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Community & Economic Development

Douglas M. Stienbarger – County Director, WSU Clark County Extension (Community & Economic Development Faculty), Doug.Stienbarger@co.clark.wa.us
Doug administers the office, managing fiscal and personnel resources serving to maximize the benefit of WSU Extension programs to the citizens of Clark County. Doug oversees the Small Acreage Program and the Watershed Steward program. Doug is also interested in farmland preservation, promoting local sustainable food systems, promoting farm-based businesses, and other community building around agricultural and natural resource policy issues. He serves as a member of Clark Conservation District Board.

Doug worked in Haiti, East and West Africa, first as a US Peace Corps volunteer and then for the University of Wisconsin on agroforestry, land and resource tenure (ownership), and other natural resource issues. He lived and worked in several states before coming to work in Clark County.

M.S. in Land Resources, Institute for Environmental Studies. University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1986. B.A. in Political Science. University of Texas–Austin. 1977.

Natural Resources

Watershed Steward

Jenifer Naas – Watershed Steward Coordinator, jenifer.naas@clark.wa.gov
Jen coordinates the Watershed Steward program, a joint effort of WSU Clark County Extension and the Clark County Clean Water Program. She recruits and trains Watershed Steward volunteers and coordinates activities allowing them to volunteer their time back into their communities.

Jen was born and raised in Western Washington. She worked as a city planner for Kent, Washington and environmental permitting for the King County Department Transportation before returning to school for her graduate degrees. Jen is an avid gardener and enjoys hiking and kayaking.

M.P.A – Public Administration, University of Washington. 2007.
M.U.P. – Urban Planning specializing in land use and restoration ecology, University of Washington. 2007
B.S. Environmental Policy and Planning, University of California, Davis. 1998

Small Acreage Program

Eric Lambert – Small Acreage Program Coordinator, eric.lambert@clark.wa.gov
Eric coordinates the Small Acreage Program, a joint effort of WSU Clark County Extension and the Clark County Clean Water Program. He works with landowners to help them better manage their properties (using best management practices), especially pertaining to issues around stormwater runoff. He also works with current and potential small acreage farmers.

Eric grew up in the rural upstate New York. After graduating from SUNY Albany in 2003, he spent seven years traveling throughout Asia and living in Taiwan where he taught English, wrote for a travel magazine, and volunteered on a permaculture farm. After returning to the United States, Eric joined AmeriCorps and took a position as Stormwater Education Coordinator with WSU Clark County Extension. He worked with the Small Acreage and Watershed Stewards programs to develop workshops and outreach materials and coordinate volunteers.

B.S. in History and Sociology, State University of New York - Albany, 2003.

4-H Youth Development

Karen Poulin, PhD. – 4-H/Youth Development Faculty, Karen.Poulin@clark.wa.gov
Karen is responsible for the overall leadership of the 4-H youth and adult development program which includes conducting, evaluating, and setting the educational tone and direction of the program in Clark County. This program reaches youth in kindergarten through 12th grade in all areas of the county. The 4-H club program includes approximately 450 volunteer 4-H leaders, 1550 youth, and 168 clubs. In addition the 4-H program with the WSU Master Gardener program reaches 2200 kindergarten through 5th graders in school enrichment programs.

Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, University of Oregon. 1993.
M.Ed., University of Massachusetts-Amherst. 1986.
B.S. in Botany, University of Vermont. 1982
 

Jodee Nickel – Food $ense and 4-H Youth Development Programs Coordinator, jodee.nickel@clark.wa.gov
Jodee leads the Food $ense Garden Enhanced Nutrition program to teach limited income children about nutrition through experiential gardening and cooking activities. She also coordinates the 4-H Restorative Community Service Garden program providing youth offenders safe and meaningful alternative community service where they work alongside adults mentors while developing life skills. Their produce is donated to a local food bank. Jodee works with students, teachers, Master Gardeners, Clark County Public Works, Clark County Juvenile Court, and others to provide these activities and opportunities to cultivate healthy young people.

B.A. in Sustainability/Community Development, The Evergreen State College. 2006.

Tammie Howard – 4-H Volunteer Coordinator, tammie.howard@clark.wa.gov
Tammie screens, interviews, and trains new 4-H leaders. She also answers leaders’ questions, helps place youth in 4-H clubs, promotes 4-H in the community and coordinates media information. If you are thinking of becoming involved in 4-H, contact Tammie for more information.

Food Safety and Nutrition

Sandra G. Brown – Food & Nutrition Faculty, browns@wsu.edu
Sandy Brown does educational programming in the areas of Food Safety and Nutrition in Clark and Cowlitz Counties. In the area of Food Safety Sandy helps consumers in handling food safely at home, as well as purchasing, storing, preparing and preserving food safely. She works with the Southwest Washington Health District and Cowlitz County Health Department in providing food service employees training in handling, preparing and serving foods safely. In addition she writes a column for The Columbian on current food safety issues.

Sandy works with the Food Advisor Volunteer Program in Clark County. The Food Advisors answer food safety and preservation questions seasonally, test pressure gauges, and help with handwashing demonstrations.

