UW Extension reports AED hire in progress and flags housing summit training

Mallory, representing UW Extension, updated the committee on staffing and programming. She said final interviews for the Area Extension Director (AED) position have concluded and the county has a verbally accepted offer; staff are waiting for HR processes to finalize the hire and hope to have an overlap period so both the interim and new AED can attend the next meeting together.

"We do have a verbally accepted offer," Mallory said, adding the aim is to have someone in the role by the end of the month.

Mallory also highlighted recent programming: a community development educator from outside Marathon County presented a meeting facilitation training to about 30 people, and registration is live for a housing summit targeting contractors and housing practitioners. She invited committee members to suggest practitioners who might benefit and encouraged rotation of individual educators to present their plans of work in future monthly meetings once the new board is seated.

Committee members supported scheduling individual educators for deeper monthly reports and discussed using that forum to link local priorities to educators’ annual plans of work. Mallory said educators create plans of work annually based on community assessments and can tailor programming to committee feedback.