Meet Your National Partner Leadership (10:45A-11:15A & 11:30A-12:00P)
NIFA - Dr. Carrie Castille is director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. 
A Louisiana native, Dr. Castille has championed agriculture and rural issues for more than 20 years.
Throughout her career, she has focused on agriculture, policy and education. She served as Natural Resource Leader and Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University and Associate Commissioner and Science Advisor to the Commissioner for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

In 2017, Dr. Castille joined USDA as state director for Louisiana Rural Development and was later named the mid-south coordinator for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation mission area serving Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri.
Prior to joining USDA, she was appointed by USDA Secretary Vilsack to the National Agriculture Research, Extension, Education, and Economics advisory board and was appointed to the National Council for Environmental Policy and Technology by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

Dr. Castille was a delegate to the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Council on Agriculture Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET), a member of the National Food Animal Veterinary Institute Board of Directors and is a past chair of the Southern U.S. Trade Association Operations Committee. She also is a Fellow of the Food Systems Leadership Institute.

Toolkit Sessions (1:30P-2:30P & 2:45P-3:45P)
National 4-H Equity Plan

Presenters:

• Dorothy McCargo Freeman, National 4-H Council Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Aimee Viniard-Weideman, Extension Specialist, Community and Economic Development, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach

Presenters will discuss the vision and importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion within 4-H youth development and highlight the 7 strategic directions identified through the strategic planning process; and engage participants in a dialogue of being change agents to help move the 4-H Equity Plan forward through the 4 Implementation committees.