Findings from a recent survey by the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems (2020) found that respondents from land grant universities were half as likely as their peers from nonprofits to expect significant racial equity related progress in the next five years, emphasizing the importance of increasing the capacity of these land grant professionals – especially those in Cooperative Extension – to work more effectively in addressing social inequities. The UK College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment Office of Diversity, with significant organizing support from Nicole Breazeale, Jeff Young, Marcus Bernard, Heather Hyden, an Advisory Council, and a Curriculum Development Committee, has developed a nine-month leadership training and certificate program for Extension Agents focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This professional development opportunity for Extension educators at KSU and UK involves 20 hours of instruction and a final DEI project. Funding has been provided by a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant. 

The inaugural cohort of 12 Agents began in March of 2021. The program kicked off on March 4^th with a panel of expert national presenters who shared their experience doing DEI work around the country. The first official session involved collaboratively establishing group norms and a team building exercise. The second session built a shared vocabulary and used a story circle methodology for participants to reflect on their own experiences of oppression and privilege, emphasizing deep listening and creating a space for vulnerability and authentic dialogue. The third session provided a powerful historical snapshot of the history of racism in the USDA and US-based food system and introduced what Kentucky groups, such as Black Soil, are doing to raise awareness and address inequities. The fourth and fifth sessions introduced “intersectional” thinking through guest speakers who shared research and best practices around supporting rural, LGBTQ youth and repositioning power to female and BIPOC farmers and food insecure populations. Participants are now working on their final group projects, which include everything from building local diversity coalitions to working with Extension Councils to developing youth programming to providing targeted training and educational opportunities for other Agents. These projects will be presented at the Kentucky Extension Conference in December 2021. 

The results have been extremely positive to date, as indicated by the Qualtrics evaluations collected after every session. In response to the question, “Rate the overall quality of today’s program,” the average score is 4.5 (out of a 5.0 scale). Comments include the following: “I loved the research presented by Kait. And that it ended with options for things we can actually DO. This gave me ideas for a project.  Excellent!” “I love how this program takes me out of my comfort zone.  It gives me things to think about and shows me how to grow as a person.” “Each month this program provides the opportunity to learn and engage with others who are committed to implementing change.”