Biography
Monica Pastor is an Associate Programmatic Area Agent - Agricultural Literacy and School Garden Food Safety for the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cooperative Extension. Monica is responsible for developing, implementing and coordinating Extension educational programs which improve the agriculture literacy of youth and adults so they understand and can communicate the source and value of agriculture as it affects their quality of life. Monica delivers this program through collaboration with educators, school districts and the Arizona Department's of Education and Health Services.
Monica came to the university after 18 years of employment with the Arizona and Maricopa County Farm Bureau’s. Monica has a Master of Education from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arizona.
Degrees
- M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction
- Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
- Arizona's Summer Agricultural Institute: Hands-on Training in Agricultural Education for K-12 Teachers
- B.S. Agricultural Economics
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Work Experience
- Project CENTRL (Center for Rural Leadership) (2013 - 2016)
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension (2012 - Ongoing)
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County (2007 - 2012)
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County (2001 - 2007)
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County (1997 - 2001)
- Maricopa County Farm Bureau (1985 - 1997)
- Arizona Farm Bureau Federation (1979 - 1985)
Awards
- Education Award
- Maricopa County Farm Bureau, Fall 2017
- Extension Faculty of the Year
- University of AZ College of Ag & Life Sciences Cooperative Extension, Spring 2017
- Board of Director's Award
- AZ Nursery Association, Winter 2016
- Distinguished Service Award
- National Association of County Ag Agents, Summer 2016
- Extension Education Poster - State Winner
- National Association of County Ag Agents, Summer 2016
- National Finalist - Communications Award: Bound Book
- National Association of County Ag Agents, Summer 2016 (Award Finalist)
- Friend of the AZ Geographic Alliance Award
- AZ Geographic Alliance, Fall 2015
- Leadership in Public Policy, Non-Profit Category
- AZ Capitol Times, Fall 2015
- Excellence in Achievement and Service
- Project Food, Land & People, Fall 2014
- Regional Qualifier - Awards of Excellence
- Western Extension Director's Association, Summer 2014 (Award Nominee)
- Children's Educational
- USA Best Books Award, Spring 2014 (Award Finalist)
- Outstanding Innovative Idea Poster
- American Association for Agricultural Education, Spring 2014
- Agriculture Awareness and Appreciation
- National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Fall 2013 (Award Finalist)
Interests
Research
agricultural literacy
Teaching
food safety, agriculture, leadership development
Courses
No activities entered.
Scholarly Contributions
Books
- Pastor, M. K. (2014). Arizona Agriculture: Bee's Amazing Adventure.
Journals/Publications
- Pastor, M. K. (2015). In the Field With Arizona Agriculture. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 87(6), 4 & 5.
- Pastor, M. K. (2014). What's All the Buzz About Bee's and Farming?. Bear Essential News, 36(3), 12-13.More info10% effort providing factual information to reporter
- Pastor, M. K., Schimke, A., & Eckles, D. (2013). School Garden Food Safety Guidelines. CALS Publication - AZ1604.More infoPublication prepared with input from the Arizona Department's of Education and Health Services.
- Pastor, M. K., Valentine, N., Gray, T., Walahoski, J., Olson, D., Karmazin, D., Spielmaker, D., Brown, S., Jackman, J., Small, T., Honeycutt, M., & Mayfield, A. (2013). Logic Model for Agricultural Literacy Programs. USDA Coordinated Publication.
Presentations
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, December). Nutrition & AZ Agriculture. EFNEP/SNAP-Ed Living Well In-service. Phoenix: UA Cooperative Extension.
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, February). School Garden Food Safety. Master Gardener Advanced School Garden Training. Phoenix, AZ: Maricopa County Master Gardeners.
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, January). Gardening in Your Classroom. 21st Century STEM: Integrate 2 Innovate. Phoenix, AZ: AZ STEM Education Collaborative.
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, November). School Garden Food Safety. AZ Science Teachers Association Conference. Phoenix, AZ: AZ Science Teachers Association.
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, December). Project CENTRL. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference. Tuskeegee, AL.
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, December). School Garden Food Safety Online Training. Professional Agricultural Workers Conference. Tuskeegee, AL.
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, June). Integrating Nutrition Lessons with Agriculture. National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. Louisville, KY.More info100% effort
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, October). Precision Agriculture and Food, Land & People Connections. National FLP Webinar.
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, June). Arizona Agriculture: Bee's Amazing Adventure. National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. Hershey, PA.More info100% effort in a workshop on how to publish a children's book.
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, September). Ag to the Table. Western Region EFNEP Conference. Phoenix, AZ.More info100% effort
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, July). Gardening and Food Safety Guidelines. UA Nutrition Network Summer Conference. Tanque Verde Ranch, AZ: University of AZ Nutrition Network.More infoInvited to provide a breakout session presentation
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, June). Ag Career Choices - Interactive Learning Lab. National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, June). School Garden Food Safety. National Agriculture in the Classroom. Minneapolis, MN.
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, May). Developing a Successful Partnership with Your County Government. NACAA WebinarNational Association of County Agricultural Agents.
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, May). Food Safety and Your School Garden. NSTA STEM Forum and Expo. St. Pouis, MO: National Science Teachers Association.
Poster Presentations
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, July). School Garden Food Safety. National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Little Rock, Arkansas: NACAA.
- Pastor, M. K., & Fahy, A. (2016, July). Evaluating the Economic Impact of Holding a National Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Project Puente Internship Program. Maricopa, AZ: Project Puente.More infoPoster and research paper that calculated over $20,000 in sales tax revenue was generated because of the attendees participating in the National Ag in the Classroom Conference.
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, January). School Garden Food Safety in Arizona. Research Frontiers in Nutritional Sciences Conference.
- Pastor, M. K. (2015, May). School Garden Food Safety. Innovations in Sustainable Food Systems. Tempe, AZ: AZ State University.
- Pastor, M. K., & Pearson, S. (2015, August). Evaluating the Agricultural Knowledge of Participants in Arizona's Summer Agricultural Institute. 2015 Extension Conference.
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, April). Food Safety in School Gardens: Teaching Beyond the Curriculum. National Farm to Cafeteria Conference. Austin, TX.More info50% effort with AZ Dept of Education, Ashley Schimke
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, May). A Logic Model for Agricultural Literacy Programing. American Association for Agricultural Education. Salt Lake City, UT.More info30% effort with Utah State University faculty
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, November). Logic Model for Agricultural Literacy Programs. CALS Research Poster Forum. Tucson, AZ.More info30% effort in conjunction with Utah State University faculty
Others
- Pastor, M. K. (2016, January). CENTRL Leadership Luncheon. Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Newsletter.
- Pastor, M. K., & Moak, B. (2016, January). School Garden Food Safety Program. https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/farm-school-resources#Food SafetyMore infoListed in the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Community Food Systems Resources under School Garden Safety
- Pastor, M. K., Pearson, S., Moak, B., & Vanderheyden, K. (2015, July). Summer Agriculture Institute and Program Spotlight: Project CENTRL. UA CALS-CE Maricopa County Newsletter.
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, Fall). Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix. http://www.frontporchgroup.com/naic/index.html
- Pastor, M. K. (2014, November). Program Spotlight: Agricultural Literacy Program. UA CALS-CE Maricopa County Newsletter.
- Pastor, M. K. (2013, June). ST4STEM. Maricopa Community Colleges TV. http://www.st4stem.com/video-gallery.htmlMore infoInterview used in high school classrooms. Introduced students to careers in agriculture and provided a challenge for them to research safe protocol for school prepared compost.
