This professional development session is designed to meet multiple goals: identify resources and strategies for increasing our cultural competencies as Extension professionals; explore cultural perspectives of families; discuss research and extension efforts that address immigrant farmworker needs; and learn about the experience of newer immigrant populations in NYS communities. This will involve a mix of plenary sessions and concurrent sessions.
To develop relevant education programs, Extension professionals must understand changing family structures, immigrant perceptions on community acceptance and immigrant farmworkers' contributions to local communities, the shifting needs of local communities, and the impacts of global trends. Only when we understand issues and when we take steps to increase our cultural competencies can we deliver meaningful programs for our constituencies. Presenters- Mary Jo Dudley, Eduardo Gonzalez Jr

In our changing legal and social climate, more and more non-traditional families are willing to be open about who they are and to insist on being treated with the same respect and dignity as more conventional families. This workshop will discuss how sexual orientation and gender identity create differences in family structures, the types of issues and concerns particular to such families, and how Cooperative Extension services and programs can be inclusive of these structures and issues. Topics will include same-sex parents, children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity, parents who have come out as lgbt after beginning parenting, ways in which same-sex couples build families, and issues particular to inter-racial families. The workshop is interactive and participants are encouraged to share their concerns and questions.
Thursday 9:15 - 10:45AM
Presenter - Gwendolyn Dean

Like other community-based organizations, Extension staff face ever-increasing demands to demonstrate, communicate and enhance the public value of their work. Some tools, such as outcome measurement (logic)models, are being used more systemically toward those ends. Yet certain kinds of long-term capacity- and community-building work, while central to what many understand as part of the essence of extension, remains invisible and unaccounted for. The result is a tension that is sometimes captured in the question, ""But how do we count caring?""
In this workshop, I will suggest that part of the tension arises from an often unarticulated contest between differing conceptual frameworks – a “professional public management? frame and a “personal relations? frame – for understanding community-based education and service. I will open a discussion of the differing implications of these contesting frameworks not only for how people think about their work, but for our efforts to do, evaluate, account for and improve that work. I will show how taking more seriously the marginalized ""personal relations"" framework could help the extension system more honestly embrace multiculturalism and diversity; direct our attention to important work that is often marginalized; revitalize a weakened public commitment nurturing human and community potential; better link accountability with program improvement; and help staff learn about their work in the course of engaging in learning conversations about “what matters.? Finally, I will point to some approaches to accountability, evaluation and organizational learning that can help capture and communicate this “hidden"public value and impact. In developing this workshop, I will draw upon a three-year action research case study (and a soon-to-be-published Extension discussion brief) that forms the basis for this work.
Thursday 9:15-10:45AM
Presenter - Margo Hittleman

According to the 2000 Census, the NYS Finger Lakes population of people stating that they were of Hispanic Origin jumped over 61% from 1990, increasing from 3,278 to 5,299. After Cornell Cooperative Extension conducted discussions with several agencies, three audiences were identified who need better access to information and educational materials for the Spanish speaking audience: the Hispanic/Latino community, those businesses that employ Spanish language employees and agencies that serve the Hispanic/Latino community. A task force was formed to determine the needs of these audiences and several projects were initiated over the past several three years. Collaborations between businesses and community members were initiated to share information about Hispanic and United States culture and laws. These collaborations include: Multi-Cultural Task Force and Web Site, Bank Survey, Powerpoint Presentation on driving laws and ESL and Spanish language workshops. Each project will be described; website and powerpoint will be demonstrated.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenter - Beth Claypoole

Building and sustaining partnerships across difference is key to Extension educators successfully positioning themselves to work effectively with diverse audiences. As the demographic make-up of communities throughout New York State continue to change, Extension educators must be prepared with the understanding, awareness and skills to develop the authentic relationships necessary for building and sustaining partnerships with new, emerging and historically excluded populations.
In this workshop participants will examine the importance of openness and honesty while developing an understanding of how trust is gained, developed and sustained in relationships across differences. Through interactive group dialogue and individual reflection on the culture of power, participants will learn to identify barriers to the full participation of diverse staff and community members. Participants will also identify strategies for co-creating efforts and working in partnership to implement processes and solutions that integrate the voices and interest of all, not just of those in the majority.
Thursday 11:15AM - 12:45PM
Presenters - Eduardo González, Jr., Gwendolyn Dean, James Young

