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Expanding Access Quarterly Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance, Division of Extension

Winter 2022

Elevando Wisconsin: Co-constructing a Culturally Appropriate Leadership Program

Through effective, cross-community conversations and network-building, Extension has a tremendous opportunity to share power and resources to develop collaboratively constructed (co-constructed) programs. The story of Elevando Wisconsin began with simple conversations. These conversations occurred over time and in communities more than 150 miles apart.

Through these conversations with Latinx leaders from communities across Wisconsin, it was clear that there was collective interest in the creation of a culturally relevant leadership development program. A “Co-Construction Team” was created with volunteers from across the state, with a few Extension colleagues even finding local volunteers from their counties!

Language support from the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance made it possible to hold bilingual meetings with Latinx leaders from across Wisconsin to co-construct Elevando Wisconsin. Both the program design and the program implementation have provided an opportunity for Extension to build relationships with and expand access to Latinx communities, and for Latinx leaders to build networks and connections across Wisconsin.

The program name – Elevando Wisconsin – was identified through a collaborative conversation among the Spanish-speaking members of the Co-construction Team. The Elevando Wisconsin program is designed to elevate personal and community leadership skills and build a network of leaders across Wisconsin. The first program consisted of four online sessions from September – December 2021. Sessions were in Spanish and English simultaneously, using the Zoom interpretation feature.

Program content was defined by the Co-construction Team. Sessions included:

  • Defining personal leadership journeys
  • Effective communication
  • Demographics and diversity
  • Anti-racism and equity
  • Building personal leadership capacity – finding balance and meeting needs as a community leader
  • Network building
  • Keeping cultures alive
  • Looking ahead/goal setting

Through an Innovation Grant and a partnership with Juntos Wisconsin, the Elevando WIsconsin team has grown to include a Bilingual Program Communications Coordinator. It is our hope that investment like this will provide a model for expanding access for other Extension programs.

Testimonials

The participants in the program often reported meaningful impacts. The following testimonials share a small sample of the impact of the program so far:

“Me ayudó a conocerme mis debilidades y fortalezas como persona. Me ayudó a replantear mis metas y objetivos a corto mediano y largo plazo. Conocí personas que comparten conmigo los mismos intereses y ahora cuento con su apoyo para llevar a cabo mi proyecto. Me hicieron sentir como en casa. Gracias por todo” – Catalina*

“En el programa de Elevando Wisconsin conocí a personas geniales que se preocupan y trabajan por la comunidad Latina, eso y otras cosas mas, me inspiraron a buscar lo mismo para mi comunidad. Aprendí que para ser un buen líder debo de trabajar en mi misma, eso es algo que no esperaba. Tambien me di cuenta que un líder no lo sabe todo, porque esta en constante aprendizaje. Comence con solo una idea de lo que quería hacer en mi comunidad y ahora estoy lista para que esa idea se vuelva realidad.” – Rocio**

Looking Ahead

Elevando Wisconsin will have more programming available in spring 2022. You can reach out to any of the program leads including Jessica Beckendorf, Dionisse Molina, or Victoria Solomon by sending a message to elevandowi@extension.wisc.edu.

For more information, check out the Elevando Wisconsin webpage.

Co-Constructing a Bilingual Leadership Development Program recording. Click the link to view a 12-minute presentation at the 2021 National Extension Leadership Conference with Jessica Beckendorf, Leon Carlos Miranda, and Victoria Solomon.

*“It helped me recognize my strengths and weaknesses personally. It helped me reestablish my goals and objectives both short and long-term. I met people who share my same interests, and I can now count on their support to carry out my project. They made me feel as ease. Thank you for everything.” – Catalina

**“In the Elevando Wisconsin Program, I met amazing people that care about and advocate for the Latino community. That and many other things inspired me to look for the same in my own community. I learned that to be a good leader, I need to work on myself. That realization was one that I was not expecting. I also realized that a leader doesn’t always know everything, because they are always learning something new. I started with just one idea going into this about what I wanted to do with my community and now I am ready for that idea to become a reality.” – Rocio

Employee Spotlight: Tounhia Khang

Job title: Evaluation and Data Management Specialist

Where do you live? Sun Prairie, WI

Where did you grow up? Wausau, WI

How many years have you been with Extension?I’ve been with Extension since July 2021

Tell us a little about your role in Extension: In my role with Extension, I support FoodWIse colleagues with data-related needs, reporting questions, and work a lot with our data from SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) and EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) programming. My role was created to expand our capacity for evaluation and data support within FoodWIse so I am still learning and working with my colleagues to see how I can best support the important work that FoodWIse does.

