31 Years with LSU Ag Center - Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service

07/01/02 – present
Associate Professor/Extension State Specialist, School of Human Ecology, LSU AgCenter

06/12/95 – 06/30/02
Extension Associate, Family and Consumer Sciences, LSU AgCenter

11/15/90 – 06/11/95
Extension Parish Chair, Lincoln Parish, LSU AgCenter

10/01/90 – 06/11/95
Extension Home Economist, Lincoln Parish, LSU AgCenter

03/19/90 – 09/30/90
Extension Associate Home Economist, Lincoln Parish, LSU AgCenter

01/01/78 – 03/18/90
Extension Assistant Home Economist, Lincoln Parish, LSU AgCenter

09/01/77 – 12/31/77
Extension Assistant Home Economist, Morehouse Parish, LSU AgCenter

Recent Professional Accomplishments

Organizational Grant Development – Since 1995 developed grant proposals totaling over nineteen million dollars for the LSU AgCenter and received over 5 1/2 million in funds to enhance Extension programs. Since 2004, enhanced organizational capacity at grant writing mentoring field and state faculty in gaining skill at grant writing. Proposals have addressed development of Extension programs for parenting education, childcare provider education, family literacy, fathering, character education, community development, youth tobacco use prevention, after school enrichment, food safety, workforce preparation and substance abuse prevention.

Character Critters - 2000 - to present. Serves as Project Director for Character Critters. This preschool character education program has four components: character themed stories and activities for preschoolers, parent and child take home educational activities, storybooks and parenting for character presentations. The program was designed for trained early childhood volunteers to teach six concepts of character to children through the telling of 12 appealing stories about cute animals. Participating children receive a take-home storybook and take-home, parent-child character development activities to encourage parent involvement in character development of their young children. Educational presentations  are presented at parent meetings on instilling character traits in young children.

Since 2000, over 7,000 volunteer resource kits have been placed with volunteers and used in preschool classrooms, child care centers, libraries, and churches with preschoolers. Thousands of volunteers including early childhood educators and child care providers have been trained as storytellers and several hundred thousand preschool children have been told the stories. Character Critter storybooks (190,000) have been given to parents to read to their children.  Louisiana Extension faculty have been provided implementation resources, training, civic presentations, and public displays to help them implement the program in local communities.

Character Critters program evaluation revealed positive program impacts. The vast majority of teachers, early caregivers and parents (over 95%) reported gaining knowledge of practices to develop early understanding of character concepts in children and expressed intent to adopt recommended child development practices. Extensive teacher use of the resource with children has been documented. Children were reported by teachers and parents to have developed an awareness of positive character traits in a way that has meaning in their young lives. This popular program is also being implemented in many other states and several foreign countries.

Child Care Provider Training Program – since 2000.  This continuing education program helps fulfill state-mandated training (12 hours annually) of each child care professional. The current Child Care CDA training program focuses on helping child care professionals achieve their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.  Program evaluation conducted with child caregivers clearly demonstrates positive program impact on child caregivers. Child care providers showed statistically significant knowledge gain after all four training sessions in the Right from Birth training series. Evidence indicates that child care providers are using the information they learned, implementing and sustaining more recommended care practices beneficial to children.

Louisiana Childcare Recovery Entrepreneurship and Training Project - 2006 - present. In 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crippled child care capacity in south Louisiana due to child care center and family care homes damage and destruction. In partnership with Louisiana Department of Social Services a child care business start up and effective business operation training program is being conducted in south Louisiana to address child care capacity crisis.

Be Child Care Aware – 2003 - 2006. Focusing attention on issues of quality child care, this statewide public awareness campaign featured news print and radio information outreach, publications for parents and caregivers, public displays, multi-media presentations, and website development. News articles are provided to 63 newspapers and radio public service announcement are provided to 68 radio stations throughout Louisiana.

Family Literacy – 2003 - present.  Several family/early childhood literacy projects in collaboration with the LSU Mid-City Pediatric Clinic of Baton Rouge are being conducted including Take a Break With Your Kid and The Little Bookshelf. Family literacy packets are provided for parents of newborns who have limited resources. At the two week pediatric check at the clinic, parents are given a family literacy packet that includes a soft cover vinyl book, literature on importance of early literacy activity for infants, a child development calendar and other resources that foster quality parent-child interaction. Parents participating in The Little Bookshelf Program can also receive a small bookshelf and a book a month for the 1^st year of their baby's life to encourage family literacy activity.