Distinguished Extension New Employee Award
2009
Tamra Jackson
- Dr. Tamra Jackson, Extension Plant Pathology Specialist, has rapidly developed a strong extension and applied research program with regional and national impact since joining the faculty in 2005.
- Dr. Jackson has rapidly become well known for her comprehensive knowledge of diseases and nematodes in corn and sorghum, and is a highly effective, engaging Extension Educator, whether speaking one-on-one, or delivering a lecture to several hundred people.
- Dr. Jackson has authored 8 NebGuides, 1 Extension Circular, 10 Conference Proceeding articles and 35 Crop Watch newsletter articles, submitted or published 3 refereed journal articles, 12 professional society meeting abstracts and 2 technical reports.
- Tamra has developed a strong statewide applied research program to support her Extension education program and has received external funding as a PI or co-PI totaling $994,566 since 2005.
- She has been invited to make 41 presentations in 9 different states.
- She has been a very active contributor to several ongoing UNL Extension programs, including Crop Protection Clinics, Crop Management and Diagnostic Clinics, Solution Days, Crop Watch newsletter and Market Journal. Overall she has participated in 11 UNL Extension programs with EARS reports, impacting 4,683 participants.
- She has also been active in graduate and undergraduate education. - She is currently advising 3 MS students and has given 13 invited lectures in Plant Pathology and Agronomy classes.
- She developed a new graduate course, Field Plant Pathology, which she has taught three times.
Sandra Barrera Fuentes
- She is a phenomenal teacher and actively engages each participant. She is very responsive to her clientele and changes her teaching style to meet the needs of each individual.
- She is an excellent team member and always willing to help other staff. She is well-known for her positive outlook and brings a great deal of energy to Extension.
- Going above and beyond expectations, she makes sure each individual client is connected to the resources they need in the community. In addition she challenges organizations, coalitions and agencies to go above and beyond in providing minority families with the best possible services.
- Sandra is an Extension Assistant with the Nutrition Education Program
- She has done an extraordinary job of forming collaborations and making Extension visible to the Hispanic population in Hall County
- Since beginning her Extension career in 2005, she has established over 15 new working partnerships in the Grand Island area.
- On average she works with over 200 limited-resource familes and 300 seniors each year. In the past reporting year Sandra had over 100 adult NEP graduates of which 97% showed a positive change in consuming foods from the food guide pyramid.
- She not only serves as an excellent translator and reviewer of Spanish NEP materials, but continually keeps other staff informed on issues important for minority populations.
- She is a regular contributor of articles in the local Spanish newspaper and is seen as a strong leader in the Hispanic community.
2008
Cherry de Guzman brings many different dimensions to the extension family. She has been a special part of the National 4-H Council grant providing funds to write a three part curriculum.
As a member of the Healthy Families and Communities Action Team, Cherry’s skill in evaluation has been used to get the team focused on writing and testing outcome indicators. Her knowledge of evaluation has helped move the entire team to a whole new level.
In order to make it more marketable, Cherry has taken the lead to write a new high school educator handout for the Poverty Simulation program.
“Having her on any team makes progress move faster and more effectively. She is truly an Extension team player.”
Lisa Kaslon has been an active Educator in Platte County since 2003. She can quickly identify critical issues, organize and lead teams, plan and develop programs that address the issues, and analyze the program to measure effectiveness.
Her career highlight is the Community Together Can after school program, designed to grow children intellectually, culturally, physically, social and emotionally. The program started with 88 students in 2003 and grew to 686 in 2007.
She is one of our 7 Habits facilitators.
“She cares for others, has excellent organizational skills, and has the ability to get things done.”
2007
Suat Irmak
This year’s winner of the Extension New Employee Award is a valued addition to the Extension Water Education Team because of his wealth of knowledge and leadership on water issues programming across the state of Nebraska.
He is an organizer and leader of the Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network, maximizing the net benefits of irrigated crop production through the adoption of newer technologies to measure evapotranspiration and soil water content. Some growers have reported 2-3 inches of annual irrigation water savings.
He has obtained more than $850,000 in funding as a principal investigator and is a member of teams that have been awarded an additional $2.3 million of financial support.
Since 2004 he has published 19 referred journal articles; seven technical publications in professional society proceedings and five Extension and educational publications. Please congratulate Suat Irmak, the New Employee Award winner.
2006 Marty Cruickshank
2006 Jennifer Rees
2005 Rob Eirich
2004 Mark Simmons
2004 Zainab Rida
2003 Deanna Peterson
2002 Susan Pearman
2001 Rosie Nold
2000 Elaine Shuck
1999 Kayla Hinrichs
1998 Crystal Fangmeier
1997 Ann Tvrdy
1996 Gary Tordrup
1995 Kathleen Anderson
