Lisa Jordan

2018 D.W. Brooks Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service Extension

Lisa Jordan
Family and Consumer Sciences Program Development Coordinator, Southeast District, UGA Cooperative Extension

Throughout her career, Lisa Jordan has distinguished herself by developing innovative programs and creative partnerships that have helped to educate southeast Georgia residents on the importance of nutrition, quality childcare, and safe and healthy homes.

Thousands of residents of Chatham County and surrounding counties have attended her programs, and their success has earned Jordan national accolades.
Jordan’s proven expertise has given her the opportunity to develop state and national curricula for nutrition programming. After almost 20 years as a county Family and Consumer Sciences agent, she assumed the role of FACS program development coordinator for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s Southeast District. She now works with FACS county agents in 39 southeastern Georgia counties to plan, implement and evaluate evidence-based educational programs.

Known for her commitment to serving all audiences during her 18 years in Chatham County, Jordan tirelessly worked to establish and grow the county’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Over almost two decades of service, Jordan provided programming to more than 47,600 individuals in Chatham County.

When she realized a language barrier was keeping her from delivering EFNEP programming as widely as possible, she launched a Spanish-language program. To better learn the language and food culture of the immigrant families she wanted to work with, she traveled to Mexico for a cultural immersion program. She then hired a bilingual staff and worked to produce articles in Spanish and English for La Voz Latina newspaper in Savannah, Georgia.

Programs like these have been held up as examples of what EFNEP can achieve nationally.

In addition to her work with EFNEP, Jordan expanded UGA Extension’s childcare education program, making it one of the most recognized sources for state-approved childcare training in coastal Georgia. During her time in Chatham County, more than 17,000 childcare practitioners received training from UGA Extension.