Throughout her 17 year career in Extension, Dr. Sarah Kirby has demonstrated a commitment to high quality, relevant and contemporary programs addressing client needs. The recognition and honors during her Extension career in Oklahoma reflect her record of excellence there. Since joining NCCES in l995, Dr. Kirby has compiled a record of distinguished service to the organization, to field faculty, and to the citizens of North Carolina.

Dr. Kirby has the ability to work as a team member across departments, and with agents and agency representatives. In addition, she takes individual initiative to provide programming as needs assessments dictate. Her individual and team accomplishments and contributions as a housing educator are recognized in numerous professional arenas, including: American Homeowner Education and Counseling Certified Homeowner Educator; Membership in the North Carolina Institute for Health and Safety in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; National Award of Excellence in Aging Programs, US Committee for the Celebration of the International Year of Older Persons, and 2 Excellence in Extension Awards.

Dr. Kirby is very astute in identifying and programming for cutting edge housing issues. She has taken a leadership role in programming for disaster preparation, response and recovery. She serves on a team leading a train-the-trainer Family and Community Disaster Preparation curriculum. She is coordinating the development and distribution as well as serving as a contributing author for a 2 volume Disaster Preparation, Response and Recovery Manual for Extension field faculty.

Dr. Kirby’s Accessible Housing Program and it’s impact have been recognized as a Program of Excellence by a group of peers at CSREES. She has developed numerous in-service training experiences for NCCES agents in the area of home modifications, housing accessibility and home design for persons with dementia. Her expertise has been recognized by other Extension Service professionals, and she has been invited to conduct in-service training for extension agents and housing specialists in Florida and Illinois. Her outstanding participant evaluations speak to the effectiveness and quality of her training.

She was invited to serve on a national team of 7 specialists/researchers in the US to develop a national pre-home ownership curriculum funded by the American Homeowner Education and Counseling Institute, Fannie Mae, Chase Manhattan, National Federation of Housing Counselors and Department of Housing and Urban Development. After industry-wide review, the curriculum was released in December, l999, at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. The curriculum has achieved the goal of establishing a naational core curriculum for homeowner education and counseling.

Dr. Kirby exhibits outstanding skill in multidisciplinary collaboration. Partnerships with Wood Products faculty and Entomology faculty have resulted in in-service trainings including field visits and diagnostic skill building for agents. This team has revised the nationally know Extension manual, “Guide to the Inspection of Existing Homes for Wood-Inhabiting Fungi and Insects.

In the area of home maintenance, construction and repair, Dr. Kirby forged a partnership with the North Carolina Home Builders’ Association. In partnership with HUD and USDA, she secured funding for the Healthy Homes Initiative. This national initiative focuses on creating safe and healthy environments for children. In keeping with this theme, in-service trainings have been conducted for agents focusing on heating, ventilation and air conditioning; lead in the home, and green buildings-green communities.

Dr. Kirby is an outstanding Extension professional. She has demonstrated appreciation and understanding of Extension’s mission, and she is committed to developing high quality, cutting edge programming to support field faculty work and to benefit the citizens of the state.