STAFF
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Director
 Joran VIERS
Joran VIERS Mr. Joran Viers is the County Program Director and Agriculture Agent with the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service, and is a native of that county. He grew up in rural California, Costa Rica and Arkansas. Viers returned to New Mexico in 1989 to attend UNM, from where he graduated (summa cum laude) with a degree in Biology and an emphasis in plant ecology. After completing a Master's Degree from the University of Florida's Botany Department, he returned to Albuquerque, and was soon serving as the Agency Director for the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission. Joran left this position after six years and began his Extension Service career in 2003 as the Horticulture Agent. Currently, he is the administrative head of the Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service office. His areas of technical expertise are in sustainable agriculture, arboriculture, home gardening, insect and plant identification, and site diagnostics. Mr. Viers is available to speak to groups on these and other topics. |
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Administrative Assistant 4-H
 Virginia CHAVES
Virginia CHAVES Virginia Chaves is the Records Tech II of Bernalillo County Extension Service and has worked for extension for almost eleven years. She maintains the 4-H member database and other 4-H responsibilities as well as assisting with any other office administration needs. She was a 4-H Leader for 10 years, along with her husband James, while her three sons were growing up and has an appreciation for the 4-H Program. |
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Administrative Assistant ICAN
 Monica HOLGUIN
Monica HOLGUIN Monica Holguin, I am the ICAN Administrative Assistant for Bernalillo County Extension Office. I have been employed with New Mexico State University for nearly four years now. I am bilingual and I have an associate degree in applied science and I take pride in my work with Bernalillo County Extension Services. |
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Lead Administrative Assistant
 Lauri MARTINO
Lauri MARTINO Lauri joined the staff at Bernalillo County Extension in June 2000 as the ICAN program secretary. She became the County Director's Administrative Assistant in November 2005, the position which she currently holds. |
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ICAN Food and Nutrition Education
 Donna (PARKER) SAUTER, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Donna (PARKER) SAUTER NMSU Cooperative Extension County Family & Consumer Science Agent. Ideas for Cooking & Nutrition Program Coordinator Donna Sauter is our Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition (ICAN) Coordinator. She has worked in the field of child nutrition, public health and nutrition education for over 20 years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Home Economics from New Mexico State University as well as a Master of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of New Mexico. Donna is a registered dietitian. She has an interesting variety of work experience ranging from working with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program to working with adults with developmental disabilities in a long term care setting. Most recently, she was the Nutrition Education and Training Manager for the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, Family Nutrition Bureau. Donna is excited to work with the ICAN Program in Bernalillo County to expand and enhance the audience who receives this very important and life-changing education. |
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Home Economist + Food Specialist
 Cindy (SCHLENKER) DAVIES
Cindy (SCHLENKER) DAVIES Cindy works for NMSU in Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service as the Home Economist and served as the urban 4H agent 3 years. Cindy has over 25 years experience in the Home Economics, K-12 Education, Child Care and Youth Development field in Washington State and New Mexico. As an educator Cindy has taught and helped develop curriculum for; special education pre-school and kindergarten, mid and high school home economics, parent education and life skills for TANF (temporary assistance for needy families) clients. Cindy has developed workshops and presented training to hundreds of child care providers and youth development workers around New Mexico. Cindy was a program manager and child care specialist for New Mexico's Children Youth and Families Department for over 8 years working out of the Family Nutrition Bureau. During her years at CYDF Cindy helped write the child care 5 year strategic plan for the state of New Mexico. The plan included infant, toddler, pre-school, school age and special needs child care policies and procedures. Serving and educating New Mexico's children, families and youth professionals have long been Cindy's passions. As a Home Economist for Cooperative Extension service Cindy does a variety of classes and programs in the area of food and nutrition including diabetes education, food safety and preservation, family finance to name a few. A native New Mexican Cindy received her Bachelor of Science in Vocational Home Economics from Eastern New Mexico University and a Masters of Arts in Agriculture and Extension Education from New Mexico State University. She also earned an associate's degree from Pacific School of Theology in Seattle Washington. Cindy lives in Albuquerque with her husband of 25 years Pat and they have 3 sons. |
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4-H Youth Education
 Cassidy (BYERLEY) CORDOVA
Cassidy (BYERLEY) CORDOVA Cassidy grew up just West of Albuquerque in Gallup. She was a McKinley County 4-H'er, rodeo'd and ranched. Cassidy graduated from New Mexico State University in 2004 where she received her Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Education and Extension. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree through distance education courses at NMSU. After graduation in 2004, Cassidy moved to Amarillo, TX where she was the Manager of Youth Programs for the American Quarter Horse Association. Texas was just a little too far from home and decided to move back to New Mexico and to continue her passion, working with youth. Cassidy joined the Bernalillo County Extension Service January, 2010! 4-H made Cassidy the person she is today and is truly excited about being able to give back to the program that gave her so much. |
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Natural Resources + 4-H Education
 John GARLISCH
John GARLISCH John is originally from rural Central Illinois where he grew up on a family farm. He was actively involved in 4-H representing Illinois at National Junior Horticulture Judging and at the National Club Congress. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a BS in Horticulture (2002) and an MS in Agriculture Consumer Economics (2008). He served in various leadership capacities with the Hort Club, Collegiate 4-H, and Beta Sigma Psi (National Lutheran Fraternity), and he was a member of Pi Alpha Xi (Honorary Horticulture Fraternity) and Alpha Zeta (Honorary Agriculture Fraternity). During his schooling, he studied for a semester at Wageningen Agriculture University in the Netherlands and interned in Germany with the Deutsche Bauern Verband (German Farmer's Union) working at an arboretum and a rhododendron nursery. John joined the Bernalillo County staff in Spring 2010. He is working with 4-H youth, assisting local farmers with business and production planning, facilitating agricultural educational programs and outdoor classroom projects with area schools, and answering questions from the public concerning the identification of plants and their culture, production, diseases, and pests. |
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Urban 4-H Education
 Robyn KELLEY
Robyn KELLEY Robyn has been a leader and innovator in the field of youth development for over 15 years. Her work began in high school as an underage drinking prevention advocate -- her most recognized work at the time garnered a Congressional Medal for Service presented by President Bill Clinton. Robyn's work as an Urban 4-H Agent reflects a positive youth development approach through the 4-H lens assuring that all youth are afforded the opportunity to grow into productive, healthy citizens. Now working on her Ph.D. in Youth Development, Robyn provides training with infectious energy leaving participants on fire for working with youth. |
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4-H + Agriculture Livestock
 Elliott SACHSE
Elliott SACHSE Elliott Sachse began his career sometime around the third grade; mowing old lady Scarbrough's expansive lawn. The left front wheel of her 18 inch lawn mower would arbitrarily fall off, and somehow, on occasion while starting the mower it would give you a shock. While mowing, she'd call him in from the front porch for a refreshing drink of lemonade that came from a pre-sugared can. She added more sugar to his glass to assure the concoction was adequately sweetened. Once the lemonade was supersaturated and the consistency of syrup, she proclaimed it ready, always mentioning, 'They never put enough sugar in the pre-sweetened powdery stuff.' He had a number of other jobs throughout high school and college in his home town of Las Cruces, N.M. including: construction grunt, car wash attendee, tin-knocker, greenhouse worker, and landscaper. He worked at cattle feed yard one summer in Kansas and had a failed career as a dishwasher at an Italian Restaurant where he was fired after one night. Elliott received a Bachelors Degree in Animal Science from New Mexico State University and a Masters Degree in Agricultural and Extension Education also from New Mexico State University. Upon graduation, he was employed at DeKalb Swine Breeders in Plains, KS. until he received his current position at NMSU- Bernalillo County Extension Service in 1992. His job responsibilities lie within the realm of the 4-H program which is the youth serving branch of the Extension Service. Elliott and his wife Vonnie have four children; Evan, Hannah, Jeremy and Heather. |
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Horticulture
 Cheryl Kent
Cheryl Kent Cheryl is a native New Mexican. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master's degree in Agronomy from New Mexico State University. She worked as a Soil Scientist for the USDA from 2006 through 2008 and she is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist. She has been with NMSU Cooperative Extension Service since December of 2009. |
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Computer Specialist I
 Brian HINDS
Brian HINDS |