Name: Nicole Strong

Position: Master Woodland Manager Program Coordinator; Women Owning Woodlands Program Coordinator; Senior Instructor, Forestry and Natural Resources

Hometown: I was a military “brat”; we lived all over the world. I’ve lived in Oregon longer then anywhere, and I consider this Home.

# of years at OSU: 8

Best part of your job: The people! Our clients are so inspiring, their creativity, dedication to forest stewardship, and their achievements in their non-forestry lives never ceases to astound me. Working statewide, I get to some pretty beautiful and remote places. I’m also really grateful for my co-workers. People go into Extension because they care about helping communities and people, and getting to collaborate with such positive people makes all the weekends and evenings worth it.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: Most of the forestry community knows me for hurdling myself up and down mountains via bikes and skis, but they probably would be surprised to know that I play classical piano, and am an avid fan of the Central Oregon Symphony.

Favorite book/movie/album: Two of my favorite artists hail from the Pacific Northwest, Tom Robbins and Brandi Carlisle.

Name: Melissa Whitney

Position: Enrollment Services Specialist, Extended Campus

Hometown: McMinnville, Oregon

# of years at OSU: 2 years

Best part of your job: I get to talk to prospective students from all over the world, every day! Being someone who went back to school later in life, I feel like I can really relate to the stories I hear from people working hard to accomplish their life goal of completing their education. Enrollment Services is the first point of contact for prospective students, and it is awesome to work with such an amazing team who want to make sure they have the best first impression of Oregon State Ecampus possible.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I absolutely love swimming. I swam butterfly for my high school varsity swim team for 4 years and have swam across the Columbia River three times. I love to travel and have been to 26 states and 10 countries. I also like to explore and photograph ghost towns.

Favorite book/movie/album: My favorite book is my ‘Weird Oregon’ book, my favorite movies (because I can’t pick just one) are Return of the Jedi, The Count of Monte Cristo, Napoleon Dynamite, The Goonies, Shawshank Redemption, Indiana Jones and Billy Madison, to name a few. Music is a pretty big part of my life, so I don’t know if I could begin to pick a favorite album, but I love the Beatles album Rubber Soul.

Name: Jennifer Alexander

Position: Publishing Manager, EESC

Hometown: Humboldt, Iowa

# of years at OSU: 2 ½ years

Best part of your job: Since I grew up involved in 4-H and studied horticulture, journalism, and agricultural education in college, working in Extension communication is a perfect fit. My dad is a former county Extension agent and current state 4-H specialist in Iowa, and I have great respect for our OSU Extension faculty and staff across the state, who spend every day (and many nights and weekends) serving others. Getting to use what I do well to help others share their work with the world is an honor and a privilege.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I’ve kissed the Blarney Stone.

Favorite book/movie/album:

Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)

Movie: The Blues Brothers

Album: anything by Tori Amos

Name: Scott Leavengood

Position: Director, Oregon Wood Innovation Center

Hometown: Born in Cincinnati, OH, grew up in suburban Chicago

# of years at OSU: 18

Best part of your job: Helping people combined with variety in my daily tasks – In Extension, every day is unique.  One day I might be assisting an entrepreneur with a new product idea, the next I might be in a sawmill helping the quality control manager with tools and techniques for evaluating product quality, and the next day guest lecturing in a course, etc.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: People are often surprised to learn that I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.  I can only guess this is because they are surprised that someone from a very urban place would choose to study wood science/wood products manufacturing and live in a far more rural state (but that’s a really great way to be from Chicago…)

Favorite book/movie/album:  My favorite book is the USDA Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material – just kidding.  I’m not sure I have a favorite book or movie but for album, showing my age a bit, I’d say it’s Boston’s first album (1976).

Name: Janean Creighton

Position: Extension Specialist, Forest Science Delivery FES Dept., College of Forestry

Hometown: Edmonds, Wash.

# of years at OSU: 3+

Best part of your job: As Administrative Director of the NW Fire Science Consortium, I have the good fortune of working with a wide variety of people from federal, state, non-profit, and private organizations; which can be quite challenging, but who doesn’t like a challenge?  The best part of my job is being able to interact with fire resource managers and researchers in the field.  It’s nice to be able to get out of the office and into the woods once in a while!