What motivates you in your position? What motivates me is that FoodWIse has a presence around the whole state of Wisconsin. Due to the connections that my local colleagues have made, we have the opportunity to share nutritional information that can help to improve health outcomes across the state. Food is such an important piece of our daily lives, but I feel like we often forget the impact it has on us as individuals and our communities.

I am also interested in how we can accommodate our programming for different communities and foods. For example, I am Hmong and in the past when I’ve learned about healthy eating, the conversation doesn’t involve many Hmong foods. I’m often left to think on my own how to make dishes healthier. However, I know FoodWIse is committed to working with different communities and I am excited to both contribute to and learn how we can better work with all communities throughout Wisconsin.

One unique or surprising fact about you that you’d like to share with us: At the start of the pandemic, there was an explosion of interest in Pokemon cards. I used to collect when I was younger but didn’t care too much nor take good care of my cards. I decided to join the hype and start collecting again. I consider myself a casual collector and I haven’t purchased any new cards in quite awhile, but I have two PSA 10 Champion’s Path Charizards. Though they aren’t that rare because they’ve been overprinted, they’re probably one of the more flashy things I own. Also, I’m a big foodie. Send me a message if you would ever like to talk about Pokemon cards, have recommendations on good places to eat, or just to say hi!

21 Positions Selected for The Wisconsin Idea Internship Program in 2022

Twenty-one intern position proposals have been approved for Wisconsin Idea Internship Program (WIIP) funding. The internships will allow students to explore how and why we often refer to Extension as “The Wisconsin Idea in Action.” The selected proposals will expose students to experiences such as:

  • identifying where people can access culturally appropriate, healthy, and affordable food
  • engaging in cutting-edge organic berry crop research
  • addressing the existing opportunity gap between non-HMoob and HMoob agricultural producers in Wisconsin
  • focusing on food waste education strategies
  • creating compelling and accessible science communications content relevant to Lake Superior basin residents and visitors
  • expanding our 4-H reach to a new site this summer with our pop-up Learning en Familia kits
  • expanding the business association network and increasing language accessibility on various virtual platforms

Strategic and targeted recruitment will begin soon. A goal of WIIP is to encourage applications from:

  • Persons from racially, ethnically, linguistically minoritized communities
  • Members of tribal nations who reside on or near tribal lands
  • Persons with diverse abilities
  • Persons with veteran status
  • Returning adult students and persons with non-traditional student backgrounds
  • Areas of study and careers where women have been historically underrepresented (e.g. science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM], and others)

Any questions related to this initiative or the process can be directed to Shelly Vils-Havel our talent development specialist (shelly.vilshavel@wisc.edu) or Dominic Ledesma, Director of the Office of Access, Inclusion, and Compliance (oaic@extension.wisc.edu).

AAERG's Lineup for Black History Month

The theme for the Wisdom Wednesday events in February is, "Why does Black History Matter to Extension's work?"

You can register for any or all of the events here:

February 2 Boss: The Black Experience in Business. Exclusive screening from PBS about the history of Black Business in the US. Noon-2pm

February 9 Data Insights on Black Business Owners in Wisconsin. Take a look at statewide trends in businesses owned by people of color including the impacts of COVID-19. Noon-1pm

February 16 Black Business Owners Speak WI. A holistic understanding of the African American entrepreneur in the state of Wisconsin. Noon-1pm

February 23 Affecting change through relationship building. Supporting an African American leader in establishing the ColorBold Business Association. Noon-1pm

Hmong, HMoob, Hmoob – Which One Do I Use?

by Ariana Thao

You may have been seeing different spellings and usages synonymous to Hmong. The variants to Hmong, which include Hmoob or more recently HMoob, are not coincidental and certainly not a typo. They represent different ways of identifying this particular ethnocultural group and their language which includes two main dialect groups. Like other ethnocultural groups, it goes without saying that HMoob people and the language represent a diverse group of communities and identities. This includes two main dialect groups Hmoob Dawb (“White”) and Moob Leng (“Green”). Each dialect group, while sharing similarities, maintains distinct words and pronunciations that are not universally understood.

