I had the opportunity to record 3 podcasts at last week's National eXtension Conference. You may have already heard the first, featuring John Stepper and Kevin Gamble. The last of the 3, with guests Paul Hill and Jamie Seger, will post Thursday, April 7. In between is this week's interview with Christine Geith, CEO of eXtension.
We first heard from Chris last summer, shortly after she joined eXtension. In our most recent conversation, about 10 months later, the direction she has set for eXtension is more clear. We are starting to see tangible evidence of eXtension's new focus on issues, innovation and impact. I was in the room for one day of the I3 Issues Teams "Design-a-thon," and was impressed by the overall energy in the room and with the thoughtfulness of the team members I spoke with.
Of course, energy does not always translate to meaningful work. eXtension definitely has some rough waters to negotiate. The line item in the USDA budget that has provided $1.5 million in eXtension funding has been dropped. It's also unclear to me if Extension state directors or Cooperative Extension professionals across the nation can keep up with the aggressive pace of change Chris has set.
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