Webinars

August Webinar

Artificial Intelligence Use in Extension: Insights from Ohio

August 27, 2025 • 2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT

This webinar will share findings from the presenters’ 2025 investigation of artificial intelligence (AI) use by Ohio State University Extension educators and staff. The reported challenges and obstacles, efficiencies, and how Extension’s human work differs from AI output will be discussed. These findings may provide insight to Extension organizations nationwide, particularly as some funders or partners may see AI as a cost-savings means to do this human work.

Presenters:

• Brian Raison, Professor, The Ohio State University, Department of Extension
• Sudarshan Adhikari, Graduate Associate, The Ohio State University, Department of Extension
• Thomas Blain, Associate Professor, The Ohio State University, Department of Extension

Drs. Raison and Blaine have served as Extension educators at OSU for over 25 years each, working in the community development program area. Mr. Adhikari is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Agricultural Communications, Education, and Leadership.

Register for August Webinar

NCRCRD webinars are open to all participants. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate or need an interpreter or translator, please contact Mary Breidenbach no later than 5 days prior to the event.

Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access University.

Previous Webinars

Regional Pulse: Insights from the 2024 Multi-Region Household Surveys (5/9/25)
Presenters: Maria Marshall, Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD); Professor and James and Lois Ackerman Endowed Chair in Agricultural Economics, Purdue University; and Director, Purdue Institute for Family Business; Zuzana Bednarik, Research and Extension Specialist, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD); John J. Green, Director, Southern Rural Development Center; Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Director Experiences Operating a Rural Child Care Center in Indiana (4/23/25)
Presenter: Jenn Finders, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

North Central Region Outdoor Tourism Listening Session (3/25/25)
Presenters: Gwynn Stewart, M.S., Assistant Professor, Community Development, College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Noble County; Xinyi Qian, University of Minnesota, Tourism Center Director & Extension State Specialist Tourism Center; and Zuzana Bednarik, Research and Extension Specialist, NCRCRD
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Future Directions for Rural Population Research to Inform Extension: Findings from Listening Sessions (2/25/25)
Presenters: John J. Green, Director, Southern Rural Development Center; Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University; Katherine Curtis, Director, Center for Demography and Ecology; Professor and Demographic Specialist, Community & Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Kristina Brant, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, & Education, Pennsylvania State University; Sreedhar Upendram, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Tennessee; and Paige Kelly, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, & Education, Pennsylvania State University
Additional Items: Presentation Slides | RPRN Listening Session Report

Including the History of Redlining in Extension to Contextualize Local Housing Policy Decisions (1/24/25)
Presenter: Craig Carpenter, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University

The Changing Relationship Between Farm and Non-Farm Economies (12/10/24)
Presenter: Steven C. Deller, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Addressing Rural Mental Health in the North Central Region (11/22/24)
Part 1: Supporting Youth Mental Health – An Adult Volunteer Training Program | Presenters: Shannon Sparks, Evaluation Specialist, Division of Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Danette Hopke, Behavioral Health Outreach Program Manager, Division of Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sheila Michels, Adams County Behavioral Health Educator, Division of Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Megan Suehring, Shawano County Positive Youth Development Educator, Division of Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Part 1 Presentation Slides
Part 2: South Dakota Needs Assessment on Farm Stress & Mental Health: Preliminary Findings | Presenter: Andrea Bjornestad, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, Associate Professor/Extension Specialist-Mental Health, School of Education, Counseling, & Human Development, South Dakota State University

Incorporating AI into Housing and Community Development (10/17/24)
Part 1: AI-Driven Detection and Mapping of Manufactured Housing Communities | Presenter: Armin Yeganeh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Construction Management Program, Michigan State University | Part 1 Presentation Slides
Part 2: Exploring the Potential Role of AI in Community Development | Presenters: Lisa Bates, Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Christopher J. Seeger, PLA, GISP, Morrill Professor and Extension Specialist, Landscape Architecture, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach | Part 2 Presentation Slides

