Brooke Jenkins-HowardBrooke Jenkins recently received prominent awards at the annual session of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) in Maine. Jenkins was identified as the recipient of the Greenwood Fellowship and Environmental Education Award.

The Environmental Education Award was a joint effort and the application was submitted by Jenkins, Linda Adler, and Peggy Powell. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding educational programs conducted for families and/or communities on various environmental issues and concerns. The program submitted was, "Living Green," which focused on teaching basic environmental concepts and helped participants to reduce consumption of plastic bags. The group presented the program at Showcase of Excellence at the annual session of NEAFCS.

The Greenwood Fellowship is awarded to a NEAFCS member who is pursuing a graduate degree. Jenkins is currently working on her doctorate in Family Studies at the University of Kentucky.  She is on target to graduate in 2014. Her research interest is relationships between social capital and rural economically challenged families and women.   

When asked about the award, Jenkins said that "It is an honor to be selected by my peers for the KEAFCS National Greenwood Fellowship.  I will use this award to continue my research interest of improving the quality of life for rural families in poverty. "  

Greenwood Fellowship requirements are:

  • Must be a NEAFCS member for five years
  • Be in attendance at national meeting in order to receive the award

Jenkins has worked as the Magoffin County FCS Agent for the last several years and has been employed as an Extension agent since 2000. She has a bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences and a master's degree in Vocational Education, both from the University of Kentucky.  

After the completion of her PhD, Jenkins plans to continue to serve her community in Magoffin County as well as the rest of the state by using her degree in an Extension Specialist position, whose focus will be on enhancing the quality of life for Appalachian families in Kentucky.