2008 Priester National Extension Health Conference, April 8 - 10, 2008

Welcome

The 2008 Priester National Extension Health Conference theme, Building Healthy Communities, One Person at a Time, celebrates Cooperative Extension’s long history of promoting health and preventing disease for individuals of every age and background, in families of all types, living in rural, sub-urban, and urban communities. Named in honor of retired CSREES National Program Leader Jeanne Priester, the conference showcases the successful programs of Extension professionals, their community and organizational partners, and their students.

This year's Conference Tracks:

  • Successful Aging
  • Global Health
  • Growing Up Healthy IRL (in real life)

focus on programs that address today's challenges. Our communities, families and youth are facing challenges such as baby boomer retirement, caregiving for aging parents, and other sandwich generation issues, new immigrant health, global consumer product safety, green living, and growing up healthy in a world of unprecedented affluence and communication technology, yet growing disparities among rich and poor.

We invite you to join us in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina for springtime beauty and an exciting and engaging Conference Agenda:

Please respond to the Call for Presentations for the opportunity to share your health-related educational programs and resources, applied research, and collaborative strategies with your colleagues. Submission deadline is November 30! Proposals will be evaluated through a peer-review process.

Consider nominating a worthy program for the Jeanne M. Priester Award. Submission deadline is February 29, 2008.

Help us spread the word about this exciting conference opportunity focused on achieving important networking and professional development objectives. You may download a flyer to distribute.

Named in honor of retired CSREES National Program Leader Jeanne Priester, the conference showcases the successful programs of Extension professionals, their community and organizational partners, and their students. Participants at previous conferences include individuals from the Cooperative Extension System state and county offices, CSREES/USDA, Departments of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Housing and Urban Development's Healthy Homes Program, Office of Rural Health, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, US EPA, National Cancer Institute, National 4H Council, National Rural Health Association, public school systems, local governments, private non-profits, faith based organizations, and other university departments of health related disciplines.

Conference Objectives

Participants in the 2008 Priester National Extension Health Conference will:

  • Increase knowledge of health trends, emerging health issues and the factors influencing the health status of our nation and the world
  • Increase knowledge of current health education theory and research
  • Increase knowledge of effective educational programs and health promotion practices derived from evidence-based research, including programs addressing diverse audiences and utilizing integrated programming
  • Increase knowledge of collaborative partnerships that have an impact on health education, promotion and policy
  • Develop a network of colleagues and potential partners for initiating or expanding health initiatives within their areas of interest
  • Explore activities that support work/life balance
  • For students, gain experience in presentation skills and increase awareness of career paths

The conference is sponsored by the NC State University Family and Consumer Science Program, North Carolina Cooperative Extension (NC State University and NC A&T State University), and the United States Department of Agriculture-Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (USDA-CSREES).