Minutes of the
Cooperative Extension Service State Advisory Council Meeting
March 21 & 22, 2011
Location: Juneau District Office
MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 (2:00pm-5:00pm)
Council members present: Judy Klein, Bill Martin, Kyra Wagner, Nancy Mendenhall, Patrick Smith, Paul McIntosh,
Sam Kirstein, Bob Shumaker, Julie Cascio (via audio), Juella Sparks (via audio); Council Support: Brooke Steward,
Fred Schlutt
Council Members Absent: Jonnie Lazarus, Meera Kohler
Guests: Roxie Dinstel, Deb Jones (Program Chairs); Jennifer Nu, Linda Watson, Darren Snyder (Juneau District
Office faculty & Staff).
Meeting convened: Samantha Kirstein, Council Chair, opened the meeting at 2:00pm. Introductions.
Presentation on Juneau District Programming: Juneau District faculty and Staff (Darren Snyder, Jennifer Nu, and
Linda Watson) presented their work in the Juneau District.
Linda Watson is the Administrative Assistant for the Juneau faculty and currently supports the Sitka Office faculty
(Bob Gorman) as well.
Jennifer Nu is a part-time (25 hours) ANEP Nutrition educator. ANEP or the Alaska Nutrition Education
Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program) is a federal/state partnership that
supports nutrition education for persons eligible for SNAP benefits or food stamps. ANEP is part of the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program Education (SNAP-Ed). It is funded by the USDA
through Alaska Department of Health & Social Services, Food Stamp Program. The mission of ANEP is to
provide educational programs to people eligible for food stamps in order to equip them with the information
needed to make healthy food choices within a limited budget. ANEP is one of two nutrition programs that
CES provides. The other program is EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Program). ANEP educators
currently hold regular audio meetings, but rarely meet in person. They also don’t currently travel to villages
because of limited funding for travel. It was noted that a partnership with SEARHC (SouthEast Alaska
Regional Health Consortium) could be developed to help get this nutrition information to villages.
The HHFD faculty position (previously held by Sonja Koukel) is vacant. Darren Snyder is the Ag/Hort and 4-H
faculty member in Juneau. Darren presented an overview of the current programs in the Juneau District. Highlights
included: IPM (Integrated pest management projects), Alaska Greenhouse and Nursery Conference, Master Gardener
Projects (including collaborations with 4-H groups), support for commercial growers, food security projects, and 4-H
programs including in-school enrichment programs, community garden development, and Hunter education programs.
(PowerPoint attached).
It was suggested by a Council Member that Darren document all the in-kind donations received, volunteer hours, and
other donations received.
UAF Fisheries Tour: The Council received a tour of the new UAF Lena Point Fisheries Facility. Keith Criddle, the
Interim Director, provided a tour of several labs and discussed how CES might partner with the School of Fisheries and
Ocean Sciences.
Dinner: A dinner for Juneau District Volunteers, legislators, and program partners was hosted at Centennial Hall.
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011 (8:15am-5:30pm)
Council members present: Judy Klein, Bill Martin, Kyra Wagner, Nancy Mendenhall, Patrick Smith, Paul McIntosh,
Sam Kirstein, Bob Shumaker, Julie Cascio (via audio), Juella Sparks (via audio); Council Support: Brooke Steward,
Fred Schlutt
Council Members Absent: Jonnie Lazarus, Meera Kohler
Guests: Roxie Dinstel, Deb Jones, Robert Gorman (Program Chairs); Jennifer Nu, Linda Watson, Darren Snyder
(Juneau District Office faculty & Staff), several other guests presented throughout the day, see details in minutes.
Presentation on Sitka District Programming: Bob Gorman, the agent stationed in Sitka (who is also the NRCD
Program Chair), provided an update on programs in the Sitka District Office. Bob was asked how having an
Administrative Assistant based in Juneau worked for him. He answered that it worked well for him, because he travels
frequently and needs someone who is good with electronic media.
Advisory Council Chair Time: Samantha Kirstein, Council Chair asked each person present to define the three most
important aspects of CES (what cannot be let go of, even if resources are limited.) The following list was compiled
from the answers:










Sustainable family activities, activities that build life skills (computer skills) and strengthen families
Youth development (rural and underserved)
Hands on workshops
Economic development projects
Access to current info-including technical, professional; good communication
Energy (renewable energy)
Applied science (climate change)
Rural Agents, credibility, ability to create partnerships
Commitment to serve people, serving people statewide
Growing food (high tunnels, ag development, local food, Victory Gardens, improving nutrition, home
economists)
Samantha emphasized that management and staff have to be work together as a cohesive unit. The Board of Regentsprimarily funds research and education, and little goes to outreach, even though outreach has the biggest impact.
Samantha met with the Interior delegation legislators earlier in the morning and they were all excited to hear about
CES’s 4-H programs and master gardener programs, which shows the impact of outreach.
