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Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom Announces Staff Changes
Cyndi Hofmeister hired as education program coordinator. Lucee Church becomes resource coordinator.
Westminster, Colo. (September 13, 2023) - As the new school year has begun, Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom (CoAITC) is geared up to advance agricultural literacy, educating about the importance of agriculture in our daily lives. Recent staff changes will further assist the organization’s ability to expand its reach to more PreK-12 students and teachers across the state.
Cyndi Hofmeister of Fort Morgan, Colo., has been named the new CoAITC education program coordinator as of September 1, 2023. In this part-time role, she will organize and implement several existing and new CoAITC programs including the Literacy Project and the Journey 2050 program. She will also be responsible for leading CoAITC’s professional development events for educators.
“Cyndi brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization. She has been a formal classroom educator at all levels, has written and reviewed curriculum for the Colorado Department of Education, has an extensive skill set in grant writing and coordinating, and has served in various leadership roles within the school system and in her community,” said Jennifer Scharpe, CoAITC executive director. “Plus, she is an agriculture advocate and has a true passion for agricultural literacy.”
Cyndi stated, “I am excited to share the information and programs that Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom has to offer, and can’t wait to meet the diverse groups that I will get to work with in this role as CoAITC education program coordinator.”
Read Cyndi Hofmeister’s complete biosketch below. She may be reached at Cyndi@coagclassroom.org or 970-370-9005.
Lucee Church of Loma, Colo., previously held the education program coordinator role and is credited with improving the Literacy Project and expanding its reach to more than 10,000 students per year. She also assisted in developing curriculum and activities for various CoAITC projects including the Colorado Reader. Lucee’s new position of CoAITC resource coordinator will focus on filling requests for CoAITC resources and tracking demographic reach of CoAITC programs, two responsibilities she held in her previous role. This new position allows her to stay involved with CoAITC but in a smaller role, freeing up more of her time to devote to her family.
“I am enthusiastic about the future of Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom and to work as a team with Cyndi and Lucee. Together, with our board of directors and advisory board members, we are striving to reach more students and teachers across the state by connecting them to their food, fiber, fuel, and natural resources,” added Scharpe.
About Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom (CoAITC)
Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom (also known as Colorado Foundation for Agriculture) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and is the lead agricultural literacy organization in the state, serving the full spectrum of prekindergarten through 12th grade formal and informal education across Colorado. Its mission is connecting Colorado educators and students to their food, fiber, fuel, and natural resources. CoAITC annually provides resources and programs to 325,000 educators and students in urban, suburban, and rural communities, most of which are free. To learn more or to make a tax-deductible gift, visit GrowingYourFuture.com or email Info@coagclassroom.org.
Cyndi Hofmeister Biosketch
Cyndi Hofmeister is a third generation Colorado native and lives close to the Morgan County ranch her grandfather homesteaded in 1906. She is a strong “ag-vocate” of sustainable agriculture. She grew up on a farm where her family grew potatoes for Frito Lay Potato Chips and Campbell’s Soups, along with a variety of other field crops and raised Texas Longhorns and market beef on the family's ranch at Stove Prairie, near Fort Collins. She has been involved in education as a kindergarten, second grade, and 7-12 teacher, and as a district administrator responsible for teacher training, curriculum development, and district assessment. As a grant coordinator and writer, she researched and wrote federal, state and local grants for entities in the Colorado Community College System including Northeastern Junior College and Morgan Community College for fifteen years and served as a CASE Federal Funding Taskforce Team Leader in Washington D.C., developing liaison opportunities with a variety of federal offices and funders as well as acting as a grant reader and evaluator for the Colorado Department of Education.
Hofmeister served as the director of two concurrent School To Career partnerships, as president of the Rocky Mountain Brown Swiss Association, secretary of the Mountains and Plains Texas Longhorn Association, secretary of the National Association of Teachers for Family and Consumer Studies, and was selected as a Colorado Outstanding Family, Career and Consumer Leaders of America (FCCLA) Advisor. She was an FFA Dairy Evaluation Coach, 4-H Leader, and 4-H Youth Advisory Council Leader. She currently helps with the family farming operation and their family business, Hofmeister Appraisal Service, LLC., in which she works along with her husband and son specializing in Colorado agricultural and commercial property appraisals. Hofmeister holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Education from Colorado State University and a Master of Education degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
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