Chevy Chase, MD (September 28, 2017) – National 4-H Council today announced the election of three new Trustees as the Board continues to engage alumni as well as support the 4-H system’s goal of significantly increasing investment and participation in 4-H.
Mary Snapp, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Philanthropies, Mark Berven, President and Chief Operating Officer, Nationwide Property & Casualty, and Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, student, Michigan State University, join the 21-member board that is focused on an aggressive fundraising and marketing initiative to significantly increase investment and participation in Cooperative Extension’s 4-H programs.
“We are extremely grateful to these new Trustees for bringing their leadership and expertise to 4-H,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO, National 4-H Council. “They will be important partners in our work to maintain our core value of growing true leaders with the essential life skills needed in all communities nationwide.”
Mary Snapp, Corporate Vice President and leader of Microsoft Philanthropies, Microsoft Corporation
Seattle, WA
Mary Snapp joined Microsoft Corporation in 1988, as the company’s first female attorney, and has led Microsoft Philanthropies since December 2015. Prior to her current role, for many years, she supported Microsoft’s business and engineering organizations. Snapp has been active on several nonprofit boards of directors, including those engaged in human services, arts, education, and the advancement of diversity in the legal profession. She is a frequent presenter on issues of computer science education, the future of work, leadership, and governance. Snapp grew up in the small town of Newton, Kansas.
Mark Berven, President & Chief Operating Officer, Nationwide Property & Casualty
Columbus, OH
Mark Berven is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Nationwide Property & Casualty, prior to which he was Nationwide’s Chief Strategy and Product Management Officer. Berven is active in a variety of nonprofit and industry-related organizations, recently serving as the board chair of The Childhood League Center in Columbus, Ohio. Berven’s father was an Extension Agent for Iowa State University and his wife Tammy is a 4-H alumna.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Student, Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
A 4-H member in Puerto Rico for five years, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is currently a fourth year student at Michigan State University, studying to achieve a degree in journalism, with a concentration in international reporting and a minor in environmental and sustainability studies. Martínez-Beltrán is also the communications coordinator at the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. Martínez-Beltrán was elected to the board and will serve as a representative of the newly formed Youth Advisory Committee, which he is a member.
In addition, in June, Edwin Jones, Virginia Cooperative Extension, was elected as a voting member of the Council Board to represent Cooperative Extension. Extension is an important partner within the land-grant university system that is responsible for delivering 4-H programs to young people in every county and parish in the United States.
Jones is the Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, as well as the Director of Virginia Cooperative Extension. He has served in that role since April, 2011. Jones also co-chairs the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) 4-H Leadership Committee. Jones has held leadership positions in the Extension Disaster Education Network, the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals, Southern Region Program Leader Network and the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors.
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for career tomorrow. 4-H programs empower nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA, and serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3000 local Extension offices. Globally, 4-H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries. The research-backed 4-H experience grows young people who are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs.
Learn more about 4-H at 4-h.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/4-H and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/4-H.
