooperative Extension can help meet local needs.
“My big picture goal is to allow UCCE advisors, administrative teams and local county leaders to have a coordinated approach to our local challenges and successes,” Gonzalves said. “Our efforts will concentrate on freeing up our research teams' calendars to ensure they can continue producing cutting-edge accomplishments here in the tri-county area.”
Based at the UCCE Monterey County office in Salinas, Gonzalves can be reached at dgonzalves@ucanr.edu or (831) 392-5916.
Beginnings
Last week was an exciting week in ANR. We welcomed David Gonzalves as our new Area...