Patricia White
Arkport native Patricia White went to explore
the country after earning an English degree
from SUNY Oswego. Living near Nashville and
San Francisco through the 1970’s, she
learned a lot about health food, so when she
returned to Steuben County she began work in
the nutrition field.
First Pat was an assistant dietary supervisor
at the Hornell Gardens nursing facility. Then
she became a nutrition assistant for the Steuben/Allegheny
WIC, at that time sponsored by Cornell Cooperative
Extension. Her duties changed when the program
left Extension’s care, so she accepted
a new challenge as a nutrition educator with
Extension. “I like the variety,”
she says. “I like the people, and I can
continue to learn. I do think we are making
a difference. We are bringing to the forefront
topics in nutrition like obesity and physical
activity—things that affect all families.”
Pat works with families who need to stretch
their food dollars. “Most families don’t
think about nutrition until they are forced
to. They don’t view it as a preventative
measure. Nutrition is a balance, like everything
in life. Everything in moderation—we say
that over and over.”
Pat was new to Extension and surprised by how
many different topics they offer the public.
She says most people in the community don’t
realize all that is available. An avid flower
gardener, Pat sees the need to introduce more
people to gardening — to understand where
food comes from. “Kids need to see it
grow - that it doesn't just come from the store."
Patricia Lamphier
Pat Lamphier is an integral part of the Nutrition
Education team at CCE-Steuben. Co-worker Jon
Sterlace says where he is the “flash”,
Pat is the “substance” as well as
the communicator and connector for the team.
Pat hails from a dairy family and
was a Dairy Princess runner up in her youth. She
earned a human service degree from Corning Community
College and applied it by directing activities
for an adult day care center and doing clothing
alterations. Then she landed a nutrition services
position with the Steuben/Allegheny WIC program.
She enjoyed talking one on one with young mothers
and working with families in need to locate helpful
resources.
The jump to Cooperative Extension
was easy since CCE then oversaw the WIC program.
Pat met Loree Symonds, CCE Nutrition Educator,
at a clinic, and her future was sealed.
Pat loves being a nutrition educator,
working with people to adapt their behavioral
skills. “The variety at CCE is so extraordinary,”
she says. “To be able to make a difference
in the lower income families in a big county where
the resources are so high is great. I enjoy being
able to work from the young to the old.”
She says the nutrition component at Cooperative
Extension has grown. “We have a lot to offer
the community if they’re more aware. We’re
getting a lot of good comments about Farmer’s
Market.”
Lea Kautz
Nutrition Educator Lea Kautz found
out quick that Cooperative Extension work means
jumping in with both feet and working hard out
in the community, but she loves it. She came to
Extension six years ago from clinical diet technician
work in a nursing facility. Now she teaches nutrition
to groups, kids, and young moms.
“I like the energy from the
groups,” she says. “They are really
trying to increase their vegetables and fruits,
but it’s harder to change their beverage.”
Consumption of soda pop is decreasing, and they
are learning the benefits of lower fat milk.
Lea received a degree in fashion
merchandising management from Bryant Stratton
in Williamsville and as Registered Diet Technician
from Erie Community College in Buffalo. The first
degree taught her how to recruit skillfully and
be comfortable with people.
Today teaching nutrition offers her immediate
gratification by showing results. She had one
young mom who was a vegetarian that planned two
versions of each meal and relied heavily on convenience
foods. Lea showed her how to cook from scratch,
which not only saved her money, but also time
and the family felt better.
Another mom with two kids and a
limited budget went grocery shopping with Lea.
She learned how to look at unit pricing and pick
foods that stretched for several meals. She came
out with change and twice as many meals!
Lea enjoys networking with the 4-H,
Financial and Agriculture departments within Extension
as well as with other community agencies who help
families. And she never stops learning. She earned
the FDC credential which taught her new skills,
new perspectives and more community collaboration.
Jonathan Sterlace
Jonathan Sterlace, of Corning, has
joined the CCE-Steuben team as a Nutrition Program
Educator. “I like how you get instant feedback
when you cook for people,” John said. He
has always enjoyed cooking even back to the time
when he helped his mom in the kitchen.
Working at Cooperative Extension will put him
“in a position to really help the public.”
He said he has a family himself and understands
what it is like when times are tough. Now he can
show others how to stretch their food dollars
and offer them tools to help.
Jonathan received an associates
degree in culinary arts from Alfred State College
in December 2003. He then pursued the management
side of the field through the PACE Program at
Houghton College. He spent the last five years
cooking and catering with the Best Western Lodge
on the Green. Following his first job as a paper
boy, Jonathan became a dishwasher at Perkins Restaurant.
He worked his way up from busboy to cooking to
catering. He owned a catering business and still
caters from time to time.
Jonathan ‘s wife, Lisa, is
a dental hygienist and the couple have three children,
Kelli, 17; Kaitlyn, 11, and Kerizan, 2. He laughs
when he says he met his wife when he went to the
dentist. She called him back to see if he was
flossing, and he took her out to eat.