Resilient Couples, Resilient Communities (9/17/24)
Presenter: Allen Barton, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Introducing the New NCR-Stat: Small Business Dataset (8/27/24)
Presenters: Maria I. Marshall, Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD); Professor and James and Lois Ackerman Endowed Chair in Agricultural Economics, Purdue University; and Director, Purdue Institute for Family Business, and Renee Wiatt, Research and Extension Specialist, NCRCRD and Purdue Institute for Family Business.
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Leadership Chautauqua: Revolutionizing Extension’s Approach to Community Leadership Development Systems (5/15/24)
Presenters: Lindsay Hastings, Ph.D., Clifton Professor in Mentoring Research and Research Director, NHRI Leadership Mentoring, University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Mary Emery, Ph.D., Director, Rural Prosperity Nebraska, University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Jordan Rasmussen, M.A., Rural Prosperity Nebraska Extension Educator, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Extension CRED Impact Indicators – Review, Refresh, Revise (5/2/24)
Presenters: Scott Chazdon, Consultant and Retired Evaluation Specialist, University of Minnesota Extension; Anne H. Silvis, Assistant Dean, Community and Economic Development, University of Illinois Extension; and Michael Wilcox, Assistant Director and Program Leader for Community Development, Purdue Extension and Associate Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD)
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Climbing the IAP2 Ladder with Marketing Hometown America (4/29/24)
Presenters: Lynn Adams, Field Specialist, Community Economic Development, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Ph.D., Extension Specialist, Rural Prosperity Nebraska, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Marilyn Schlake, Extension Educator, Rural Prosperity Nebraska, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Collaborative Drought Planning Using Drought Scenario Exercises (3/6/24)
Presenters: Deborah Bathke, Education and Outreach Coordinator, National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Interim Nebraska State Climatologist and Tonya Bernadt, Education and Outreach Specialist, National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Additional Items: Presentation Slides  |  Collaborative Drought Planning Using Scenario Exercises

Caregiving Across the Life Course in Rural and Urban Households in the North Central Region (2/27/24)
Presenters: Zuzana Bednarik, Research and Extension Specialist, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development; Shoshanah Inwood, Associate Professor of Community, Food, and Economic Development, The Ohio State University; and Florence Becot, Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Data in the North Central Region: The Nebraska Rural Poll, the Ohio Farm Poll, and the NCR-Stat (1/24/24)
Presenters: L.J. McElravy, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication and Rural Prosperity Nebraska, University of Nebraska – Lincoln; Douglas Jackson-Smith, Professor, Kellogg Chair, and Director of the Agroecosystem Management Program, The Ohio State University; and Zuzana Bednarik, Research and Extension Specialist, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Additional Items: Nebraska Rural Poll Slides  |  Ohio Farm Poll Slides

Guiding the Work of a Changing and Diverse Field: The Updated Community Development Principles of Good Practice (12/18/23)
Presenters: Margaret Stout, Professor of Public Administration, West Virginia University and current Board Chair of the Community Development Society; Celina Tchida, Ph.D. Candidate, Arizona State University; and Stephen Jeanetta, Associate Dean, Department of Community Development, University of Minnesota Extension and Vice Chair of Programs for the Community Development Society
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Rural Health and Well-Being: A two-part webinar to celebrate Rural Health Month (11/8/23)
Part 1: Improving Rural Health by Focusing on Social Well-Being | Presenter: Carrie Henning-Smith, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota | Part 1 Presentation Slides
Part 2: Participatory Research to Promote Shared Leadership Toward Rural Maternal and Child Health and Emotional Well-Being: Lessons Learned and Future Directions to Promote Health Equity | Presenter: Sarah E. (Betsy) Bledsoe, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill | Part 2 Presentation Slides

The Role of Festival Volunteers in Supporting Rural Community Development: A Psychological Ownership Perspective (10/25/23)
Presenters: SoJung Lee, Associate Professor, Iowa State University; MiRan Kim, Associate Professor, Michigan State University; and Linda Niehm, Professor, Interim Department Chair, Iowa State University.
Additional Items: Presentation Slides  |  Rural Festival Volunteer Survey Example