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I used to be a professional actor.  That was a whole other life ago!

Favorite book/movie/album: My favorite movie is Blazing Saddles; probably because I grew up the only girl along with 3 older brothers.  They helped shape my sense of humor.

Name: Victor Villegas

Position: Technology & Media Support Coordinator

Hometown: Riverside, California

# of years at OSU: 1 year

Best part of your job: Helping people understand and use technology to improve their work and daily lives. I get to show others that technology is not scary and can actually be fun and amazing!

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I learned how to fly an airplane when I was sixteen and was originally an Aeronautics major.

Favorite book/movie/album: My favorite book is “Yeager”, the autobiography by Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier. My two favorite movies are “The Great Waldo Pepper” and “Top Gun”. My favorite album is “Tales from the Acoustic Planet” by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and friends.

Name: Maggie Livesay

Position: 4-H Youth Development Faculty/County Leader, Benton

Hometown: Grand Junction, Colorado

# of years at OSU: 15 years

Best part of your job: The best part of my job is working with people – as no one is like another. I enjoy helping people of all ages discover their skills and develop as people. I also enjoy building strong community partnerships to maximize educational efforts, especially in the field of natural resource education for youth.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I was an exploration geologist who was privileged to work all over the lower forty-eight and in Alaska. My favorite ride to work – a helicopter.

Favorite book/movie/album: I enjoy reading a variety of genre, watching any movie except the scary ones and my new favorite album is Grievous Angel by Graham Parsons.

Name: Tyler Hansen

Position: Marketing writer/public information representative, OSU Extended Campus

Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.

# of years at OSU: 1 year 3 months

Best part of your job: I get to work with countless interesting people across campus and around the world. My role puts me in touch with OSU distance students who often endure a great deal in order to earn an education, and they are a constant source of inspiration. Being able to help share their stories is a privilege.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I taught journalism at Tucson High School before moving to Oregon. On my first day as a teacher, a student came up to me and said, “Aren’t you in my brother’s chemistry class?”

Favorite book/movie/album: My favorite movie is “Good Will Hunting,” probably because it reminds me of my childhood when I was underappreciated for my unparalleled genius. That’s followed closely by “Do the Right Thing,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Fletch.”

Name: Karen Zimmermann

Position: Communications Support Specialist/Digital Asset Manager, EESC

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

# of years at OSU: 8

Best part of your job: One project in particular that I’m enjoying being a part of is EESC’s photo archiving effort. Being a technophile, I love working in a technology-rich environment with creative people.Not only are my department colleagues creatively gifted, but Extension, as a whole, develops such creative solutions to local problems.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: Many people are surprised at some of my former jobs. Some are surprised that I was a state trooper, while others are surprised I was a professional opera singer (comic opera), and some are surprised I did musical comedy WHILE I was a state trooper. (Though, my backgrounds in food science and photography are more helpful in my current job.)

Favorite book/movie/album: How ’bout hobby?: Motorcycling. I love motorcycling in Oregon! Album? No particular album, but I love to blast opera or show tunes while riding my motorcycle. It keeps people from stereotyping and makes them smile.

Name: Alejandro Gonzalez

Position: PROMISE Intern, Linn County Extension Office

Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

Best part of your job: I believe that the best part of my job is traveling. This summer one of the projects that I’m working on is VEGNET, a regional pest population monitoring and reporting network for Willamette Valley growers of vegetables for processing. Since most of the insect traps are located in different towns we have drive several hours a week to go check them. Besides that, meeting new people and making connections is another great part of my job.

Something someone might be surprised to know about you: I’m guessing my background can surprise some of the people that already know me, and it can shock someone that don’t really know me. I never noticed or pay too much attention how dangerous my town was until I moved out of there. It is said that the place where I lived, was and still is the second most dangerous places in Mexico City. I grew up in an atmosphere full of violence, but like I said this never caught my attention until I came here to live in the United States.

Favorite book/movie/album: Movies: Gladiator, Into the Wild; Book: El caballero de la Armadura Oxidada; Album: Torches by Foster the People