CSU Health Extension Impact Report
FY: 2024-25
CSU Health Extension empowers Coloradans to live healthy lives by supporting community-driven initiatives and offering programs and resources that promote a culture of health and well-being.
Cultivating Healthy Communities
CSU Health Extension completed its second year as a Health & Well-being Program and Research Unit (PRU).
The PRU supported 11 programs through “mini grants” and made it possible for nine Extension Specialists to present at the 2025 National Extension Health Outreach Conference in Omaha, NE.
Health Extension expanded into diverse new programming areas and launched innovations in lifestyle and disease prevention education that we would like to highlight in this year’s annual report.
22
counties were served by projects
funded by mini grants
200+
community members participated in
events and education funded by mini grants
$20,000+
awarded to Extension Specialists across Colorado to support innovative health and wellness programs
PRU Mini Grant Programs
In FY24–25, the Health and Well-being PRU awarded over $20,000 to Extension Specialists across Colorado to support innovative health and wellness programs.
These projects strengthened nutrition, physical activity, nature access, food safety, and financial literacy education, reaching diverse audiences from youth to older adults.
The programs included:
Twenty extension specialists received training to deliver high-quality, interactive financial education for 3rd graders, aligning with Colorado State School Standards.
Twenty-eight older adults in Jackson County participated in a
community event promoting healthier eating and benefited from receiving a new cookbook that included local recipes and historical information.
Twelve women in Larimer County’s Community Corrections program gained food preservation skills, with 100% reporting increased knowledge and confidence.
Eleven youth ages 10–13 learned cooking skills, teamwork, and creativity through hands-on kitchen classes. Families benefited as participants cooked more at home.
Ten food service workers in Northwest Colorado received training and certification support in Spanish and Chinese, aimed at improving community food safety.
Six new leaders in Chafee County trained to expand strength training opportunities for older adults as demand for classes grows.
Eight high school culinary students gained business, nutrition, and food safety experience by planning, marketing, and selling meal kits. The project strengthened career readiness while supporting thirty-three family and community members through meals prepared by students.
Middle school youth in Adams County engaged in 36 hours of nature-based programming, connecting youth and the outdoors through hands-on science and journaling. Additional programming with Colorado Trout Unlimited reached 24 more youth statewide.
Twenty-one residents of Montezuma County learned cooking and gardening skills through themed workshops. The program fostered intergenerational learning, strengthened family bonds, and encouraged participants to support each other beyond the classroom.
Twenty-two adults ages 34–82 participated in group-led exercise and wellness classes that encouraged accountability, social connection, and disease prevention.
This program expanded access to structured strength training and health education for adults 40+ in rural Haxtun and Holyoke.
Spotlight: StrongPeople,
StrongBodies Program
The StrongPeople Strong Bodies program, a progressive strength training class for older adults, gained remarkable momentum in 2025.
A unique program for older adults
At the Health & Well-being Retreat in February, more than 20 Specialists expressed interest in becoming trained facilitators to bring the program to their communities. In Chaffee County, long waitlists prompted the use of Health & Well-being funds to train six new leaders, ensuring more community members can participate. In Eastern Colorado, two Specialists completed facilitator training to re-establish the program locally.
In Larimer County, Health Extension partnered with the Center for Healthy Aging and the Aspen Club to relaunch classes after the Aspen Club suspended programming due to limited funding and space.
Currently, 15 participants attend weekly sessions, with another 10 individuals waitlisted for spring enrollment. Looking ahead, Health Extension aims to expand training opportunities for additional Specialists, with a focus on reaching rural communities across Colorado.
New Areas of Health Extension Programming
Becoming Your Personal Best
In June 2024, twelve CSU Extension professionals attended a two-day training at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs to deliver the BYPB curriculum, an evidence-based resilience program for youth in grades 4-12 that highlights the life lessons of Olympians and Paralympians. Implementation of BYPB has begun across Colorado.
Women’s Health Summit
In October 2024, CSU Extension hosted its first-ever Rural Women’s Health Summit in Akron, CO, engaging more than 63 women from across Eastern Colorado. The event featured panels on women’s health topics including pelvic floor awareness, survivorship, maternal mental health, menopause, and rural mental health supports. Due to the event’s success, the Eastern and Mountain regions will host Summits in the upcoming year.
Menopause Education in Eagle County
CSU Extension’s Mountain Region Health Specialist launched “La Menopausia: ¡Empodérate!”, a bilingual workshop series in partnership with the Eagle Valley Community Foundation/MIRA bus. Over 55 women attended sessions covering menopause basics, medical and holistic treatments, self-care, and healthcare advocacy.
Nature & Health
An interdisciplinary team led by the Health & Well-being PRU has produced a diverse menu of programs, presentations, and initiatives highlighting the mental health benefits of nature immersion. A Nature & Health Toolkit is being developed to support emerging Extension initiatives.
Celebrating Aging Conference
The first-ever San Luis Valley Celebrating Aging Conference served over 300 community members and took place on May 9, 2025. This event included local and CSU-based speakers, experiential and interactive sessions including “yoga for health”, and over 50 informative local, regional and statewide resource tables.
