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Technical and Operational Advisory Committee (TOAC)

The Technical and Operational Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors advises the SRDC staff in the development of priority goals and strategies for the Center. The committee seeks suggestions and support from the directors and administrators of the various state Extension and research units in the region, from land-grant faculty, and from rural development stakeholders. The committee reviews the proposed direction and activities of the Center and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The committee meets quarterly. Members serve a three-year term. Current members are:

Extension

Garen Evans TOAC Term: 12/08-11/12 Assistant Extension Professor Agricultural Economics Mississippi State University Howell Building - Room 201 Mississippi State, MS, 39762 Phone: (662)325-2750 gevans@ext.msstate.edu		LaVonya Malveaux TOAC Term: 10/08-11/09 Director Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives 232 S. Liberty Street Opelousas, LA 70571 Phone: (337) 943- 2410 Fax: (337) 943- 2413 lavonya_malveaux@suagcenter.com

Joe Sumners Chair-Elect TOAC Term: 12/07-11/10 Director Economic Community Development Institute Auburn University 214 Extension Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 Phone: (334) 844-4704 Fax: (334) 844-4709 sumneja@auburn.edu		Louis Whitesides TOAC Term: 12/07-11/10 Senior Extension Director Adult Leadership and Community Development South Carolina State University P.O. Box 7066 Orangeburg, SC 29117 Phone: (803) 533-3752 Fax: (803) 533-3962 lwhitesides@scsu.edu

Michael Wilcox, Jr. TOAC Term: 8/08-11/09 Assistant Professor University of Tennessee 2621 Morgan Circle 314B Morgan Hall Knoxville, TN 37996 Phone: (865) 974-7410 Fax: (865) 974-9492 mwilcox2@utk.edu

Research

Patricia Dyk TOAC Term: 12/07-11/10 Director Center for Leadership Development University of Kentucky College of Agriculture,Department of Community and Leadership Development 709 Garrigus Building Lexington, KY, 40546 Phone: (859) 257-3228 Fax: (859) 323-8696 pdyk@uky.edu		Enefiok Ekanem TOAC Term: 12/08-11/11 Research Associate Professor Institute of Agriculture & Environmental Research Tennesse State University 3500 John A.Merritt Boulevard Nashville, TN 37209-1561 Phone: (615) 963-5823 eekanem@tnstate.edu

Benjamin Gray Chair TOAC Term: 12/06-11/09 Assistant Professor Rural Sociology North Carolina A&T State University 1601 East Market Greensboro, NC 27411 Phone: (336) 334-7072 Fax: (336) 334-7658 grayb@ncat.edu		Pam Monroe TOAC Term: 12/08-11/11 Professor Social Work 131 David Boyd Hall Louisiana State University BatonRouge, LA 70803 Phone: (225) 578-1374 pmonroe@lsu.edu

Al Wysocki TOAC Term: 12/06-11/09 Associate Professor Food and Resource Economics Department University of Florida 1161 McCarty P.O. Box 110240 Gainesville, FL 32611 Phone: (352) 392-1826 Fax: (352) 846-0988 wysocki@ufl.edu		Andrew Zekeri TOAC Term: 12/07-11/10 Professor Department of Psychology and Sociology Tuskegee University 44-325 Bioethics Building Tuskegee, AL, 36088 Phone: (334) 727-8006 Fax: (334) 724-8413 zekeri@tuskegee.edu

Non Land-Grant
Steven Shepelwich TOAC Term: 12/06-11/09 Senior Community Affairs Advisor Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Oklahoma City Branch 226 Dean A McGee Avenue, Suite 300 Oklahoma City, OK 73102 Phone: (405) 270-8675 steven.shepelwich@kc.frb.org		Glynis Strause TOAC Term: 12/07-11/10 Coordinator Continuing Education Coastal Bend College 3800 Charco Road Beeville, TX 78102 Phone: (361) 362-2633 Fax: (361) 354-2210 ghstraus@coastalbend.edu

SRDC Board Advisor

Susan Jenkins Chair-Elect Board Term: 12/07 - 11/11 Executive Director Cherokee Preservation Foundation P.O. Box 504 Cherokee, NC 28719 (828) 497-5550 Fax: (828) 497-8929 sjenkins@cpfdn.org