2006 Public Service & Outreach
Staff Award for Excellence

Tiffany Williams

Tiffany Williams, a research technician in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, developed an innovative computer-training course for paraprofessionals in a federally funded nutrition education program.

Williams is the data manager for the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), which is supported by the USDA and delivered by Cooperative Extension. The program helps low-income adults and youth acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes to improve family nutrition.

Her job requires that she coordinate with county paraprofessional staff, many of whom only have basic computer skills and speak English as a second language. Because of these communication and technical barriers, Williams took the initiative to develop and teach hands-on training sessions for counties involved in the EFNEP program. The trainings gave paraprofessionals the necessary computer skills to enter EFNEP data. Her course has resulted in a more efficient and confident work environment and has improved the quality of work in her department, as evidenced by the high-quality data and timely reporting for the 2005 year-end federal EFNEP report.

Through her use of the Web and other available resources, staff can now communicate by email, prepare travel expenses and enter data independently. Williams is currently acting as a technical reviewer for the new, national reporting system, NEERS5.