Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

Unbelievably I am finishing up my second semester with the 4-H foundation and I do not think it would be possible for me to explain how much this organization has impacted me as a student, employee, and person. Eight months ago when I began my internship I knew it would be a great experience, but it ended up being much more than that and somewhat of a life lesson for me. What I have learned is that 4-H is all about opportunity and growth. It allows for children, teens and even adults to experience life and learn so many valuable skills that will build them into intelligent, loving, and caring inviduals. This became very evident to me when I began interviewing 4-H staff and hearing what they had to say about their positions and duties. Each and every person I interviewed was so passionate about 4-H and their responsibilites to this organization. They all love their jobs and they are truly out to better our youth and the communities we live in. Hearing and learning from the staff was the

Name: Annette Brown Current Position Title: Region 8 4-H Youth Development Program Specialist Hometown: Shenandoah, Iowa Education Background: B.S. from Iowa State University in Adult and Secondary Family and Consumer Sciences Education; M.S. from Iowa State University in Family Studies Past Work experiences: Student teaching in Nome, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher in Forest City and Lake Mills Iowa Hobbies/Interests: spending time with daughters’ and their activities, supporting Iowa 4-H Camp Your Ultimate Goal in working with 4-H: My ultimate goal is to help youth have many opportunities to learn and experience the variety of what 4-H has to offer so they will develop leadership, citizenship, communication, and personal life management skills as well as gain knowledge in the areas they choose to explore. Annette was a 6 year 4-H’er in the Tarkio Blue Belles 4-H Club in Page County, Iowa (where 4-H originated), and enjoyed project areas like Dairy Cattle, Clothing,

Name: Gail Castillo Current Position Title: Regional Program Specialist / 4-H Youth Development Hometown: Latimer, Iowa Education Background: BS – Social Work; MS – Agricultural Education Past Work experiences: I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa. That is where I was immersed in the Spanish language and a bit of French. Hobbies/Interests: Reading, watching ISU football and men’s basketball Ultimate Goal in working with 4-H: My ultimate goal is that 4-H continue to be a place for all youth and adults to learn together and make a positive difference in the communities around them. When Gail returned home from Africa, there was a county paid position open for 4-H in Franklin County. She was hired and worked part time while commuting for her Master’s degree at Iowa State. Gail thought once her degree was complete, she would move and work in extension in another part of the country, but as she was finishing her studies she had h

Name: Lisa Berkland Current Position: Regional 4-H Youth Development Specialist Hometown : Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin Education: B.S. Home Economics Education and M.S. Education both from UW-Stout Past Work experiences: 4-H Agent, Dunn County Extension Hobbies/Interests: reading, biking Your Ultimate Goal in working with 4-H: Her ultimate goal is to be able to provide opportunities for youth where they can positively meet their needs for belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. More simply put, when she was young, she noticed that 4-H was a program that offered success to youth that wasn’t dependent on academic or athletic ability. Her goal is to be able to continue providing those opportunities and help our system be flexible enough to be relevant within our current culture. Lisa was a nine year 4-H member in Wisconsin. Her projects included Food & Nutrition, Clothing, Photography and Knitting. She was a member of the Hebron 4-H club and she absolutely l

Name: Janet Toering Current Position: Youth Program Specialist and Connecting, Learning, and Living Program Director for 4-H Hometown: Waukee, Iowa Education: Family and Consumer Science Education and Family Environment/Human Relations from ISU. Masters in Family and Consumer Science Education with an emphasis in Communication and Curriculum development from ISU. Past Work Experiences: High school teacher in Erlum, Iowa. 4-H Communications and Secretarial for 4-H camp. Hobbies: Combining living with her work, being outdoors, exploring Iowa with 13 year old son, Traveling, reading, and piano lessons. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: Improve the quality of life in Iowa and the planet. Janet was a member in 4-H for about four years growing and really loved it. She now works to promote the curriculum in the Connecting, Living and Learning program. More specifically she works with Growing in the Garden for Kindergarten through third grade children to develop tools used for growing

Name: Jay Staker Current Position: Extension Youth Development Specialist - 10 years. Hometown: Woodward, Iowa Education: Undergraduate degree in Zoology with an emphasis in Fresh Water from Buena Vista. Masters degree in Science Education from Iowa State University. Past Work Experiences: Worked on the Meat Processing Team for Oscar Meyer. Taught high school science in Ballard for 25 years. Hobbies: Fishing, reading, writing, biking, and woodworking. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To assist in making 4-H viable in the 21st century and better serve our youth. Jay works in the Extension office here at Iowa State and is the title director for E-SET and the associate director for Education for the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. His roles support science education for children in Iowa, developing partnerships for science outreach and funding development. He also tries to stay current with technology while working with the Iowa Youth Technology Team. When asking Jay about his job he

Name: Mitch Hoyer Current Position: 4-H Youth Development Program Specialist Major Responsibilities: Policy and Risk Management and Educational Design and Delivery. Hometown: Latimer, Iowa. 4-H Member for 9 years. Education: Two B.S. degrees from Iowa State University in Animal Science and Agricultural Education. Completing Masters Degree at Iowa State in Agricultural Education and Studies in 2011. Past Work Experiences: High School agriculture teacher/FFA advisor in Sac City, Iowa (1981-1986). Seed Sales Specialist in Cenex/Land ‘O Lakes (1986-1989). Iowa State Extension (1989 – Current). Hobbies: Attending ISU sports and cultural events, golf, reading, gardening. Trying to become a better cook, have lots to learn, enjoy experimenting with new “rubs” for meat cuts. But compared to the people on the TV show “America’s Worst Cooks, I could be the next Emeril. Ultimate Goal in 4-H: To do whatever I can to promote Program Policy. When I first started talking with Mitch h