The history of the HMoob language has largely evolved as a spoken language. It was only in the 1950s that the language system started to be written through the use of the Romanized Popular Alphabet or “RPA.” Missionaries, many of whom were external to HMoob communities, were responsible for initial efforts to transliterate the spoken language using a Latin-based alphabet. Thus, “Hmoob” represents the earliest variant of the demonym. This form displays a tonally correct form of the pronunciation of the word. The “Hm” is meant to be said with a M sound combined with an H sound through the nasals. The “oo” represents the “ong” sound that is heard when saying the word. The “b” represents the high tone meant to end the word. Altogether, what is heard is the term that we are most used to hearing. Similarly, Green dialect speakers share the same word, except without the ‘H’ sound – Moob. (Please refer to the link provided in the Romanized Popular Alphabet hyperlink.)

So how does the usage of “Hmong” come to be so relevant in most texts when the origination of the written term seems to be “Hmoob” or “Moob”? As HMoob communities immigrated to the United States as refugees, the United States sought to create a written form that was synonymous to how the term sounded in English.

Thus, “Hmong” represents the earliest variant of the demonym in the United States. While the term “Hmong” is still commonly recognized both internally and externally to the community, it has been subject to community critiques over time.

Critics of “Hmong” argue that the term was orthographically represented in a way that was attentive to speakers who were predominantly English speakers. In other words, “Hmong” is written in a way that was not attentive to a difference in pronunciation.

Over time, the term Hmoob has been transitioned back into usage as a reclamation to proper pronunciation of the identifying term. However, community members have continued to shape the discussion around terms of self-identification. This led to the emergence of “HMoob” as a variant that stems from “Hmoob” and “Moob.” As an act of self-determination, the HMoob American Studies Committee at the University of Wisconsin-Madison generated and adopted “HMoob.” This variant, however, had less to do with pronunciation and more to do with efforts to be more socially inclusive. Creating this variant was aimed to purposefully acknowledge and respect both dialect groups within a single term. This is the reason behind capitalizing “H” (to symbolically value White dialect group) and a capital “M” (to symbolically represent the Green dialect group). The term has since been socialized within a number of contexts, which include both academic and non-academic spaces.

Adopting “HMoob” as a conventional spelling is to recognize the different communities within the HMoob community. It also represents a way for community members to self-determine the ways in which they choose to refer to themselves. Based on the historical and contemporary considerations of all variants, OAIC recommends the following: When creating written materials, we suggest “HMoob/Hmong.”

Writing both terms in a side-by-side representation helps balance older and newer interpretations of a term that has evolved over time, and does so in a way that promotes social inclusion. Within a broader context, however, adopting HMoob as a convention is about acknowledging and respecting the ways in which community members choose to self-identify.

COMPLIANCE CORNER

The Evolution of Compliance

by Kim Waldman, Compliance Coordinator & Equity Strategist

In the world of internal auditors, there has been an evolution from the “gotcha” mentality to a collaborative model. This shift recognizes that fear-based auditing does not lead to sustained improvements.

OAIC’s civil rights review process embraces a collaborative, asset-based approach. We want to partner with colleagues toward our mutual goal of ensuring that Extension services are accessible to everyone in Wisconsin. The review itself is one piece of an ongoing process. It is an opportunity to recognize strengths and identify strategies that will help us continue to improve. And there will always be room to improve when it comes to building relationships, reaching underrepresented audiences, and documenting those activities.

As a result, a civil rights action plan is not a punishment for noncompliance; rather, it is setting goals, identifying actions, and leveraging resources to support the individuals best qualified to bring about a desired change.

I sincerely look forward to civil rights reviews to learn about and celebrate the exciting work that is happening statewide. If you have questions or concerns about civil rights compliance or the review process, please don’t hesitate to contact me: kim.waldman@wisc.edu.

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Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, language(s), background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For inquiries related to this publication or if you would like to make a financial gift to support the OAIC’s work, please contact oaic@extension.wisc.edu.

Photo credits: title banner, Kim Waldman, Lake Monona in winter; Tounhia Khang

Created By
Kate Wodyn
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Created with images by geralt - "hands win win win" • 165106 - "hemlock plant frost" • CQF-avocat - "justice right legal"

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