Extension Early Career Conference

About the Extension Early Career Conference

The inaugural Extension Early Career Conference in October 2023 reestablished in-person onboarding training for N.C. Cooperative Extension county employees after a long hiatus due to Covid-19. While the first conference included employees hired during a three-year span, future Early Career Conferences will be designed for employees within the first six months of employment. Each Early Career Conference will consist of primarily general onboarding topics relevant to all new N.C. Cooperative Extension employees. There will also be an opportunity during each conference to meet with staff and specialists from the different program areas. For questions about Early Career Conference or other onboarding topics, please contact Eleanor Baker, Extension Org Development Program Associate.*

2026 Spring Extension Early Career Conference Details


Who: All new county-based Extension employees, hired since December 2025

What: General Extension onboarding and in-person networking with peers, specialists, and administration

When: Tuesday, May 19 through Thursday, May 21, 2026

Where: Virtually via Zoom

Lodging: N/A

Cost: Free

Registration: Registration will open soon! (Eleanor will email new hires and their CEDs to notify everyone that registration is open)

Photos from past conferences

Three women sit at a registration table that is covered with a black N.C. Cooperative Extension tablecloth. The table sits in a hotel hallway and has a foam "Conference Registration" sign in the foreground.
Registration table at the 2023 Early Career Conference. The inaugural conference theme was "Ignite Your Career."
4-H Extension agents and program assistants sit at round tables in a hotel conference room. A 4-H specialist leads the discussion with a PowerPoint presentation at the front of the room.
A breakout session from the 2023 Early Career Conference. New 4-H agents and PAs hear about volunteer management from 4-H specialist, Dr. Daniel Collins.
A dozen people stand in front of a graffitied wall, smiling and posing with mini golf clubs.
A group of 2023 Early Career Conference participants went out to play mini golf during a free evening. Dr. Bonanno, Director of NC State Extension, joined them!
An older man tour guide stands on a gravel path in front of a half dozen Extension employees. They are surrounded by the arboretum gardens on a sunny day.
Attendees enjoyed a variety of campus tours during the 2023 Early Career Conference, including a visit to NC State's JC Raulston Arboretum.
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Eleanor Baker