63
women participated in CSU Extension’s first-ever Rural Women’s Health Summit
55
women participated in CSU Extension’s first-ever Menopause Education workshop series
300+
community members participated in the first-ever San Luis Valley Celebrating Aging Conference
83%
of participants in the Advancing Healthy Aging Webinar Series agreed that the information presented was relevant to their community
Spotlight: Advancing Healthy Aging (AHA) Webinar Series
CSU Extension launched a national webinar series to build professional knowledge on healthy aging concepts while providing practical, evidence-based strategies to support older adults.
Eight Advancing Healthy Aging Webinars (recorded in both English and Spanish) and made available on the CSU Extension YouTube channel included:
- Longing to Belong – Confronting the Loneliness Epidemic
- Exploring Care and Support Services, an education program by the Alzheimer’s Association
- Beyond Burnout: Empowering Caregivers with CSU Columbine Center for Healthy Aging & Aging Clinic of the Rockies
- Flipping the Script on Aging
- Strengthening Intergenerational Connections
- Ahead of the Curve: Advance Care Planning
- Bridging the Digital Divide: Advancing Digital Equity for Older Adults
- Advancing Inclusive Older Adult Programming: Success Stories from the Field
Innovations in Lifestyle and Disease Prevention Education
A Healthier Weigh
A Healthier Weigh is a 12-week lifestyle and chronic disease prevention program that combines education, accountability, and community support. Offered across six Eastern CO counties, participants track progress in muscle mass, waist circumference, weight, and steps through InBody scans and weekly challenges. New innovations include:
- A central website for lessons, resources, and reporting
- Local radio partnerships delivering lessons in audio format
- Medical referrals and joint workshops with healthcare providers
- Spanish translation to improve language accessibility
Understanding Diabetes / Dining with Diabetes (DWD)
The Understanding Diabetes online training equipped 90 educators from 15+ land-grant universities with strategies to deliver Dining with Diabetes. Following training, 90% reported increased knowledge and 80% reported greater confidence in program delivery. Partnerships with CDPHE and CDC funding expanded DWD into El Paso, Logan, and Weld counties, each of which ran two program cohorts and showed growth in participation rates.
Everyday Nutrition for Health Webinar Series
CSU Extension hosts quarterly 30-minute webinars to deliver timely, research-based nutrition strategies for daily life. The series has engaged 350 participants to date, with 95% reporting increased knowledge and 97% intending to apply at least one recommendation in their lives.
350
people participated in the
Everyday Nutrition for Health
Webinar Series
6
counties in East Colorado
offering the Healthier Weight
Program
90%
of participants in the Dining
with Diabetes program
reported increased knowledge
after the training
Spotlight: Health Without Barriers in La Plata & Montezuma Counties
Health Without Barriers (HWB) is a whole family lifestyle program developed in partnership with
community members, the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and CSU Extension.
Health Without Barriers supports the health and happiness of teenagers and their families by offering holistic health education, hands-on cooking and nutrition classes, and resources to help families manage stress and improve overall well-being. This program has been successfully implemented in La Plata County and Weld County. Future sites for 2026 include Larimer County and a partnership with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Engaged Scholarship & Information Dissemination
Six Health Extension presentations were accepted to the National Health Outreach Conference in Omaha, NE. The Health Extension team had a fantastic time learning from other Extension systems nationwide and getting to know each other better. The diverse presentation topics represented the breadth and depth of our health programming.
Workshop Presentations
- “A Hope Centered Life: Reaching Rural Communities in Colorado Through a ‘Back Door’ Approach to Mental Health,” Janae Naranjo & Sue Schneider
- “Unlocking Potential: How Partnerships can Strengthen Rural Behavioral Health Systems,” Jim Kuemmerle
- “Advancing Health Promotion in the Latino Community Through Engaged Community Partnerships and the Arts,” Peggy Stoltenberg
Poster Presentations
- “Nature and Health: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice,” Emma Dhimitri, Natalie Bachmeier, Sue Schneider, Rachel Juritsch, & Christa Timmerman
- “Convening Rural Communities to Advance Access and Support for Women’s Health”, Anne Mason, McKayla Bishop & Joy Akey
- “A Healthier Weigh: A Collaborative Approach to Growing Rural Health.” Jaci Wagner, Stephanie Starkebaum, Katie Seelhoff, Anne Mason, McKayla Bishop & Joy Ackey.
Extension-Related Publications
Brothers, A., Luxton, I., Noble, C., Schneider, S., O’Connor, A., & Jiao, Y. (2025). Market Days for Older Adults: Addressing Healthy Aging among a High-Risk Population at the Downtown Farmers’ Market. The Journal of Extension, 63(2), Article 4.
Fenton, M. P., Smail, E. J., Konyayev, K.,* McCall-Junkin, P., & LoTemplio, S. (2025). Examining the relationship between greenspace and substance use among adolescents and young adults: A scoping review. Environment & Behavior. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165251330274
Fruhauf, C. A., Delgado, M., & Schneider, S. (2025). Faculty Roles and Responsibilities Supporting Extension Health Initiatives: Suggestions to Maximize Campus-Field Partnerships. Journal of Extension, 63(2).
Yuma, P. J., Fenton, M. P., Stallones, L., & Valley, M. (2024). Extension agent’s perceptions of community readiness for farm stress and suicide prevention efforts. Transforming Communities, 1(1), Article 7. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/tcjournal/vol1/iss1/7