Jennifer Cantwell earned a Master of Social Work in Community Empowerment and Program Development with a certificate in Nonprofit Management at the University of Georgia (UGA) and a BS in Family and Community Services at Berry College.

Jennifer has worked in various social work arenas, including child welfare, violence against women, youth development, collaboration, community organizing, grants management, evaluation, and non-profit capacity building.

Jennifer has been a Georgia 4-H State Staff Member at the University of Georgia/Cooperative Extension since April 2014. Her main duty is as the AmeriCorps State Program Coordinator. She oversees all aspects of the grant from managing day-to-day activities, leading the yearly grant renewal process, developing, and managing the budget, overseeing recruitment and hiring, providing support and training to members and site supervisors, and completing required reports. She also supports 4-H State Specialists and County Faculty with program evaluation.

Jenna Daniel serves as the Extension 4-H Specialist for Grant Development. In this role, she works with county, state, and district faculty and staff to secure funding and increase organizational capacity through grant opportunities. Jenna began her career with UGA Extension in 2011 and has served as Walton County 4-H Agent, AmeriCorps State Grant Program Coordinator, and State Office Program Assistant. She received her Bachelor of Science at Western Kentucky University. At the University of Georgia, she received her Master of Agricultural Leadership and Doctorate in Adult Education.

Lee Anna Deal is the 4-H Program Development Coordinator serving 39 counties in UGA Extension’s Southeast District.  As a PDC, Lee Anna provides training, support,and coaching to the 4-H agents, associates, and program assistants in the counteis located in Southeastern Georgia.

Lee Anna started her 4-H journey like many, in 5th grade with a great experience at Cloverleaf Project Achievement and 4-H Camp.  She also showed livestock.  She was raised on a farm in Bulloch County, GA and became interested in a career with UGA Extension after an intership wtih Bulloch County Extension.  She is an alumna of Georgia Southern University.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Child and Family Development and a MEd in Higher Education Administration.

Prior to joining the SE District team in December 2015, Lee Anna served as the County Extension 4-H Agent in Bulloch County for 10 years.  Her Extension career began in 2001 in Glascock, Warren, & McDuffie Counties.  She also served as the 4-H Agent in Effingham County.  In 2010, Deal was nominated by her peers to receive the William H. Booth Award winning the distinguished honor among 4-H agents in SE District.  In 2015, she recieved the Continuing Excellence Award for the Georgia Association of Extension 4-H Agents.  She has also recieved the Achievement in Service and Distinguished Service Awards from the Georgia and National Associations of Extension Agents.  She served as the National Chair of the NAE4-HA Professional Development Committee from 2013-2015.  She is also a member of Epsilon Sigma Phi Extension Honor Society.

Lee Anna resides in Statesboro, Georgia with her husband Eric, and their two children Addie and Rylan.

Matt Hammons serves as the director at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. In this role he coordinates the overall operations of the 4-H center including dining services, housekeeping, maintenance, programming, and overall administration. Matt encourages the Rock Eagle 4-H Center team to develop themselves professionally while providing safe and enjoyable experiences to all guests.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Education from Georgia College and State University and a Master of Education in Recreation Administration from the University of Georgia. He joined the Rock Eagle team in the fall of 2000 as a seasonal environmental educator. He later served as a program specialist, the coordinator for environmental education, and assistant director at Rock Eagle 4-H Center. Matt became Rock Eagle 4-H Center Director in 2019.

Keri Gandy Hobbs serves as the Extension 4-H Specialist for Volunteer Development for Georgia 4-H and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. In this role, she works with county personnel to create and deliver resources for volunteer leadership and management. As a native of South Georgia and proud alumni of the Turner County 4-H program, Keri received her Master of Public Administration from Valdosta State University and Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Georgia. She began her career with UGA Extension in 2007 in Sumter County as the 4-H Agent. While there she built a strong 4-H program with special focus on volunteer development. Through her efforts she became part of the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) grant project that is now in its 10th year of funding in Georgia 4-H. In 2012, Keri transferred to Northeast District to become the Jackson County 4-H Agent. She became the Jackson County Extension Coordinator in 2014.

Prior to her career in Extension, Keri served as the Exhibit Interpreter Supervisor and was later promoted to Volunteer Resources Manager for Zoo Atlanta where she managed over 275 adult and teen volunteers who donated 28,000 hours annually. Because of her great success at Zoo Atlanta and certification of Volunteer Management from Leadership 101, Keri served with the Academy for Conservation Training where she developed and delivered a volunteer training curriculum at two locations in China to help them prepare for the Olympics in Beijing. Keri is married to Kelby Hobbs, professionally licensed civil engineer with the National Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. They share a love for music and are the proud parents of two sons.

