For Immediate Release
June 6th, 2019
Contact: Aaron Weibe, aaronweibe@eXtension.org

The eXtension Foundation has named Jody Norman, Colorado State University, and Cynthia Pierfax, Prairie View A&M University, as the 2019 National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Fellows. Their Fellowships will create a pathway for new work in high-priority topic areas for Cooperative Extension to be developed and disseminated in collaboration with NUEL and eXtension.

The NUEL Fellows will develop and edit key resources with technical assistance from eXtension and an editorial committee established by the Fellows in consultation with NUEL’s Executive Committee, Professional Development Action Team, and Communications Actions Team. Their work will result in the publication of a co-branded NUEL & eXtension eFieldbook using some of the NUEL Professional Development Competency and Best Practices Frameworks as the organizing frameworks for the publication. Additionally, an Asset Map will be created in conjunction with the eXtension Impact Collaborative partnership team to identify partner organizations with resources and capacity to offer Extension professionals in urban settings.

Cynthia Pierfax serves currently as a 4-H and Youth Development Specialist II, for Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension. She agents in 7 urban counties and 5 rural counties in the areas of STEM, leadership, community partnership, and volunteerism.  She has spent 5 years as a 4-H Agent in Dallas County with Prairie View and 2 years as a county 4-H Agent in East Carroll Parish, LA, under LSU AgCenter. Cynthia is a 2006 graduate of Tuskegee University, Animal Science, 2008 graduate of TN State University, M.S. Animal Science, and is currently set to graduate in December 2019 from Texas A&M with her doctorate in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications.

Jody Norman is a sustainability writer and consultant with a passion toward the realization of cities as systemic regenerative frameworks that create, support, and advance the well-being of individuals, communities, and the Earth.  She possess several Masters’ Degrees, the most recent being a city and regional degree with an emphasis on environmental policy. She has written articles, taught college courses, and worked as a consultant and researcher. Her work in Extension has been diverse – she has served as a community partner to Denver Extension in a project with the Kettering Foundation, has completed an applied research fellowship with the Western Center, and is currently a project specialist for Denver Extension under the aegis of Director Rusty Collins.

About the National Urban Extension Leadership (NUEL)

The National Urban Extension Leadership (NUEL) established in 2013 to advance the strategic importance and long term value of urban Extension activities and to foster collaboration at the local, regional, and national levels to create greater capacity within the Cooperative Extension System. In 2015, urban Extension was added to the list of Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) priority initiatives. The NUEL Steering Committee consists of three volunteer representatives from each ECOP region.

About the eXtension Foundation

The eXtension Foundation is a membership-based non-profit designed to be the engine fueling U.S. Cooperative Extension’s advancement in making a more visible and measurable impact in support of education outreach from land-grant universities/colleges located in every state and territory. eXtension provides an array of opportunities for Extension professionals that foster innovation creation, the adoption of innovations at member institutions, and increased impact of Extension programs.