Reach, Teach, and Engage! (9/12/23)
Presenter: Amber J. Twitty, Extension Educator, Community & Economic Development, Central State University

Taking Action to Address Substance Use Disorder in Communities: Clinical, Community and Workforce Perspectives (8/24/23)
Presenters: Nicole Adams, School of Nursing, Purdue University; Erin Belgarde, Turtle Mountain Community Innovation, Research, and Development Department; Sheila Trottier, Turtle Mountain Community College; and  Elisa Worland, Purdue Extension – Wayne County
Additional items: Presentation Slides

Rural Tourism in the North Central Region and Additional National Resources (5/16/23)
Presenters: Andy Northrop, Extension Educator, Community Vitality – Tourism, Michigan State University; Global Scholar; Chair, National Extension Tourism Network; Xinyi Qian, Director, University of Minnesota Tourism Center; Vice Chair, National Extension Tourism Network; and Natalie Chin, Climate and Tourism Outreach Specialist, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Additional items: MSU Tourism Slides | UMN Tourism Center Slides | UW Sea Grant Slides

Siting Clean Energy and Spent Nuclear Fuel Facilities: Rural Opportunities and Impacts (4/25/23)
Presenters: Vincent Ialenti, Social Scientist, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Consent-Based Siting Team; and Sarah Banas Mills, Senior Research Specialist, Graham Sustainability Institute and Lecturer, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
Additional items: U.S. Dept. of Energy Consent-based Siting Slides  |  University of Michigan Wind & Solar Energy Slides

Be Prepared, NCR: A Community Planning Approach to Green Infrastructure, Hazard Mitigation, and Flooding (3/7/23)
Presenters: Kara Salazar, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist for Sustainable Communities with IL-IN Sea Grant, Purdue University Extension, and Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Carrie McKillip, Extension Educator of Community and Economic Development, University of Illinois Extension; Kenneth Hellevang, Professor, Extension Engineer, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, North Dakota State University. The March webinar was co-presented by NCRCRD and the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN).
Additional items: NCR Flood Preparation Slides | Green Infrastructure Slides

Rural Broadband Tools and Resources in the NCR (2/27/23)
Presenters: Thomas Keene, Ph.D. Student, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics & Department of Economics, Michigan State University; Liz Mack, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University; and Roberto Gallardo, Director, Purdue Center for Regional Development & Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Additional Items: Digital Divide Index Slides  |  BITS Provider Map Slides

Extending the Tent: NCRAN’s Focus on Aging in the 2020s (1/25/23)
Presenters: James S. Bates, Associate Professor and Field Specialist of Family Wellness, Ohio State University Extension; Chelsey Byers, Family Life Educator, University of Illinois Extension; and Kristin Miller, Assistant Extension Professor, University of Missouri Extension
Additional items: Presentation Slides

An Introduction to NCR-Stat – the Free Household Dataset (12/7/22)
Presenters: Maria I. Marshall, Director, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD); Professor and James and Lois Ackerman Endowed Chair in Agricultural Economics, Purdue University; and Director, Purdue Institute for Family Business, and Zuzana Bednarikova, Research and Extension Specialist, NCRCRD
Additional Items: Presentation Slides

Supporting Rural Grocery Stores Across the North Central Region (11/7/22)
Presenters: Lisa Bates, Interim Assistant Director and Field Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development; Greg Schweser, Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships; and Rial Carver, Program Leader, Rural Grocery Initiative, K-State Research and Extension
Additional Items: Iowa State Slides |  UMN-RSDP Slides  |  K-State-RGI Slides

Health Care Access Among Self-Employed Workers in Nonmetropolitan Counties (10/12/22)
Presenters: Elizabeth Dobis, Research Agricultural Economist, Rural Economy Branch, Resource and Rural Economics Division, USDA Economic Research Service and Jessica E. Todd, Agricultural Economist, Food Assistance Branch, Food Economics Division, USDA Economic Research Service
Additional Items: Presenter’s Slides

