The extended vacancy of the Youth, Families and Communities Director position (vacant 17 months) has given us time to consider program needs and how we, as a Division, can best meet those needs moving forward. After reflection, collecting recommendations from the respective Statewide Directors and gathering input from the broader ANR community, I have decided not to fill the YFC Director position. Interim Co-directors Shannon Horrillo and Katie Panarella have provided excellent leadership and afforded the Division an opportunity to invest the unused salary provision to further strengthen and support the YFC program.
Funds designated for the YFC Director position will be reinvested into YFC programs to support growth and new opportunities. The statewide program directors identified program integration among 4-H Youth Development, Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences, Master Food Preserver and Master Gardener programs as a key priority. In support of their vision, we will hire a Program Integration Coordinator who will support efforts to integrate across programs and disciplines to maximize extension efforts and identify new multidisciplinary funding opportunities. This is consistent with the original intent of having a YFC program and a goal within the UC ANR strategic plan to better integrate and focus our efforts. The position will be released in the coming months with interviews anticipated in May.
Subsequently, based on the directors' recommendations, we will invest in hiring a Master Food Preserver and Food Entrepreneurship Academic Coordinator. This position will bring together our existing work with home food preservation, cottage foods and innovation in agriculture to best address the food security needs of California and to pursue funding opportunities to implement programming. Additionally, we will hire a part-time 4hOnline Data System Administrator to centralize some 4hOnline administrative functions at the state level, reducing the administrative workload on 4-H county-based staff and increasing technical assistance and support.
We believe this plan will provide the needed support to position YFC for growth and to meet future needs. Shannon Horrillo will continue permanently as the Statewide 4-H Director and Katie Panarella as the Statewide Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences Director and Co-director of the Master Food Preserver Program. They will continue working in partnership with Missy Gable, the Statewide Master Gardener Director and Co-director of the Master Food Preserver Program to lead these high-priority ANR statewide programs and integration in ways that leverage their assets for greater collective impact.
Best regards,
Wendy Powers
Associate Vice President
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