Vickie Parker-Clark to lead WSU Extension district

Vickie Parker-Clark, an accomplished Extension professor with more than 22 years of experience, is the new director for Washington State University Extension’s Northeast District.

WSU Extension Dean Linda Kirk Fox announced the appointment today. Parker-Clark, who has served as District 1 Extension director at the University of Idaho in Coeur d’Alene for the past four years, will assume her new responsibilities Oct. 1. She succeeds former Northeast District Director Wayne Madson. Ray Faini has served as interim district director for the past year.

Parker-Clark will oversee Extension operations in nine counties in north central and northeastern Washington. She will be based in Spokane.

“I am very pleased that Dr. Parker-Clark has accepted the opportunity to lead the northeast region programs. She brings to the position two decades of extension experience with a wide variety of programs and partnerships,” said Fox.

Parker-Clark said she is looking forward to joining WSU Extension. “The Northeast District faculty and staff are creative and entrepreneurial. WSU Spokane and the learning centers in the district have forward momentum. I am excited about working with folks across the university to help address the complex needs of communities in northeastern Washington,” she said.

Parker-Clark began her Extension career at UI as an Extension assistant professor, agricultural agent and Extension chair for Camas County in Fairfield, Idaho, in 1983, a post she held until 1987. She moved to Kootenai County as an Extension educator that year with responsibilities in the areas of crops and horticulture. She served as Extension chair there in 1991-92. In 2001, she was selected to serve as the District 1 director for UI Extension, and she currently holds the rank of Extension professor.

Parker-Clark holds a Ph.D. in plant science from the University of Idaho as well as a master’s in agronomy and a bachelor’s in agriculture, both from Montana State University. She has more than 15 years of experience working in the areas of farm direct marketing and with small acreage farmers/ranchers.

She participated in the USDA International Programs agribusiness/Extension development project in South Africa in 2000, teaching Extension methodology to more than 100 South African Extension officers who work with small-scale farmers in the Northern Transvaal and Qua-Zulu Natal provinces. Since becoming district director her focus has been on strategic planning and intercultural communication.

Parker-Clark has served on a number of national committees, including the USDA Globalizing Extension Steering Committee. She is a member of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association Board of Directors, the North American Farmers’ Market Coalition Leadership Council and belongs to numerous other professional and scholarly organizations.