MAP/CES collaboration: Two Marine Advisory Program (MAP) agents joined the meeting via audio conference;
Sunny Rice (Petersberg) and Gary Freitag (Ketchikan). Along with Bob Gorman, they presented a short description
of how CES and MAP collaborate in Southeast Alaska. MAP is organized in a very similar way to CES, as a network
of agents and specialists. They provide a variety of publications on Marine issues, however most are sold rather than
distributed for free. The majority of publications are high quality, multi-colored books. CES and MAP are working to
determine ways we can collaborate on publications (i.e. shared graphic design or editorial staff). In many states CES
and MAP are part of the same organization.
Currently MAP and CES are currently working together on a Food Security project. The first step in the project was
surveying people in Alaska’s Southeast communities that would be involved in food security. From this survey it was
determined that over 66 percent of people were not aware of food security issues. (See Survey results attached).
Sea Grant and MAP can be powerful partners to help engage communities. Sealaska (Native Corp.) may also be a
good partner to collaborate with CES and MAP regarding fisheries and other marine issues.
State Museum Outreach: The Council traveled to the State Museum where they met with Bob Banghart,
the Museum Director. One of the Museum’s staff members showed the Council a new exhibit called
“Science on a Sphere.” Science On a Sphere (SOS) is a room sized, global display system that uses
computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six foot diameter sphere.The exhibit uses
data from NOAA to display images of atmospheric storms, climate change, ocean temperature and other
phenomena.
Bob Banghart discussed the Museum’s current Outreach and chatted with Darren Snyder about possible
collaborations between CES and the Museum.
History of the Cooperative Extension Service in Alaska: CES Director, Fred Schlutt, presented a talk
entitled “The History of the Cooperative Extension Service in Alaska” at the State Library. The talk was
open to the public. (See attached PowerPoint presentation).
Council Member updates:
Patrick Smith – Also sits on TCC advisory board. TCC agent, Heidi Rader is starting the Alaska Growers school.
Nancy Mendenhall – Outreach to the Youth detention center is working well. Windmills working-18 smaller ones.
They have switches so they can either send or receive electricity. Kodiak 97% oil free.
Kyra Wagner-CES could learn from the Public Health Department’s MAPP (Mobilizing Action through Planning and
Partnerships) program. There are greenhouses in three schools in Homer. Food stamps can now be used at Farmers
Market. They are currently working on establishing an alternative currency. There are several high tunnels in Homer
that will help with food security.
Director’s Update:
Funding: Federal funding: We are currently in FY11 now and budget still being discussed. 67% of USDA’s budget
goes to food stamps. ARS (Ag Research System) and Smith Lever funds may get cut. Alaska Senators support CES.
State budget will probably have a 3.5% -5% increase. Grants and contracts: We need to be less reliant on State and
Federal Funding. Contracts- We can partner with other agencies (example, IPM). Fund development and philanthropy
are untapped resources. Other sources of revenue: Continuing Education credits - No one claims CEU’s at UAF, this
can be a source of revenue. We would be the delivery system (web based). For example we could create a
video/DVD on how to be a water plant operator, and then sell as a CEU credit. There should be no opposition to CES
taking over CEU’s at UAF, however, UAA may push back.
Staffing – The ELG met in February to discuss staffing. We have 5 vacant faculty positions. 1) HHFD agent (Sonja
Koukels’ position) in Juneau. 2) Rich’s Seifert’s former position in Energy. 3) Kristy Long’s position—not going to
fill as is, instead we will use funding for other positions. 4) Michele Hebert is going to be a 30% statewide
sustainability agent, so her Tanana District Ag-hort agent position is open. 5) Ag-hort position in Kenai (Tom Jahns’
position.)
The ELG also decided to hire an Extension Program Leader- which would be similar to an Assistant Director, but
would function similar to Deb Jones position (overseeing programs and mentor/guide faculty). However, we have to
find funding for this position.
ELG went through each position on the Org Chart to determine if we are using our resources to their full potential.
The ELG also decided to eliminate program areas and base the organization on issues (from the strategic plan).
Fred asked the Council what communities need a CES presence that we currently don’t serve? Barrow, Ketchikan,
Kodiak, & Dillingham. CES presence could be established in Anchorage (are we impacting all the legislative districts
in Anchorage?)
Partnerships: We’ve identified several possible partnerships during this trip such as the Forest Service, Coast Guard,
& FFA. It was suggested that we add the item, “specific partnerships” to the monthly audio agenda and Council
members be intentional about developing partnerships that might lead to contracts.
Outreach to Tlingit and Haida Youth: Council Member, Bill Martin, and Megan Gregory, a Community Project
Assistant from SEARHC made a presentation to the Council on current outreach to Tlingit and Haida youth taking
place in Southeast Alaska.
Bill’s focus is on suicide prevention in Native Communities. Overall Alaska has 2 times more suicide that the national
average. The Native Alaskan suicide rate is 5 times the national average. The suicide rate of young native men is
15times the national average.
