Carolyn Gregov
University of Florida/IFAS - Sarasota County Extension Director (nominated by Laura Morton)
I would like to nominate Carolyn Gregov to be included as a major contributor to the sustainability movement in Sarasota County. I know there is a big list of her contributions before my time and there are tons of things I have no idea about, but I know one thing for sure: she lead the effort to put agriculture back on the agenda in Sarasota County. She got the Agricultural Extension Agent position back and she hired an agent with a Ph.D. in agroecology (Robert Kluson).
Carolyn knows about the connection to our health, food, nutrition, and local food and agriculture. She started the Family Nutrition Program in Sarasota County, too. In five years this program has brought $1.2 Million in Federal dollars to Sarasota for educational programming for Food Stamp clients in Sarasota County to help them spend their food dollars wisely, improve their nutrition and food behaviors, and buy locally-produced fruits and vegetables. This Program won the prestigious 2004 national Going With the Grain Gold Award.
Carolyn has set her goals high -- for the next few years she has the goal of helping reduce Sarasota County's Ecological Footprint. She is so determined -- I think she is going to lead Extension to that goal as a strong educational resource for us in the sustainability movement.
