Indianapolis, IN. A NPSEC (National Pesticide Safety Education Center) team comprised of staff and Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) coordinators that are members of the Respirator Collaboration Team participated in eXtension’s Impact Collaborative Summit in Indianapolis from October 16th – 18th. The purpose of the Summit was for institutional and national Extension teams to bring projects and programs from various topic areas to find new and innovative ways to move their projects and programs forward with the help of the Impact Collaborative Innovation process, Key Informants, and partner/supporting organizations. 32 teams representing 40 institutions attended. 

Working from where they left off at the 2018 National Pesticide Applicator Certification and Safety Education Workshop in San Antonio this past August, the NPSEC Team focused on finding innovative ways to get Collaboration Teams off the ground. The three-day event culminated in a PitchFest, where the team presented their project idea to eXtension and Cooperative Extension leaders, along with external partner and supporting organizations.

As a result of the PitchFest, the NPSEC team won an award in the Most Fundable Project or Program category that has earned the team recognition and a strategic partnership with the eXtension Partner Development Team. The goal is to raise $20,000 for each of NPSEC’s five identified collaboration teams.  

The NPSEC team was comprised of the following individuals:

Candace Bartholomew, University of Connecticut
Mike Wierda, Utah State University
Kerry Richards, University of Delaware
Courtney Weatherbee, Michigan State University
Dean Herzfeld, University of Minnesota
Wayne Buhler, North Carolina State University