Published on 07/10/19

UGA Cooperative Extension announces members of 2019-2020 Extension Academy

By Merritt Melancon

As students head back to school this autumn, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents and specialists will be heading back to class as well.

Seventeen agents and specialists have been selected for the 2019-2020 UGA Extension Academy for Professional Excellence, an internal leadership development program.

The program is designed to teach leadership skills to early- and mid-career UGA county Extension agents, state specialists, and personnel from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Ultimately, the training is an effort toward fulfilling UGA Extension’s mission of helping Georgians become healthier, more productive, financially independent, and environmentally responsible individuals.

"Programs such as Extension Academy allow us to prepare the next generation of leadership within our organization,” said Lauren Griffeth, UGA Extension leadership specialist and organizer of the academy. “We hope that participants graduate from this experience feeling engaged, empowered and equipped to better serve UGA Extension.”

In September, the newest cohort of Extension Academy participants will gather in Athens, Georgia, for the first of three leadership institutes. Each three-day institute will offer intensive personal and professional development training facilitated by the CAES Office of Learning and Organizational Development.

Clark MacAllister, an Extension Academy graduate who serves as county Extension coordinator and agriculture and natural resources agent in Dawson and Lumpkin counties, said his time in Extension Academy made him a more productive and confident leader.

“Extension Academy helped expand my leadership capability by allowing me to examine my behaviors and how I react to different scenarios,” MacAllister said. “By better understanding my own leadership style, I have strengthened my relationships with coworkers and members of my community.”

This year’s Extension Academy participants are:

Audra Armour, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Wilkes County
Joel Burnsed, county Extension coordinator and agriculture and natural resources agent, Walton County
Chelsey Davis, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Lumpkin County
Angie Daughtry, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Candler County
Lauren Dye, 4-H agent, Elbert County
Becky Griffin, community and school garden coordinator, Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture
Brennan Jackson, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Jones County
Carole Knight, agriculture and natural resources agent, Bulloch County
Brittani Lee, 4-H agent, Cobb County
Lisa Pollock, 4-H agent, Grady County
Wes Porter, state specialist for irrigation, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, UGA Tifton Campus
Brittany Teets, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Rockdale County
Keishon Thomas, family and consumer sciences agent, Bibb County
Kim Toal, agriculture and natural resources agent, Fayette County
Ty Torrance, agriculture and natural resources agent, Grady County
Ashley Witcher, county Extension coordinator and 4-H agent, Cherokee County

For more information on UGA Extension’s impact in Georgia, visit extension.uga.edu.

Merritt Melancon, a public relations manager for the UGA Terry College of Business, previously served as a public relations coordinator for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Extension.

Authors:

Merritt Melancon

Experts/Sources:

Lauren Ledbetter Griffeth

Members of the 2018-2019 class of the University of Georgia's UGA Extension Academy for Professional Excellence work on a group project during one of the leadership institutes in 2018.

Georgia 4-H specialist Kasey Bozeman takes notes for her small group during a leadership institute that was part of the 2018-2019 UGA Extension Academy for Professional Excellence.

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