Chukwufumnanya Chiejine

Chukwufumnanya Chiejine serves as Director for Well Connected Communities at National 4-H Council where she is building the capacity of Cooperative Extension staff at our nation’s land grant universities to improve health and well-being through community engagement and youth-adult voice, multi-sector partnerships and evidence-based strategies. Her passion and commitment to reducing health disparities began with her interest in global health, where she worked with an international NGO to evaluate the impact of interventions designed to eliminate infectious diseases. She has channeled her focus on state agencies and health program implementation and evaluation. At 4-H, she oversees the implementation of policy, systems and environment changes that reduce systemic health inequities in the areas of food systems and mental health across 23 land grant universities and 50 communities.

National 4-H Council is the youth development program of our Nation’s Cooperative Extension System and United States Department of Agriculture. 4‑H programs are implemented by 100+ land-grant colleges and universities through Extension and its 3,000+ local offices across the country. Council supports Extension’s goal to reach millions more young people through programs in science, healthy living and civic engagement backed by a network of 100 public universities and a robust community of 4‑H volunteers and professionals. Youth are empowered to be healthy – body and mind – with the skills to make healthy decisions and lead healthy lifestyles. From obesity to mental health, teens face many challenges that impact their health and well-being and 4‑H believes in the power of young people to lead positive health outcomes in their lives and communities.