Ke’Marcis Howard serves as the State 4-H Events and Programs Coordinator for Georgia 4-H. In this role, he works to support the planning, promotion, and execution of the events and activities that serve the more than 240,000 4-H youth in Georgia.

Ke’Marcis holds a Bachelor’s in Agricultural Education from the University of Georgia and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Higher Education from Piedmont University. He began his 4-H journey as an Athens-Clarke County 4-H’er, later serving as an AmeriCorps in Ben Hill County and spending the last two years in Oconee County as the AmeriCorps.

The son of a former Extension home demonstration agent, Craven Hudson grew up in 4-H. Now he is a State 4-H Specialist.

Hudson’s mother—his original 4-H leader—made sure all four of her sons participated in 4-H because she knew they needed to be involved and engaged in their rural community, he said.  “There weren’t all these options that we have now,” explained Hudson. “There was 4-H and baseball.”

Now he’s much farther from his original Red Bank Community 4-H Club and is honored to be leading a new group of more than 184,000 of Georgia’s youth.

Hudson comes to the University of Georgia Extension and Georgia 4-H from North Carolina State University where he served as the executive assistant to the director of Cooperative Extension. He also held the position of executive director of development for 4-H and family and consumer sciences in the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He brings more than 25 years of Extension experience to the peach state.

“Craven’s background as a county Extension agent and knowledge of fund development and organizational skills will help Georgia 4-H continue to be among the best 4-H programs in the United States,” said State 4-H Leader Arch Smith.

Hudson earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry and wildlife from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a master’s degree in forestry from NC State. He is currently working on a doctorate of education at NC State.

He is excited about the impact he can have on Georgia’s largest youth development organization.

“4-H is a phenomenal part of Extension and it’s the part that can transform the future,” he said. “It helps kids gain exceptional leadership and citizenship skills. Certainly all the other parts are important,but I am excited about being able to focus on what we can do so that our youth can become citzen-leaders. From this administrative role I want to do the most good for our state and nation.”

Hudson’s first goals are to garner more adult volunteer leaders to align with the state’s growing population and increase retention of Cloverleaf 4-H’ers (fifth- through sixth-graders).

He is excited to see the size and scope of Georgia 4-H’s summer camping program.

“We know so many amazing things happen at residential camps,” he said. “The research is pretty strong about what happens when a kid is in that kind of atmosphere and Georgia does it at a high level.”

When asked about moving to the peach state, Hudson said he hasn’t met a stranger yet. “Folks in North Carolina think they’ve got hospitality but I’ve experienced real hospitality in Georgia,” he answered. “And that’s the truth.”

Beth Jarrett serves as the Business Manager for the Georgia 4-H Foundation. Ms. Jarrett has over 30 years of experience in business operations, small business start-ups, financial management, marketing, and business process development. She has worked in a variety of industries including architectural and design services, manufacturing, engineering, and technology.

As the Business Manager for the Georgia 4-H Foundation, she oversees the daily financial transactions, project and financial reporting, account reconciliations for both internally and externally held funds, records management, and audit preparation.

Beth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia, and was pleased to have the opportunity to serve as a co-founder and volunteer for the Jackson County 4-H Robotics Team 4189, in the role of business and marketing mentor.

In her free time, Beth enjoys acrylic painting, yoga, hiking, travel, and spending time with family and friends.

Carole Knight serves as the Extension 4-H Specialist for Animal Science Programs.  Carole is responsible for youth livestock programming through Georgia 4-H.  In this role, she coordinates the State Livestock Shows, Livestock Judging, Diary Quiz Bowl, and Dairy Judging.  She also develops and provides training and education for agents and those leading and teaching animal science programming.

Carole holds the rank of Public Service Associate at the University of Georgia.  She began her career with UGA Extension in 2006 as a Beef Cattle Specialist with the Animal and Dairy Science Department. Carole transitioned into a county agent role in 2011 in Bulloch County where she was the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent.  In 2020, she moved to Madison County, where she served as the County Extension Coordinator and Ag and Natural Resources Agent.  Carole was honored to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in 2020.

Carole is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she received her Bachelor of Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science.  She also earned her Master of Science in Animal Science at UGA. Carole grew up in the Georgia 4-H program and was a three-time Master 4-Her, in project achievement and livestock judging.

Carole lives in Madison County with her husband and son.  They have a farm there where they enjoy producing cattle, pigs and a vegetable garden.