Federal Programs for Rural Entrepreneurs in the North Central Region (9/22/22)
Presenters: Alan Haut, North Dakota District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration; Randy Monhemius, Business Program Specialist, USDA- Rural Development, Ohio; Eric Ness, Wisconsin District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration; and Joan Scheel, Business Programs Director, USDA – Rural Development, Nebraska
Additional Items:  SBA Slides  |  USDA-RD Slides

How We Work Together: Supporting Local/Regional Food Systems through Collaboration (8/30/22)
Presenter: Lindsey Scalera, Community Food Systems Collaboration Specialist, Center for Regional Food Systems, Michigan State University
Additional items:  Presenter’s Slides  |  Webinar Mentimeter Responses

Moving Rural Communities FORWARD: Future Opportunities for Rural Workforce and Rural Development through Extension (5/24/22)
Presenters: Tanya Hall, Community Development Regional Extension Educator, Purdue University; Sheila Martin, Strategic Advisor for Economic and Community Engagement, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities; and Michael D. Wilcox, Jr., Assistant Director & Program Leader for Community Development-Purdue Extension, Associate Director-North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD), Community & Regional Economics Specialist-Purdue University Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Senior Associate-Purdue Center for Regional Development

Remaining Land-Grant Fierce While Accepting the Land-Grab Truth of Our Foundation (4/20/22)
Presenters: Stephen M. Gavazzi, Professor, Human Development & Family Science, Land-Grant Fierce Professor at The Ohio State University; and Michael D. Wilcox, Jr., Assistant Director & Program Leader for Community Development-Purdue Extension, Associate Director-North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD), Community & Regional Economics Specialist-Purdue University Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Senior Associate-Purdue Center for Regional Development

How Can Communities Address the Great Resignations? & Work Ready Life Skills Curriculum Preps Applicants for Job Openings Around the Country (3/10/22)
Presenters: Bo Beaulieu, Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics; Monica Nagele, Health and Human Science Educator, Montgomery County, IN; and Mitch Wagoner, 4-H Youth Development, Knox County, IN

Retaining Rural Businesses through Conversions to Employee Cooperatives (2/22/22)
Presenters: Michael Darger, University of Minnesota Extension; Courtney Berner, University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives; and Kevin Edberg, Cooperative Development Services

The Impacts of Flooding on Business Activity and Employment: A Spatial Perspective on Small Business (1/20/22)
Presenters: Mark Skidmore, Professor, Michigan State University

All of US Research Program: The Future of Health Starts With YOU (12/9/21)
Presenters: Mae Sandberg, All of Us

Latino Farmers in the Midwest: Practices and Challenges (11/10/21)
Presenters: Corinne Valdivia, University of Missouri; Stephen Jeanetta, University of Minnesota; and Ruben Martinez, Michigan State University

Insights for Rural Healthcare Resilience: A Quantitative Survey Analysis (10/28/21)
Presenters: Sarah A. Low, Associate Professor of Regional Economics and Heinkel Chair in Agriculture, University of Missouri

Using Q Methodology to Measure Rural Entrepreneurial Perceptions & An Overview of Homegrown (9/16/21)
Presenters: Jennifer Johnson Jorgensen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Tessa Conroy, University of Wisconsin-Madison

How to Get the Most Out of the Community Development Extension Library (6/15/21)
Presenters: NCRCRD, Purdue Extension, University of Illinois Extension

How Communities Can Utilize Financial Data in Planning Their Futures: Strategies and Innovations from Rural Iowa (5/26/21)
Presenters: Biswa Das, Iowa State University and Kimberly Zarecor, Iowa State University

Programs, Partnerships, and Pathways: Opportunities for the North Central Region (4/27/21)
Presenters: Maria Marshall, Purdue University and Michael Wilcox, Purdue University

Equitable Access to Cooperative Extension Services for Indigenous Communities: Implications for the North Central Region (3/3/21)
Presenters: Katie Hartmann, Colorado State University and Erin Riley, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture