Latest / Talking FACS / Future of FCS Extension: Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf on Leadership

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Future of FCS Extension: Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf on Leadership · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Thanks for joining us on Talking FACS. I am your host, Mindy McCulley,
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  Extension Specialist for Instructional Support with Family and Consumer Sciences
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  Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  Today, on this special edition of Talking FACS, I am sitting down with my friend, Dr.
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  Heather Norman-Burgdolf, to chat about what the future of Extension looks like
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  for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  Of course, if you are a frequent listener of the podcast, you are familiar with
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  Dr. Norman-Burgdolf but she has a new title.
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  She is our Assistant Extension Director for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  Welcome, Heather. I'm so excited that you're here today.
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  Thank you, Mindy, for having me. I love this idea of just having a conversation
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  of getting to know each other in a different way.
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  Yeah, because you've been around since the start of the podcast.
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  And so this will be a new way for our listeners to know you in a different role.
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  So let's just start with some general introductions, because while they have
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  been listening to you for the past eight years, we don't really go into background much on our show.
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  So let's just give a little brief history. Of who I am. Perfect.
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  I love that. I do think I was one of the first Talking FACS episodes. I think you were too.
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  And it was about meal kit delivery services. I remember that.
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  Still one of the most popular.
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  And you're right. People have probably heard my voice, but they don't know much
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  about me. So to give a little context, I have been born and raised in Kentucky,
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  and I've lived in Kentucky my entire life.
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  I'm from far western Kentucky. All my family is still there in Lyon County and McCracken County.
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  Little did I know that,
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  I was deeply involved with Extension when I was growing up, heavily involved in 4-H.
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  And to this day, still my 4-H agent will reach out, which is pretty incredible.
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  It just tells the story of how much our Extension agents truly care.
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  I have been Extension faculty here at UK since 2017.
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  And I've been in the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition ever since.
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  So really, I've spent those last, gosh, nine years now, almost.
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  And serving as a specialist, right? I've been around a little bit.
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  So I guess the biggest things for me, you know, I've loved my role of being
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  an extension specialist.
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  You know, the reach that we have into communities, how we can be so highly responsive
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  with science-based information.
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  I'm a science nerd, you know, but what I've noticed over time is that the work
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  that I was doing as a specialist really expanded just beyond kind of being that
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  subject matter expert or content creator, you know what I mean?
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  Like translating, you know, the most recent trend in food nutrition into practical information.
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  But really, it was more about connecting people and programs and partners.
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  And so that's one of the reasons why I was so interested in this position of
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  the Assistant Extension Director for FCS.
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  And here we are. I love your story because you are a product of Extension.
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  And you get us and you know exactly where we need to emphasize things to fit
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  the general population of Kentucky.
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  So let's do something fun now. What is something that might surprise people?
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  Might surprise, if you know me at all, this won't be a surprise,
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  but I really have trouble reading fiction.
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  I can only read nonfiction and I will even lean towards like a documentary instead of like a movie.
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  And I don't know if grad school did this to me where I feel like anything that
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  I'm consuming has to be educational or informative in some way.
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  I don't know if it means I'm just a nerd, but I do tend to gravitate more towards
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  nonfiction and educational type of content.
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  And I have known you for a long time, but I didn't. So yeah. Yes.
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  Love, history, like all of that. I'm also a reader, but I like to read it all.
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  Let's get a little bit more serious.
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  You know, you talked about what attracted you to this role, but what are some
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  of your top priorities as you look at what our future is in the next five years?
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  Yeah, I'm able to come at this position with the unique perspective of being
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  within and embedded within the system.
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  And so knowing kind of what works well and where there might be opportunities.
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  So for me, I really think it's about alignment. And that word seems fancy, but really it's kind of.
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  Aligning people so that they're potentially working more efficiently or recognizing
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  opportunities to align our people for partnership or collaboration.
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  That's going to come with strengthening communication. I would say,
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  ultimately, my goal is to support
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  our agents and our specialists and our staff so that they feel heard.
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  They feel that what they're doing each day matters. and that might mean focusing
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  on clarifying what roles are for everybody.
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  We've got new people that are coming into this system and we have people that
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  are retiring and just ensuring that we're not making assumptions,
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  but everyone kind of understands why they are important and why they're here.
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  I also see one of my priorities right now of being really intentional about
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  partnerships. There's a lot of interest in family consumer sciences extension
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  and understanding, Well, we
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  have a lot of, we have really far reach and we have incredible resources.
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  And so just being strategic and intentional about what partnerships make the
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  most sense so that we can stay aligned to our mission within FCS,
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  doing that's going to allow us to protect what's working and identify new opportunities
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  that arise that could strengthen our system altogether.
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  So we have a strong unit already. Well, how are you going to honor what's working
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  while providing some vision for new ideas? The mission does not change.
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  We remain rooted in research-based education, and our focus is community impact.
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  So the question is, how does this benefit our community?
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  And that deeply matters to me because my own family lives in these communities,
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  right? My own family lives.
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  Uses the resources Extension provides in their home communities.
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  So really what's going to potentially evolve, I don't know, we're going to evaluate.
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  I'm going to do a lot of listening and hearing from people, but maybe it's how
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  we deliver and it's how we connect the work.
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  And I think that will naturally emerge if we kind of think about how we're better
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  aligning our roles, whether that's on campus here as subject matter experts
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  and Extension associates and Extension specialists, and then also with our county
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  agents and our field staff.
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  Just continued focus on reaching communities where the needs are the greatest,
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  and then just being an advocate that FCS is a trusted essential partner across Kentucky,
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  and it's beneficial for a variety of topics and subject matter areas that benefit
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  health and well-being holistically.
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  Of all of my colleagues, I think that you are probably one who figured out the
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  chemistry between work-life and how to make that jive naturally.
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  What motivates you on tough days?
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  Really, it is, like I mentioned, science. I'm so...
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  Data-driven. I am so reliant on science personally and professionally.
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  And what motivates me is that extension is the most practical application of
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  science and that I get to have a direct role in doing that on a day-in and day-out basis.
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  It is real people that are being benefited.
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  It is real communities that are being benefited.
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  Knowing that the impact we're making is not in the short term,
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  but it could be generational.
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  We're working across the lifespan and the opportunity that's there.
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  And I'll also say that it's the people in the system.
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  So the fact that I was an internal candidate and I was able to transition to
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  this role, I know these people well, but I'm going to be working with and among
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  and in an even closer capacity.
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  And it is the quality of the people within the system, from agents all the way
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  up to colleagues here, that I'm most excited to be able to support in a different way.
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  You know, not every day is going to be easy. I understand that.
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  There's going to be challenges kind of stepping into an administrative role,
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  but the work is always going to be meaningful every single day.
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  And so I'm really motivated by that opportunity to better support the people
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  I deeply care about around me within FCS.
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  Okay, let's switch gears for a minute. Can you tell me about a book,
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  a podcast, or a person that has influenced your thinking lately?
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  You know, I'll talk about a person. So maybe not just one person,
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  but, you know, thinking about this transition into the new role, it's had me thinking,
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  like, who are the good leaders that I've had in the past or supervisors that
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  really stood out to me that I want to emulate in this new role?
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  And the one that keeps rising to the top is my mom.
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  She was an administrator within the home public school system for many, many, many years.
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  And just seeing her professionalism and the grace that she showed every day
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  as a supervisor, working within a complex system,
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  And balancing being a mom, I'm inspired by it.
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  I think if you've listened, you've heard me mention my kids before.
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  So I have three small children.
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  And, you know, that is something that's at the front of my mind is how is it
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  that I can still continue to nurture and culture my own children and my family
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  and my husband and give deeply to something that I so care about at work.
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  So it's probably my mom. I love that.
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  So if listeners remember one thing what would you want it to be,
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  oh, this should be like my extension tagline, right? So extension works.
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  It is local. It is trusted. We're grounded in research.
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  And I guess it's my goal to strengthen that, just continue to support that, right?
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  It's a strong system so that we can continue to make a meaningful difference
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  in communities across Kentucky.
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  Perfect. Thank you for your time this morning. I hope that your time is even
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  more fragile than it used to be.
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  I'm happy to still contribute. If you are just tuning in, you're listening to
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  Talking FACS, and we are available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  If you enjoyed today's podcast, have a question, or a show topic idea,
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  leave a like and a comment on Facebook at UKFCSEXT or send us an email at UKFCSEXT@UKY.edu.
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  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. We build strong families.
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  We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Thank you.