BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – For over 100 years, University of Illinois Extension has been embedded in local communities, providing nutrition education and wellness resources for children and families. After careful assessment and strategic state alignment, Illinois Extension is announcing a new program team to help fill local gaps.
“We are excited to announce the creation of our new health and community wellness team, made up of Morgan Roberts and Isabel Dyche,” said Illinois Extension County Director Marilu Andon, who serves Grundy, Kankakee, and Will counties. “This new team builds on our strengths and will allow us to focus on promoting overall health and well-being through topics such as nutrition, food safety, social and emotional wellness, food and community health systems, and financial education.”
Roberts and Dyche, who now respectively serve as the food and health systems educator and community outreach advisor, are familiar faces in the Joliet area. Both previously served in the SNAP-Ed program, which focused on delivering impact in areas of need.
“Morgan will focus her efforts on helping partner organizations and communities create policies and systems that make food access easier, while Isabel will be focused on providing direct education to communities in our three-county unit,” said Andon.
“We’re excited about the next phase of Extension programming in health and wellness,” said Matthew Vann, director of Illinois Extension, in a recent news release announcing the creation of the new program area. “This is a great opportunity for impactful programming through deeper partnerships across Extension and the state of Illinois. It exemplifies how Illinois Extension can serve the citizens of every community. We look forward to seeing growth in our Health and Community Wellness program.”
Both Roberts and Dyche are based in the Joliet office and can be reached at 815-727-9296. Communities can stay up to date on the new program area online at extension.illinois.edu/gkw and on social media (@uieGKW on Facebook and Instagram).
SOURCE: Marilu Andon, county director.
WRITER: Anthony Warmack, communications and marketing program coordinator.
PHOTO CUTLINE: “Morgan Roberts stands inside a food pantry. Roberts is tasked with helping partner organizations and communities create policies and systems that make food access easier. Image/University of Illinois Extension.”
MEDIA ACCESS: Image is available to download for media use. For interviews, contact Anthony Warmack at warmacka@illinois.edu or 217-244-5813.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 500 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through five program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, health and community wellness, and natural resources, environment, and energy.