Maybe I've just forgotten what June weather has been like for the past two years, or maybe it is hitting triple digits earlier than it has. Either way, I'm not a fan. But it gave me an excuse to stay out of the garden and finish recovering from past injuries. I had plenty of other things to work on over the weekend.
Today I had the opportunity to meet Kamal Singh-Khaira. She is the new UC CalFresh Director, based at UC Davis. Kamal comes with a wealth of experience and connections across UC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In addition, she was fortunate to have a week of overlap with David Ginsburg as he prepares for retirement. Kamal plans to start getting out into counties to see the work of UC ANR.
I shared the work of UC ANR, in the broad sense, with the ANR Advisory Committee that is reviewing UC ANR. They had many questions, all good, and showed a strong appreciation for the work and the partnering we do. We can always do things better, so my hope is that out of the committee comes opportunities to work smartly and efficiently across UC, without losing sight of the important work we do.
Fires are roaring early this year, too. Hopefully everyone in Tehama and Lake Counties and surrounding areas are safe. We are headed to Tehama tomorrow to visit the county office and then on to Humboldt. So far the roads are open. It takes much work on the part of the local office to arrange these visits so I hope nothing derails our trip. This will be my first visit to the Tehama UCCE office so I am particularly looking forward to it. I had a chance to visit with the group in Humboldt/Del Norte a while back (spring 2017, maybe?) but there's so much to see and talk about with the local office that it feels like my goal of being in every office every other year (by invite) isn't often enough. And during meetings like the one earlier today, my visits prepare me with great examples of the important work going on all around the state. So, the visits are high on my priority list.
While today I met with the ANR Advisory Committee, Thursday I have an interview with the staff for the committee. Topics are around the general issue of how ANR should be funded, governance structures and options, and reporting lines. As I've said before, I understand the need to talk about these things, but I really hope we don't lose sight of the mission and the difference between what goes on at a campus and what goes on in local communities. That aspect, the work itself, doesn't seem to surface much in the conversations.
Time to head out for the day and see what's in the Inbox when I arrive home, learn of the progress in getting fires under control, and plan a bit for upcoming meetings and conversations. I hope things have cooled off some.