On September 19, the eXtension Foundation Leadership Council held its first meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The role of the new eXtension Foundation National Leadership Council is to assist eXtension with taking the initiative to the highest level possible, both in terms of its content and in building private partnerships and support. Following the organizational meeting, a press conference at the Press Club announced the launch of “eXtension- America’s Research-based Learning Network”.


The Council is a dynamic team of individuals including:
Robert F. Bennett, United States Senator (Utah, retired); Owner, Bennett Consulting Groups
Ron Brown, Ph.D., eXtension Foundation Board of Directors; Executive Director, Association of Southern Region Extension Directors; Mississippi State University
Dan Cotton, Executive Director, eXtension; University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Susan Crowell, Editor, Ohio Farm and Dairy
Jimmy Henning, Ph.D., President, eXtension Foundation; Director, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service
Dot Neale, IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Manager – Ind./Ky./Mich./Ohio/Tenn.
William Nelson, Ph.D., President, CHS Foundation; Vice-President, Corporate Citizenship, CHS Inc.
Michael Ouart, Ph.D., Chair, eXtension Finance Task Force; Vice Provost and Director of Cooperative Extension, University of Missouri
David Roselle, Ph.D. – Council Convener; Director, Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library; President Emeritus, University of Delaware
Doug Steele, Ph.D., Chair, Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP); Director, Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A & M University
Bob Lewis, Chairman and Founder, and Ann Hagan-Michel, Marketing and Development, Global Advancement, LLC