Dear colleagues, This fall’s annual Program Conference theme was “Embracing Change,” a theme that has echoed across all of Extension since mid-March. I am proud of Extension’s faculty and staff, who have risen to the occasion in many ways over these past few months: Minnesota 4-H hosted 89 local showcases over July and August that engaged more than 6,000 youth, 2,500 volunteers and 1,200 judges. Youth development educators are creating even more new programming that addresses current affairs in meaningful ways. Minnesotans are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by gardening in record numbers. Applications for the Master Gardener volunteer program rose by 160% this year, and new online courses in beginning gardening and food preservation were highly popular. Nutrition educators in southern Minnesota turned their innovative tours of local farmers markets into a series of videos about using fresh produce for English, Karen and Spanish-speaking participants. The Extension website provided
Okechukwu "Okey" Ukaga , formerly the executive director of Extension’s Southeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, has been appointed assistant dean and director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Extension. In this newly created role, his first priority will be leading the Extension-wide anti-racism task force, which began its work in September. The task force will develop and implement a series of dialogue and listening sessions about the impact of systematic racism in Extension and Minnesota, lead the development of an equity and inclusion strategy and implementation plan for Extension, and work with Extension leadership to ensure that faculty and staff are equipped with the tools, trainings and skills needed to be more anti-racist in Extension programming. Extension’s Racial Equity and Diversity Task Force is comprised of these members: Extension Specialists Carol Cardona, Michael Darger and Craig Hassel; Extension Educators Hibaq Dualeh, Dana Trickey, Jo