Program Promotional Piece - Maggie Shao & Sarah Petersen
Publication - Chad Reid, Olivia Salmon & Darren McAvoy
Sarah Petersen came to USU Extension as a Salt Lake County employee in November of 2005. She brought with her eight years of computer technology experience as a previous IT manager.
“I have always enjoyed working with computers,” she said. “My career focus changed from IT to graphic design when I started building Web sites and digital media materials for my employer and freelance work. I recognized that the design is a critical piece of the message you convey to your customers.”
Her career as a graphic designer has continued to grow with USU Extension Salt Lake County. With the wonderful programs and services Extension provides, there are continuous opportunities to advertise to the public. She has designed bookmarks, banners, newsletters, flyers, mailers, calendars, publication covers and maintains the Salt Lake County Extension Web site with graphic banners to grab the public’s attention.
“I love a design challenge,” she said. “Working on a project is like putting a puzzle together. When the last piece falls into place, it’s an exciting ‘ah ha’ moment. There’s a feeling of accomplishment that energizes me for the next task ahead”.
Petersen also provides programming assistance to the horticulture and natural resources agents and supervises a county employee. She is a wife and mother to her 2-year-old son, Cedric. Some of her hobbies include drawing, reading and creating music. She also continues to work towards a degree in graphic design.
Chad Reid received this publication award, in part, for his work co-authoring “Forest Grazing: Managing Your Land for Trees, Forage, and Livestock.” Reid has a master’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, in genetics and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Utah University in biology.
Olivia Salmon has been a forestry Extension assistant since 2006, where she works to enhance understanding of forestry issues among Utah landowners through a variety of educational tools, particularly the Utah Forest News and the USU Forestry Extension Web site. Prior to working with USU Forestry Extension, she conducted research on the educational needs and management priorities of Utah forest landowners by surveying and interviewing landowners throughout the state. This research was published in the Journal of Forestry and received the 2007 Silver Award for refereed journal articles from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. Salmon has also worked as an editor for reports produced by the US National Park Service and the US Forest Service. She has a master’s degree in human dimensions of ecosystem science and management from Utah State University and a bachelor’s degree in history with distinction from St. Olaf College.
Darren McAvoy promotes forestry awareness in Utah with an emphasis on helping private landowners make informed choices about how they manage their forestland. He uses tools like the Utah Forest News, the Forestry Extension Web site, the Utah Forest Water Quality Guideline publications, video production, landowner field tours and workshops, logger education programs, and direct assistance to get this done.