With nearly three decades working in education -- plus a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University -- Renee Carstens is an inspiring choice to fill the shoes of recently retired UA Cooperative Extension Director Rick Gibson. Renee is a fifth generation Hawaiian, born and raised on Oahu until age 11, after which she came to Arizona. Renee approaches each day to Live Aloha, an attitude of living with a focus on kindness, compassion, respect, and empathy. The pace of her workdays has grown much busier in the past two months since taking the reins at Cooperative Extension, but Renee found time this week for an interview to share with Globe-Miamicresidents, introducing herself, offering a general update about how Cooperative Extension and programs such as 4-H are adapting to life with Covid-19, and describing a few goals for Gila County Cooperative over the year ahead.

Please tell us about your AZ background

I feel like I’m an Arizona native. I love living here – the environment, the cultures, the people. I raised my own family here, but I also loved my experience of growing up in Hawaii, which shaped a lot of who I am. I return there often to visit with my parents and extended family. I am married (to Steve Carstens) with two wonderful adult children (Mackenzie and Kyle). I enjoy time with my horse and digging in the garden.

I have lived all the way from the south in Tucson to the north in Flagstaff where I received my undergraduate degree in education at NAU. Now I reside part-time in the Globe community and enjoy traveling throughout Gila County. We live in such a beautiful state and whether I’m in the desert or the mountains, I enjoy it all.

I started my career in early childhood education, specializing in outdoor play and the importance of play to children’s development. I led projects building interactive outdoor play areas and developing curriculum that could help children develop both intellectual and social skills. For example, at Pueblo Gardens Elementary, we had a tricycle path, gardens, a stage for fine arts, an area for farm animals, a sandbox and more. I worked with the teachers to integrate language, science, and math. The kids thought they were having fun, but they were developing the building blocks for academic success.

Then I had a chance to work with older youth through Pima County where I was able to facilitate service-learning programs. The idea in every project was that the youth developed the ideas and led the implementation – learning not just academic skills, but also practical skill such as team building and leadership. In one project, they took an empty building and the students rehabbed and landscaped the building and turned it into a youth meeting space. We received state and national attention so youth had an opportunity to travel and present as well.

The big projects are always rewarding, but for me, I want to ingrain that there is always a service aspect – that we want to give youth an opportunity to contribute to their communities. Sometimes it is as simple as helping an elderly neighbor or reading stories to younger children. I love working with youth because of their energy and creativity. It is rewarding to watching their transformation when they realize they have incredible talent and the power to turn their ideas into action.

I’ve always been a big fan of 4-H and its approach with hand-on, experiential learning. I think we all learn best this way. In 4-H, we use evidence-based practices that are built on rigorous research. It may not feel that way because we are having lots of fun, whether we are in a barn or in a classroom. But the educational foundation is always there.

The other component that is so valuable in 4-H is holistic youth development – a place where youth can discover new talents and experience all aspects of themselves. We work to make sure it is both challenging, but also safe for all our members. And always, the message is “give back.” Give back so that each youth sees him or herself as someone who has a voice and who contributes to the community to make it better and stronger.

4-H is not possible without the community and all the adults who give of their time, talent, and treasure to make it happen. That is really what makes 4-H stand out is the community investment. It gives me great pleasure to work with so many caring adults who invest in our youth.

How is UA Cooperative Extension adapting to and dealing with Covid-19?

Like most of the rest of the world, many of our programs have moved to a virtual setting. Take our Gardner webinar series as an example. Chris Jones has set it up so anyone can access lessons about everything from container gardening to pest control. Family Consumer Health Sciences is offering information on everything from early childhood screenings, toddler activities, to budget and financial planning classes. We also offer agriculture based webinars online making if easy for our residents to click on a lesson of interest when it is convenient.