In the area of Nutrition, Sandy oversees the Food $ense program in Clark and Cowlitz Counties. This program employees three full time assistants that work with families with limited resources, teaching them how to shop, prepare, store and generally feed their families nutritionally on limited resources. Classes are held in schools, community centers, WIC clinics, and food banks.

M.A, in Adult & Continuing Education, Washington State University. 1980.
B.S. in Home Economics Education, Washington State University. 1974.

Family Nutrition Education Program

Cyndi L. Ellis, DTR – Extension Coordinator for the Food $ense Nutrition Education Program, elliscl@wsu.edu
Cyndi is responsible for developing and teaching nutrition education programs for limited-resource families and children. She works with students in elementary and middle schools, as well as elementary-age daycare. Her programs include hand washing lessons, taught in a fun, interactive way, nutrition series for third and fourth grade, after-school cooking classes for middle school students, and summer cooking camps.

Cyndi also teaches Diabetes Awareness and Education for adults, a series of five nutrition lessons that helps adults be more aware of their own diabetes care.

Nikki Smith – Food $ense Nutrition Educator, nikki.smith@clark.wa.gov
Nikki supports the Family Nutrition Education Program through program delivery to middle school students, mothers of young children that are being served by WIC, and other adult populations in the community. She graduated from Linfield College with a Bachelors in Health Sciences in 2004 and worked for the American Cancer Society as an Event Manager for the first two years after her graduation. During this time she also learned about their employee wellness programs and her passion for health education grew. Last year she worked for the Cowlitz County Health Department coordinating the Basic Food Nutrition Education Program. Since she was raised in Clark County, the opportunity to work with WSU Clark County Extension was one she could not pass up.

Elaine Schick – Food $ense Nutrition Educator, elaine.schick@clark.wa.gov
Elaine supports the Extended Family Nutrition Education Program through program delivery to elementary school students, pregnant and parenting teens, and other youth populations in the community via after school nutrition education programs at several community centers. Elaine is responsible for the literature-based first and second grade nutrition education programs and also delivers the third grade curriculum series. Elaine partners with the Vancouver Housing Authority's Rise & Stars Community Center, Affordable Housing Environments, Fruit Valley Family Resource Center and others to reach low-income youth in the community out side of school, teaching nutrition through fun interactive cooking clubs. Over the summer, Elaine works with youth in partnership with community agencies such as Parks & Rec, VHA R&S, ACE, and WSU-V. She earned a Bachelors in Home Economics from Western Washington University with an emphasis in Maternal and Child Nutrition, then used her degree to raise a family before returning to work full-time in the nutrition education field.

Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

Brenda Harrison – EFNEP Nutrition Educator, brenda.harrison@clark.wa.gov
Brenda has worked for WSU Extension with the Food $ense Programs for the past 5 years. She grew up participating in 4-H programs and later became a 4-H leader in Spokane and Chelan Counties, but has lived in Vancouver, WA, for the past two years. Since moving here, Brenda has worked in the community through EFNEP with such programs as Head Start, Community Centers, Salvation Army, YMCA Transitional Housing, and Clark College’s English as a Second Language program.

EFNEP works with 191 families and preschool students in 46 Head Start classrooms.

Horticulture

Commercial Horticulture

Charles A. Brun, Ph.D. – Horticulture Faculty, brunc@wsu.edu
Charles provides technical production assistance and education to the horticultural industry. He works with area landowners seeking production and marketing advice, especially as it pertains to the nurseries, Christmas trees, and greenhouse production. Charles has a background in production, marketing, and pest management for tree fruits, small fruits, and medicinal herbs. Charles also oversees the WSU Master Gardener Volunteer Program.

PhD in Horticulture, Washington State University. 1983.
M.S. in Horticulture, University of Minnesota. 1979
B.S. in Forestry, University of Minnesota. 1975.

WSU Master Gardener

Carolyn Gordon – WSU Master Gardener Coordinator, carolyn.gordon@clark.wa.gov
Carolyn organizes annual WSU Master Gardener volunteer training and coordinates volunteer activities. Through the WSU Master Gardener Program, volunteers provide research based information on home horticulture to the public to promote correct and reduced use of gardening chemicals, low impact landscaping, the use of native plants, xeriscaping, and other environmentally friendly gardening practices. Carolyn also coordinates and facilitates answer clinics, speakers bureaus, and public gardening workshops. Contact Carolyn for more information on the WSU Master Gardener program.

Since arriving in Vancouver in 1994, Carolyn has been active in PTA, Little League, Newcomer’s Club, Columbia River HS Parents groups and other non-profit organizations, often in a leadership capacity. She also trained as a Clark County Master Gardener in 2002. She and her husband operate a small Christmas Tree Farm near La Center. She has one son entering his Junior year at WSU with a major in Criminal Justice. Before coming to Clark County, Carolyn supervised an Adult Literacy Volunteer Program for the San Bernardino County Library in Grand Terrace, CA before moving to Vancouver.

MS in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California-Irvine.
BS in Biochemistry, University of California-Riverside

Office Support

Cathy Higley – Office Assistant II, Cathy.Higley@clark.wa.gov
Cathy supports the WSU/Clark County Extension office through her work processing daily financial transactions, purchasing, and ensuring equipment maintenance.

AAS in Office Administration, Clark College. 1989.