Dear National Extension Tourism NETwork,
Happy New Year! I hope you are having a great start to 2024.
In January, NET Design Team welcomed its new National Sea Grant liaison, Amara Davis, Outreach Coordinator for the National Sea Grant College Program. Amara brings professional experience in tourism, partner and community engagement, communications, and DEIA.
We also recently welcomed several new Design Team Members:
- Northeast regional Sea Grant representative, Ed Lewandowski of Delaware Sea Grant;
- Northeast regional Land Grant representative, Doolarie Singh-Knights of West Virginia University Extension;
- Southern regional Land Grant representative, Rachael Carter of Mississippi State University Extension;
- Southern regional Land Grant representative, Mercedes Fraser, of the University of Kentucky Extension; and,
- Southern regional Sea Grant representative, Bryan Fluech, who also served as the 2021 NET Conference Chair.
You can read more about our new Design Team Colleagues by clicking on their names above. I wish to thank all the NET colleagues for their months of hard work to identify, communicate with, and secure Amara’s engagement and new Design Team members’ appointments.
In 2024, we look forward to strengthening NET’s relationship with NIFA, Sea Grant, Extension Foundation, and other key stakeholders. We are also excited to embark on a new tradition of quarterly newsletters and to resume our quarterly webinars for peer learning and resource sharing.
As always, we value your engagement with NET and welcome your ideas. Feel free to reach out to us via email and stay connected with us on LinkedIn. Thank you for reading this newsletter. Wish you all a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2024!
Sincerely,
Xinyi Qian, Ph.D.
Director, University of Minnesota Tourism Center
Chair, NET