2008 Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in University Public Service and Outreach

Gail Hanula

Gail M. Hanula, a nutrition educator, helps design and implement programs that promote healthy lifestyles, provide foods and nutrition education to youth, and offer health education for families.

She coordinates and provides statewide leadership for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), a USDA extension program that aims to help low-income families improve health through better nutrition. She also has provided national leadership to EFNEP, chairing the committee overseeing development of the program’s NEERS5 reporting system and leading the NEERS5 training committee.

She co-developed the Walk-A-Weigh program, which combines exercise and nutrition education for weight loss. One of the most popular programs in Georgia, Walk-A-Weigh was awarded second place by the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in the curriculum category.

Her work also involves providing training and technical assistance to county agents, paraprofessionals, other nutrition and health professionals, youth in 4-H programs, and consumer groups. Hanula develops curricula and teaching approaches that target populations that have low-literacy skills or speak English as a second language.

She has received 15 state and national awards for her work, including the 2007 National Distinguished Service Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is the past president of both the Georgia Nutrition Council and the Northeast Georgia Dietetic Association.