A collaboration between four well-respected community organizations (CCE-Tompkins, the Multicultural Resource Center, the Greater Ithaca Community Center, and Tompkins Community Action), the Natural Leaders Initiative (NLI) partners with and supports emerging leaders (those without formal leadership roles) from low/moderate-income communities and communities of color who have a demonstrated passion, commitment and aptitude for improving community life.
Increasing diversity in public leadership is oft-stated goal of democratic communities, but one that has been difficult for most communities to fully achieve. Research demonstrates that leadership development initiatives designed specifically to address the needs of people in these under-represented groups can successfully engage new groups of citizens in formal public leadership. In the NLI model, cohorts of approximately 15 emerging leaders are selected to participate in 12 group sessions over a six-month cycle. These sessions offer skill-and knowledge-building, support for individual action projects, peer networking and alliance-building, community networking, and mentoring. After the six-month cycle, interested participants have access to continued mentoring, periodic support group meetings, access to additional training, and the opportunity to help develop future cohorts. Developed as a participatory action research project, NLI also engages the participants as integral partners in program development, and enhances the leadership capacities of the collaborating agencies, their staff, participants and volunteers.
This workshop will present the NLI model, the research on which it was based, and the program's challenges and successes to date.
Thursday 11:15AM- 12:45PM
Presneters - Margo Hittleman, Nancy Potter, Audrey Cooper

With the rollout of the CCE Comprehensive Affirmative Action and Diversity Plan (CAADP) comes the challenge of creating welcoming and inclusive work environments at CCE. This effort requires intentional organizational change strategies that promote personal, interpersonal and organizational movement. In this workshop presenters will share current organizational change practices on diversity implemented through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service’s (CSREES) Change Agents State (CAS) project. Using the CAS Tools for Change Framework, workshop facilitators will draw from Cornell Cooperative Extension’s experience and active engagement in the CAS project to highlight replicable diversity and inclusion strategies including the creation of a diversity task force; the development of an association statement on diversity; and ongoing diversity competency development for all staff. In addition to sharing best practices from various state Extension systems, presenters will also incorporate current examples of diversity and inclusion initiatives from local CCE associations. Through this workshop participants will enhance their awareness, knowledge and skills for implementing, supporting and/or enhancing association-based diversity initiatives.
Thursday 2:00-3:30PM
Presenters - Eduardo González, Jr., Audrey Cooper, Gwendolyn Dean

People often view science as mystical or as a field restricted to trained professionals. As an antidote to these views, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's citizen science projects engage the public deeply in the scientific process. Celebrate Urban Birds! gives anyone a chance to have positive and direct experiences with urban nature in order to ultimately promote conservation. While our overall goal is to engage people in gathering data on birds to better understand how birds are affected by urban landscapes, our focus is on overcoming barriers to public involvement in the sciences. We reach out to new audiences though accessible and flexible projects, partnerships, and exciting events. Celebrate Urban Birds! has already reached over ten thousand individuals and includes partnerships with over 500 organizations in both formal and informal educational settings. Over 70% of our partner organizations are working with underserved audiences.
Participants in this workshop will: (1) become familiar with citizen science programs at the Lab of Ornithology; (2) better understand how to engage the public in real science through many different entry points including the arts, education, conservation, community-building, and accessible data collection; (3) learn more about Celebrate Urban Birds in New York City in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC.
Thursday 2:00-3:30PM
Presenters - Karen Purcell , Gretchen Ferenz, Susan Bryson Earle, Emily Gunter Gayton,

Authentic conversations and dialogues about diversity are often perceived and/or experienced as a source of tension and conflict for individuals. Often our ability to have authentic conversations are stifled by our not feeling adequately skilled or having enough practice, power dynamics in our relationships, not wanting to say the “wrong� thing, issues of safety – or lack thereof, and/or or the belief that nothing will change. Whatever the reason, our inability to have these conversations keeps us from developing awareness, understanding and skills across differences. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to a process centered on raising awareness and encouraging dialogue about differences. Presenters will engage participants in an interactive experience grounded in adult learning principles that will expose them to the concepts of dominant and excluded group membership, the role that feelings can and should play in creating less oppressive relationships and environments, moving from debate to dialogue, and the use of talking circles as an approach to engage community members in creating safe and respectful environment for the exchange of thoughts and experiences. As a result of participating in this workshop participants will enhance their awareness and skills for supporting and/or facilitating difficult conversations on diversity.
Friday 8:30 - 10:00AM
Presenters - Eduardo González, Jr., Audrey Cooper, Gwendolyn Dean

This workshop will raise awareness of mental illness as a brain disorder; address stigmatism, including "sticks and stones language"; explore trends of mental illness impacts on the workplace (ADA, reasonable accommodation, improved treatment allowing individuals to return to work,etc.); and workplace implications such as disclosure and confidentiality. Individuals with personal experience will talk about the impacts on their professional life. A representative of the National Alliance on Mental Illness – Finger Lakes chapter will speak about local resources. There will be some simple exercises and time for questions.
Friday 10:30AM - Noon
Presenters - Hannah Rudstam, Bruce McKee, Carole Stone,