The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Annual Conference was held as a virtual meeting, January 12 – 14, 2021. The presentation of Excellence Awards was made on the 14th, presented by Rachel Lyons, chair, Department of 4-H Youth Development.
Graham Bastian
Wilbur M. Runk Award
Recipient: Graham “Geb” Bastian
Mentor: Debra Palmer-Keenan, Associate Extension Specialist, Nutritional Sciences
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is an Extension program overseen by Debra Palmer Keenan. EFNEP aims to teach diverse, low-income New Jersey families to eat healthy on a budget. An often-used strategy in nutrition education programs, like EFNEP, is to encourage reduced sodium intake by substituting salt in recipes with other herbs and spices. However, these ingredients are usually expensive. Thus, it would be preferable for the program to create recipes that use herbs and spices already found in the homes of the low-income EFNEP participants. It is well-acknowledged in the nutrition education field that commonly used herbs and spices vary by racial/ethnic groups; however, little research has been done to determine differences in herbs and spices among Latino populations from varied regions who now live in New Jersey, (e.g., Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.). The Runk Award will support Mr. Bastian in implementing a cross-sectional survey among low-income adults from several racial/ethnic groups (including the aforementioned groups, as well as low-income White and Non-Hispanic Black EFNEP participants) to determine cultural differences in herb and spice usage among these groups, with the end goal of publications and informing the creation of more culturally and economically appropriate recipes for EFNEP and other interventions.
Matt Igo
Wilbur M. Runk Award
Recipient: Matt Igo
Mentor: Donald Schaffner, Distinguished Professor, Nutritional Sciences
The award will support research in the area of mathematical modeling to better understand how pathogens survive in low water activity foods, and research in bioinformatics for NGS of different strains of Salmonella to understand how the differences in survival are influenced by strain genomics.
Thierry Besancon
Merle V. Adams Award
Recipient: Thierry Besancon
Thierry is recognized for his excellence as Extension Weed Science Specialist where his statewide research and extension program focuses on weed management in Vaccinium species and vegetable crops, use of cover crops for vegetable production, and the impact of simulated dicamba drift to various vegetable crops. Thierry has authored or co-authored 15 research articles and book chapters and over 90 abstracts and proceedings. Since 2016, he has authored several Rutgers extension bulletins and delivered 68 presentations as invited speakers in New Jersey and other Mid-Atlantic states.
Mary Jane Willis Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Award
The EFNEP team
Recipient: The EFNEP Team
Nominator: Debra Palmer-Keenan, Associate Extension Specialist, Nutritional Sciences
The EFNEP team is led by Debra Palmer-Keenan and includes Marisol Ortiz and state level staff Geb Bastian, Het Desai-Shaw, and Jennifer Cunningham, who are devoted to ensuring that the diverse group of county supervisors are armed with all they need to provide culturally relevant, science-based lessons that are appropriate and applicable to people living in low-income areas, eating familiar foods, and shopping in local food stores. The county supervisors, Held El-Buri, Ricardo Kairios, and Sarah Malone-Ditzel, maintain a very talented multi-cultural staff of community and support staff who are trained to help their class participants eat better and get moving on a budget. The staff consists of Katherine Arce-Payano, Pierrera Brown, Johanny Casillas, Marisol Gutierrez, Betsy Muniz, Carmen Oriol-Robledo, Beatriz Piper, Shelly Urbaez, Maribel Velez, and Towana Wise. RCE’s EFNEP team surely walks the walk with regards to diversity, equality and inclusivity.
Bruce Clarke
Specialist of the Year Award
Recipient: Bruce B. Clarke, Extension Specialist, Turfgrass
The Specialist of the Year Award is determined with input from the ANR, 4-H, and FCHS Department members.
Bruce is recognized for his excellence as an Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Pathology. Bruce’s research focuses on the identification and control of biotic and abiotic diseases of cold season turfgrasses and in controlled studies to ascertain the relationship between environmental stress, cultural management, and disease development. As Director of the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science, Bruce has been recognized for his excellent leadership in fostering internationally recognized research, undergraduate, graduate, and continuing professional education, and outreach programs in support of the turfgrass industry.