CES (specifically gardening and 4-H) can provide ways for youth to feel useful, which is a powerful suicide
prevention. In US, highest rate of suicide is elders. In Alaska- the lowest rate of suicide is elders. Cultural traditions
respect elders. Suicide can be prevented by making young people feel like elders. Listen when they talk. Be good role
models.
Megan Gregory is a Program Assistant for SEARHC. She is also on theTlingit-Haida Central Council. With SEARHC
she is working with a new program, the youth ambassador program. A youth ambassador from each community will
be chosen. These abassadors will serve as role models for other youth. She also envisions having youth investigate
food security issues. She would like to see community gardens and greenhouses in every community.
It was noted that every public body should have a youth rep. The CES advisory Council did at one time and the youth
rep should be replaced.
4-H & Youth Development Program Update: Deb Jones, the Statewide 4-H program leader provided an update on
CES’s youth programming.
There are several different kinds of youth programs. Traditional club 4-H programs and in-school programs.
Operation Military Kids, is a program for military youth. 4-H can offer consistency in the lives of youth who move
frequently or have dispersed families.
CES is focusing on programming for older youth, since traditionally there has been a decline in 4-H membership
around 7th grade. Youth and Governance is a popular teen program that brings youth to Juneau to learn about State
government. 4-H is also trying to establish more of a presence in villages. Several interior villages have expressed
interest in 4-H clubs. Eagle has 4-H Friday, which is part of the school day. Agents have also been working with 5-8
year olds in Northway. A Collegiate 4-H member majoring in graphic design is designing a coloring book to teach the
Northway youth about traditional potlatch customs.
Deb Jones has been writing a lot of grants, but wants to make sure that grants are cohesive. CES received a grant from
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention for creating a mentoring project. The hope is that the grant
will have two-way results (ie. benefit both the youth and adults involved.)
4-H is also partnering with a faculty member from UAF for a NSF grant, the proposal is called the Alaska Village
Informal Science Education. This grant would mesh traditional knowledge with UAF sciences. Another small grant
will support a culture camp with a science base.
4-H is also taking the lead on applying for FRTEP (Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program) agents. The
proposal will be written to place agents in Dillingham and in Juneau. CES wants the communities to be involved in
these hires, they would like the hires to be local hires.
Two positions the 4-H program would like to fill are: Nancy Veal’s position on the Kenai Peninsula and a position that
translates energy and climate change information into curriculum, and information for youth.
Juneau Commission on Sustainability: Alida Bus from the Juneau Commission on Sustainability provided an
overview of the Commission and their programming. The Juneau Commission on Sustainability was formed by the
Juneau Assembly in 2007. Its mission is to promote Juneau’s economic, social, environmental and governmental wellbeing for all its inhabitants.
Juneau’s Mayor, Bruce Botello signed on to a Climate Action Plan. This Plan focuses on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions from the local government’s operations and from the community as a whole. The Plan will include
recommendations on opportunities to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions related to Juneau’s utilities, vehicles and
buildings, as well as to community-wide transportation, land use, buildings, and energy.
A weekly Farmer’s market has also been started. It’s still small, but growing. There is one CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) farm in the area. The Commission also supports Community Supported Fisheries.
So far the Commission has been very energy focused. Juneau is also has an ordinance requiring that new buildings be
“LEED certified.” LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system.
Sustainable Homer is a similar group, but it is a citizen group, not a city-sponsored commission. Sustainable Homer
focuses on energy efficiency audits. It also encourages the city to reduce carbon footprint for sake of the fisheries.
Home, Health, and Family Development (HHFD) Program Update: Roxie Rodgers Dinstel, HHFD Program Chair
provided an update on the HHFD program.
There are currently 6 HHFD agents in the field. We are currently in the process of filling the Juneau HHFD agent
position (formerly Sonja Koukel’s position). There are 8 HHFD faculty total and 13 nutrition educators (from both the
ANEP and EFNEP programs.) The Nutrition Programs (ANEP and EFNEP) help people use their food dollars better.
EFNEP spends more time on how to cook, ANEP is mostly focused on dollars. There has been an increase in the
ANEP grant. Instead of hiring new educators, HHFD will offer additional hours to existing educators. They are also
planning an ANEP retreat so educators can learn from each other. Currently, they do a lot of educating over audio.
HHFD has produced 3 new DVDs in the Preserving Alaska’s bounty series - cold storage, processing game meat, &
fireweed and roses. They also have a new publication on how to use coastal foods (kelp, sea lettuce, etc.)
HHFD also focuses on Housing and energy consumption. The focus is on how to live efficiently in houses that already
exist, indoor air quality, and mold problems.
CES knows we are going to get an obesity grant, which will be implemented by HHFD faculty. The Obesity grant is a
shared grant between Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia, & the Marianas Islands.
A strong volunteer program that HHFD runs is the Strong Woman program. It is primarily run by volunteers. Another
focus of HHFD is personal finance and financial literacy.
Adjournment: Council members commented on something they learned or thought was beneficial. Meeting
adjourned at 5:30pm.