Marathon County Extension introduces Jen McNelly as area extension director

Extension staff introduced Jen McNelly as the new area extension director and invited her to describe her background to the committee.

"So like Mallory said, I previously served in a role as a natural resources educator for Central Wisconsin," McNelly said, adding she had worked closely with Marathon County planning and zoning and earlier served as a water resource specialist in Portage County. McNelly said she has worked in Central Wisconsin for several years and is "super happy to continue to work with local government as well as UW Extension going forward."

Staff told the committee McNelly will serve as department head for the Marathon County Extension Office and will also cover Portage, Wood and Waupaca counties. The committee heard that staff expect McNelly to be "hitting the ground running" in her second week on the job.

The extension update also highlighted a small-scale grower conference aimed at Hmong farmers next week at the conference center, with planners expecting about 100 participants. Staff named Janelle Ware (horticulture educator) and Gao New Tao (Hmong farmer outreach specialist) as local collaborators and noted the packet includes a link to event information and a list of sponsors.

Committee members welcomed McNelly and thanked extension staff for the update; no formal action was taken.