In February, 2017, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) approved the establishment of the Extension Opioid Crisis Response Workgroup (OECRW). Communities across the nation are experiencing growing numbers of opioid-related fatalities. ECOP invited the EOCRW to consider the ways in which Cooperative Extension Services (CES) could expand the capacity to help address the crisis. The EOCRW included members directly involved in the development of the strategic plan (workgroup members) as well as a set of expert partners who provided feedback and guidance. Dr. Mark Skidmore, Director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) at Michigan State University served as the leader of this task force.
Workgroup Members:
Workgroup
- Mark Skidmore, NCRCRD, Michigan State University
- Alison Brennan, NCRCRD, Michigan State University
- Ronald A. Brown, Association of Southern Region Extension Directors
- Courtney Cuthbertson, Michigan State University
- Jami Delifield, The Ohio State University
- Alex Elswick, University of Kentucky
- Novella Johnson Ruffin, Virginia State University
- Richard Klemme, APLU
- Brian Kowalkowski, College of Menominee Nation
- Anne Lindsay, University of Nevada-Reno
- Daniel Perkins, Pennsylvania State Unversity
- Roger Rennecamp, The Ohio State University
- Ahlishia Shipley, USDA-NIFA
- Sandy Sulzer, Utah State University
Expert Partners
- Mark Skidmore, NCRCRD, Michigan State University
- Amy Chilote, North Carolina State University
- Autumn Guin, North Carolina State University
- Candy Gabel, University of Missouri
- Catheryn Hockaday, Iowa State University
- Daniel Perkins, Penn State University
- David Young, Montana State University
- Gina Crist, University of Delaware
- Lajoy Spears, University of Guam
- Mary Ellen Wright, Clemson University
- Richard Spoth, Iowa State University
ECOP Members:
1890 region
- Mark Latimore, Fort Valley State University, latimorm@fvsu.edu
- Vonda Richardson, Florida A&M University, vonda.richardson@famu.edu
- Carolyn Williams, Prairie View A&M University, cjwilliams@pvamu.edu
North Central region
- Jason Henderson, Purdue University, jhenderson@purdue.edu
- Beverly Durgan, University of Minnesota, durga001@umn.edu
- Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, hibberd@unl.edu
Northeast region
- Bill Hare, University of District of Columbia, whare@udc.edu
- Chuck Ross, University of Vermont, chuck.ross@uvm.edu
- Chris Watkins, Cornell University, cbw3@cornell.edu
Southern region
- Ed Jones, Virginia Tech, ejones1@vt.edu
- Gary Jackson, Mississippi State University, gary.jackson@msstate.edu
- Tom Dobbins, Clemson University, tdbbns@clemson.edu
Western region
- Louis Swanson, Colorado State University, louis.swanson@colostate.edu
- Scott Reed, Oregon State University, scott.reed@oregonstate.edu
- Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska, fred.schlutt@alaska.edu