Behind the Clover: Real 4-H Talk with Real 4-H Pros

Learn more about our "alphabet soup" of county, unit, and statewide leadership teams, with Leadership Specialist Katie Duitsman. Discover how to get your local youth engaged in state opportunities, and get practical tips to improve your own local leadership programs!

Get to know Illinois 4-H State Leadership Specialist, Katie Duitsman, and learn about her background in and out of 4-H, what car mishaps she's gotten into, her reading habits, and the day to day of her work. Explore how Katie can help staff start new leadership teams, improve existing ones,...

Learn more about how Katie Turkal's Federation youth leadership team functions and get tips for starting or improving your local leadership teams.

Get to know Katie Turkal, Extension Program Coordinator in Jasper County, and learn about her 4-H experience as a kid, and then how she came to work for Extension. Learn about Katie and the hosts nostalgia triggers and food habits as kids. Then learn about what Katie finds most rewarding in...

Get to know Michele Aavang, youth development educator in Lake and McHenry counties, and learn all about her Ambassadors youth leadership team. Hear her favorite 4-H moments, how her ambassador team is structured, what curriculum she uses to help build her team's skills, and her tips for...

Meet Michele Aavang, youth development educator in Lake and McHenry counties, and get the scoop on how she found 4-H, and went from parent, to volunteer, to program coordinator, to educator! Get updates on what the crew has been up to, what jobs they'd do if they didn't need to worry about...

Join us for the second half of our interview with Extension Program Coordinator Sara Seyfert about her work with her Emerging Leaders Program. Learn more about how the program works and who it reaches, what types of events the group helps support, and how she uses youth voice to make choices...

Get to know Extension Program Coordinator Sara Seyfert, from her favorite book, to what she does to decompress! Learn how she found her way to 4-H from the culinary world and how she created her Emerging Leaders youth leadership program in her counties!

Learn about Dr. Kevin Carey's experiences on the board of the Illinois 4-H Foundation, and how that organization partners with Illinois 4-H to provide opportunities for Illinois youth. Also hear about Kevin's time on the Youth Leadership Team (YLT) and how important that experience can be for...

Get to know Dr. Kevin Carey, Acting Director of 4-H Youth Development and Senior Program Lead, Positive Youth Development with Illinois 4-H! Learn about his journey to joining the 4-H staff team! Hear about the holiday traditions (and tunes) of Kevin and the Behind the Clover hosts, then learn...