Forestry Women Who Rock – Leslie Boby – Southern Regional Extension Forestry – Episode 51

Leslie and I chatted about the responsibilities of being an extension forester, being proactive to plant the right trees in the right areas and she is proud of her role in her office.

Leslie Boby is the Coordinator for the Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF) office and has been leading the office on an interim basis since the previous lead left in January 2019. She has worked as an Extension Associate on regional projects for the SREF office since 2011 and is based at the University of Georgia.

SREF Twitter: https://twitter.com/soforext or @soforext

Leslie's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Leslie_Boby or @Leslie_Boby

As Interim Coordinator of the SREF office, Leslie’s work entails facilitating connections and regional programs among the 13 southern land-grant universities, the USDA Forest Service, state forestry agencies and other southern forestry community members. These efforts include education, technology transfer and Extension programs that can serve the entire region. Leslie has a Masters degree in Forest Ecology from the University of Florida, a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of Illinois and is currently pursuing a Doctorate at the University of Georgia in Adult Education and Leadership. Prior to joining SREF, Leslie worked in various locations nationwide and for multiple agencies. She worked for the Audubon Society in California, as a wildland firefighter and forest technician for the Bureau of Land Management in northern New Mexico, and conducted wildland fire and soils research in Alaska. Leslie began her Extension career by serving in the United States Peace Corps as an Agroforestry Extension volunteer in rural Kenya for two years. Leslie lives with her husband and two boys in Athens, GA and enjoys hiking and camping with her family as much as possible.