Just what is an “Extension Educator?”

As the Food and Nutrition Specialist with Cooperative Extension Service, I am proud to be part of the network that links the College of Agriculture and University of Wyoming to each county at the local level and to our partners at the federal level in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A cornerstone of every state’s land-grant institution, Cooperative Extension Service exists to work with local residents and community groups to provide educational opportunities and other services to improve the people’s lives. I support and help lead education and research efforts with Extension educators who work at the county and area levels within Wyoming, and I interact and collaborate with Extension educators and other professionals within and beyond Wyoming to help achieve state, regional, and national goals in the areas of nutrition, health, and food safety.

Joseph Jen (USDA Under Secretary for Research, Extension, and Economics) visited WIN the Rockies in September 2003. The photograph is of Dr. Jen and WIN the Rockies team members in front of the project billboard in Preston, Idaho. To his right are Suzy Pelican, Sylvia Moore (project director and co-principal investigator), and Julie Harker (Idaho state coordinator).

Programming and Resource Information Areas

Nutrition and Health: A primary focus of my work is promotion of healthy lifestyles related to food, physical activity and body image, with the goal of improving people’s well being, including achievement of healthy weight. I coordinate Wellness IN Wyoming (WIN Wyoming <www.uwyo.edu/winwyoming>), a network of over 100 educators and health professionals in 17 states and Australia who embrace a health-centered rather than a weight-centered approach to well being. I have served as co-principal investigator of Wellness IN the Rockies (WIN the Rockies <www.uwyo.edu/wintherockies>), a community-based research, intervention, and outreach project in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The project’s mission is to assist communities in educating people to value health, respect body-size differences, enjoy the benefits of self-acceptance, enjoy physically active living, and enjoy healthful and pleasurable eating.

A new programming area that I am helping organize is a diabetes education program called Dining with Diabetes. These classes will be offered through Cooperative Extension, delivered in collaboration with partners in public health, primary care, and other health-care settings.

Food Safety. The other major focus of my work is food safety, including food preservation. Most of my activities related to prevention of food-borne illness are in collaboration with the Wyoming Food Safety Coalition (WFSC). WFSC teams (consisting of an Extension educator and a health inspector) conduct trainings with food handlers throughout the state. I serve on WFSC’s board of directors and help coordinate support for the teams’ statewide.

Resource contact. In addition to planned programming, I respond to queries from county Extension personnel and other individuals who seek information on a wide range of topics. Examples of questions that have come my way range from “Is stevia a safe sweetener?” to “What procedures should a vendor follow when cutting and serving produce to the public at a farmer’s market?” to “Is butter healthier than margarine?”

There’s never a dull moment in Extension!

One important tool in helping provide balanced, research-based information on a wide variety of food, nutrition, and food safety topics is the Food and Nutrition Extension website at <http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/cesnutrition/> maintained by a work group of Extension educators.

Research

My research interests are in the areas of my program work, primarily healthy lifestyles and healthy weight. I believe in the power of research that is integrated with Extension and education: Experiences and insights gained through Extension and other educational channels can help shape research that is meaningful and relevant in people’s lives. In turn, research can enhance and strengthen programs and services provided through Extension and other educational avenues.

Professional Memberships

American Dietetic Association (registered dietitian)

National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences

Society for Nutrition Education

Wyoming Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences

Office Address:

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences Dept.3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071