This is going to be a very challenging year for 4-H because for the first time in our history, we will have to move our fall livestock show and auction to a virtual format. Like so many things that we are going through with this pandemic, this as a loss. But what we teach in 4-H is that we have to learn to overcome barriers, to find new ways to work with what we have. So if we work with our youth and community to see this as an opportunity, a challenge, then I know we will tap into the creativity and determination to make this a successful virtual livestock show and sale. See the Gila County Fair page learn more about the virtual show and sale https://www.gilacountyfair.com/. Who knows, maybe we’ll discover some approaches we can even use in future years, like youth making videos of themselves and their livestock projects. I do not have all the answers – there is no textbook on this one – but I am confident we can pull together as a community and figure this out. That’s the 4-H way.

How did your work with Cooperative Extension and 4H prepare you for this new job?

First, I want to acknowledge the legacy that Rick Gibson left. We have a dynamic, experienced team that Rick built and empowered. He built the Cooperative Extension programs in so many areas: land management, forest health, family consumer health sciences, master gardeners, youth development, and agricultural studies. While we serve the whole County, we have offices in Globe, Payson and San Carlos. He also established strong and enduring partnerships in the community because this work is driven by the community needs, vision and leadership. I’m so grateful for all of that.

This next year will be very interesting as we adapt in response to this pandemic. It is requiring us to rethink our old ways of doing things and generating new opportunities. We are putting down the old playbooks and writing new ones. We don’t have a choice – but with that comes new possibilities. One opportunity is reaching more people as we move to more virtual formats. We are excited to see that expansion.

More than ever, we need to be in touch with the community, to listen and be responsive to their needs. And I may be a bit biased, but I think in particular we need to stay connected with youth while recruiting caring adults mentors to support youth development. Imagine suddenly losing your classroom, your social networks, and facing an uncertain future. I’m confident that if we stay youth-centered we will also develop approaches and programs that will be benefit the whole community.

Are there committees or boards where Payson and Globe residents can get involved, volunteer, and help?

We welcome volunteers in all areas from Master Gardeners, Family Consumer Health Science, to 4-H Youth Development. We are currently recruiting volunteers for the youth mentor program in the Miami-Globe area and in Payson. And are also looking at expanding 4-H programs in any subject where youth express an interest. We are currently looking for leaders for hiking, outdoor adventure, fine arts and for STEM clubs to engage youth in science, technology, engineering and math. If you are an interested adult, please reach out to me.

Through UACE, we provide so much education that responds to the needs of the community. Let me tell you about Family Consumer Health Sciences that provides classes to support families on topics like parenting tips and money management, which many families might need now more than ever in these challenging times. We provide early childhood developmental screenings so parents can know early if their child has delays in areas of hearing, vision, and developmental milestones. Earlier I mentioned that our Gardening program is going virtual with lots of ideas about how people can grow their own plants and vegetables where we really emphasize water-smart gardening. We are offering a webinar called, “When the Smoke Clears: The Road to Recovery After Large-Scale Wildfires” to support those affected by the recent fires. Ranchers also have quick access to agriculture and livestock resources. You can see the many ways we touch the community. For more information: https://extension.arizona.edu/gila

I was a teacher for 26 years and my passion has always been creating engaged and experiential learning experiences in spaces where students not only discover the answers, but also discover themselves. We each have so many gifts and talents, but we might not find them until we are in the right setting. I love creating the spaces and opportunities for those discoveries. And it’s selfish on my part because we need those gifts and talents in all our communities to build a better, heathier community and solve complex problems, especially these days. So whether it is helping an elderly neighbor pull weeds or helping a neighbor recover from a fire, we can each make a contribution. That’s what I want to facilitate in my new position because we have the talent on our UACE team, in our schools, and throughout our County.

Renee Carstens is Gila County Director; overseeing assistant agents and 4-H Youth Development programs across Gila County, from Globe and the San Carlos Apache Reservation to Payson and Rim Country. Contact her by phone at 928-402-4384 or email rcarstens@email.arizona.edu