[CED/CD/EAT] Change in 4-H Leadership

Wed Dec 14 14:16:04 MST 2022

From: Elliott-Engel, Jeremy - (elliottengelj) elliottengelj at arizona.edu<mailto:elliottengelj at arizona.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2022 1:16 PM
To: 4h at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:4h at list.cals.arizona.edu>; CED ced-bounces at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:ced-bounces at list.cals.arizona.edu>
Subject: Change in 4-H Leadership

Dear 4-H Professionals,

It is with incredibly mixed emotions that I share with you that I will be taking on the role of Associate Dean and Director of Extension for University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. My first day with University of Hawaii is March 1, as I use up vacation time and prepare for the significant transition we will make a transition to an interim program leader while I am still here. While Dr. Martin has yet to decide on an interim program leader, whoever is selected will be supported by the Statewide Program Leads, Liz Sparks and Mike Hauser.

We have been on an incredible journey together, one that I am immensely proud to have been able to contribute. When I interviewed the search committee and stakeholders laid out an organization that needed significant stewardship at every level of organizational effectiveness: risk management, policy and procedure, human resources, culture, program quality, resource generation, academic productivity, cultural responsiveness, and faculty/professional development. In partnership with each of you, our volunteers, and stakeholders I am proud of how much has been accomplished, much on each and every one of these fronts, and on so many more.

  *   27% 4-H enrolled youth membrs since 2018, we are well on our way towards 20,000 True Leaders by 2025 with 6,371 youth even with COVID.
  *   1,600% increase in investment in the program from a newly professionalized (paid staff and better processes) Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation with steadily increasing corporate and partner support (Thank you Deb!)
  *   First Arizona 4-H journal articles<https://extension.arizona.edu/arizona-4-h-program-evaluation-research> in a very long time!! (Congrats to Josh Farella, Liz Sparks , Mike Hauser, Amy Parrott, Susan Sekaquaptewa, Juan Arias, Nick Morris, Megan Penrod, and Josh Moore)
  *   First 4-H curriculum published in a very long time!! (Way too many to list! So much amazing work done!)
  *   First 4-H faculty promotions in a very long time (Congrats Amy, Mike, and Liz!; Ashley you are up next!)
  *   40+ Extension publications during 2020 and has continued since!!!!
  *   Built an entire ecosystem of state 4-H events: Arizona 4-H Summit, Arizona 4-H Stock Show & Roundup (Expo), Engaged Citizens Event, Emerging Leaders Event, and Arizona 4-H State Ambassadors; and, we reimagined J.O.L.T. to save it from sunsetting.  Increased state team to implement these events to take planning load off of county-based professionals.
  *   Expanded our youth delegations to national opportunities: Established a statewide delegation to the National Shooting Sports Championships, increased number of youth opportunities for attendance at WNR, NAILE in Louisville, leading the country with number of teams attending the True Leaders in Equity in D.C., again sent delegates to National 4-H Conference, invested in attendance to CWF, and National 4-H Summits.
  *   Implemented policy and procedure that ensured Arizona 4-H creates opportunities for all youth, including urban, LGBTQ+, Latinx, and indigenous youth.
  *   4-H pledge is translated into Hopi, Dine, Mohave, and Apache. Dine translation presented for the first time at AZ 4-H Summit by youth. Hopi presented for the first time at In-Service.
  *   Redeveloped a state 4-H office after many years hiatus (We have gone from 4 to 8+ people with no additional state investment)
  *   Removed the barrier for volunteer background checks thanks to the leadership of the Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation.
  *   Re-assessed Arizona 4-H policy and procedure to ensure best practice, developed handbooks for all 4-H families and volunteers.
  *   Re-assessed our entire 4-H project ecosystem, and have built out curriculum support for volunteers and professionals
  *   Numerous 4-H faculty are PI or co-I on millions of dollars of grants, up from almost no 4-H faculty leading grants. I alone was PI or Co-I on over $2 million in that time
  *   Established partnerships to expand the 4-H footprint and to build a volunteer base with VFW and Arizona National Guard.
  *   Established and implemented an annual end-of-year survey, that with the right participation would establish a county and statewide program quality and volunteer index to measure program quality and knowledge change resulting from our club-based program.
  *   Established a volunteer recognition program and revived the Arizona 4-H Hall of Fame
  *   Established an annual event to celebrate and showcase the successes of Arizona 4-H, the Clover Ball
  *   Expanded 4-H Fab Labs to nearly half of our counties - We have set the pathway for a coordinated curriculum!
  *   James 4-H Camp infrastructure and program has been stewarded to be ready for the next level of infrastructure investment and program implementation to center James 4-H Camp as the place where Arizona 4-H convenes.
  *   Arizona 4-H professionals have taken on leadership roles in contributing to the National 4-H movement (Access, Equity, and Belonging Committee; Thrive Champions; and Western Institute)

The thing I am most proud of is leading the significant cultural transformation among our program area and fostering collegiality among our ranks. You have set a standard of professionalism that any state would be proud of, and you are starting to rely on each other and collaborate in exciting ways, please continue to work to enhance these efforts. The part of my departure for me that is hardest, is leaving people that I have grown to care deeply about both professionally and personally. I hope you know that I will always be your advocate and champion and I wish you the very best in your professional and personal lives.

No leader is right 100% of the time, but the best leaders make decisions that they believe are the best for the organization at the time with information they have. As a trained livestock judge, I have always used the judging framework to both think through the challenges we face and determine reasons, if I felt I could communicate and justify the reasons clearly, then it was a decision I was comfortable making. There has been many hard decisions and many decisions that with different information in hind-sight I would have made different, yet, I believe as the list above has proved we have made the best better.  Thank you for your partnership and I hope that you will continue to move Arizona 4-H forward, to make opportunities to serve all Arizona youth because every Arizona youth deserves a high-quality 4-H positive youth development experience.

Arizona Cooperative Extension and 4-H youth development are now facing a significant leadership change. In change, you can find excitement and fear.  I hope that you choose to focus on the possibilities and each of you will take an active role in ensuring 4-H continues to build on the many successes that you/we have accomplished, because no matter who is leading at the top each of you are leading in your communities and are working towards ensuring high-quality positive youth development experiences for the youth in your communities.

With deep appreciation, I say thank you.

Jeremy
______________________________________________________________________________________
Jeremy Elliott-Engel, Ph.D.
Arizona 4-H State Program Leader & Associate Director, Arizona Cooperative Extension
Associate Extension Specialist, Agricultural Education, Innovation, and Technology
The University of Arizona
Forbes 301D, P.O. Box 210036
1140 E. South Campus Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85721
Ofc: 520-621-3390
Pronouns: he/him/his

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The University of Arizona sits on the original homelands of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land since time immemorial. Aligning with the university's core value of a diverse and inclusive community, it is an institutional responsibility to recognize and acknowledge the people, culture and history that make up the Wildcat community. At the institutional level, it is important to be proactive in broadening awareness throughout campus to ensure our students feel represented and valued.

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