Cecilia Diaz
Marycarmen Kunicki
Amy Rowe
Best of the Best Award
Recipients: The Food Waste Team. Cecilia Diaz, Marycarmen Kunicki, Amy Rowe, Sara Elnakib, Jennifer Shukaitis, Marissa Staffen
Nominator: Amy Rowe, Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent
Jennifer Shukaitis
Marissa Staffen
The Food Waste Team is recognized for their excellence in providing an innovative program to reduce food waste in schools in Paterson and New Brunswick schools. $76,452 per year is the estimated food cost savings in Paterson schools. The team also co-hosted a School Food Waste Reduction Summit advertised across the state. A School Food Waste Reduction Toolkit is included on the Rutgers Food Waste website.
RCE Award of Excellence Award
Candy Church
Volunteer Recipient: Candy Church
Nominator: Linda Horner, 4-H County Program Coordinator
Candy is recognized for her excellence in working as a volunteer in the 4-H Youth Development program for the past 37 years. She has volunteered to help fundraise for a county fairground, created and offered a public speaking presentation, and volunteered with the NJ 4-H Equine Presentations Team to highlight just a few of her volunteering efforts. In addition, Candy has co-chaired the 4-H Equestrian of the Year contest for the past 37 years. Hats off to our dedicated volunteer who “bleeds green!”
Layla Horvath
RCE Award of Excellence Award
Administrative Support Recipient: Layla Horvath
Nominators: Rhonda Breen-Simone, Carol Kesely, Lynn Reid, Yesenia Rivera, Heather Schultz, Talia Zirin
Layla is recognized for her Excellence in responding to the challenges brought about by COVID-19 and her high level of customer service resulting in a positive impact for financial transactions in Cooperative Extension. Layla is known as a consummate professional with great institutional knowledge; her willingness to go above and beyond with creative solutions to challenges during the pandemic is greatly appreciated by all who work with her. It should be noted that her nomination was co-authored by six administrative support staff representing all three Extension Departments as well as the 4-H Camp.
Jennifer Korneski
RCE Award of Excellence Award
Paraprofessional/Program Assistant Recipient: Jennifer Korneski
Nominators: Daryl Minch, Lisa Rothenburger and Carol Ward
Jennifer is very creative and a valued member of RCE of Somerset County since joining in February 2018. This position is unique in that it provides educational programs that supports both FCHS and 4-H work with youth. Jen rose to the challenge of providing education and continuing outreach during the pandemic through innovative programs and ideas, with several aspects of her work stand out, including teaching, speaking, and creative use of social media.
Lauren Errickson
Rachel Tansey
RCE Award of Excellence Award
Programmatic Staff Recipient: Lauren Errickson, Rachel Tansey
Nominators: Lauren – Cara Cuite; Rachel – Daryl Minch, Joanne Kinsey, Luanne Hughes & Matt Newman
Lauren: Since joining RCE in 2016, Lauren Errickson has consistently demonstrated excellence through her efforts to reduce food insecurity and improve health outcomes. She accomplishes work of the highest caliber from the field to the office, from community programming to academic presentations. Her contributions to a positive work environment are evident in the engaged, dedicated, and diverse teams she has built and the effective collaborations she has led across multiple disciplines. Lauren’s resourcefulness and creativity have generated over $1 million in external funding through collaborative efforts, and her ongoing dedication and commitment to the meaningful efforts she leads is unmatched.
Rachel: Rachel Tansy, Monmouth County Senior FCHS Extension Associate has been an FCHS staff member for over 19 years. She is creative, thoughtful, and committed to teamwork. She works tirelessly to provide outreach to clientele and support the statewide work of the FCHS department. Without an FCHS Educator in Monmouth County, Rachel has gone above and beyond her job description to take on many responsibilities. Some of her key projects include Get Moving Get Healthy NJ (GMGH) Workforce Wellness newsletter series, Healthy on The Job Lunch & Learn videos, participating in the Grow Healthy – USDA Team Nutrition Grant statewide team. Rachel is a co-editor for Visions and a host for FCHS Wellness Wednesdays webinars.
Matt Newman
Excellence Awards
Faculty Recipient: Matthew Newman
Nominator: Rachel Tansey
Matthew Newman has been with RCE since 2016. As a faculty member of the 4-H Department, his primary assignment is overseeing the 4-H Youth Development Program in Monmouth County as the county 4-H Agent. Since assuming his position, Matt has overseen significant changes not only in the county program, but also in the composition of the Monmouth RCE Office itself. Not long after being offered faculty reappointment, due to his leadership abilities and respect he garnered in his county office, he was appointed County Extension Department Head in early 2019.
