SAN ANTONIO — Nelda Lebya Speller has been selected as the new county director for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County.

Nelda Lebya Speller is the new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service director for Bexar County. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Nelda Lebya Speller is the new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service director for Bexar County.
(Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

“We are very excited to have Nelda as the AgriLife Extension county director in Bexar County,” said Kathleen Greer, the agency’s District 10 administrator based in Uvalde. “Her supervisory experience, leadership skills and knowledge of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will ensure continued program success and expanded outreach to residents of the county.”

Speller, a long-time resident of San Antonio who began working for AgriLife Extension in 1997, will begin her new role Jan. 20.

She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in human sciences from Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Prior to her selection as director, Speller was the lead agent responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating AgriLife Extension educational programs in Bexar County through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, or EFNEP.

In this role, she selected, trained and supervised a team of 17 professionals, paraprofessionals  and interns to work with advisory groups and other agencies and organizations within the community to plan, organize and conduct educational outreach on basic nutrition education, food safety and family resource management.

“A primary audience of EFNEP programming is limited-resource Hispanic youth and adults,” Speller said. “The program helps families and individuals improve quality of life in the area of health, education, parenting, housing, economic self-sufficiency, leadership and community development.”

Speller’s additional professional experience includes work as an EFNEP and family and consumer sciences agent in Cameron County and as a food service supervisor for the San Antonio Independent School District.

In addition to normal responsibilities, Speller also has mentored several AgriLife Extension agents in other counties in relation to EFNEP. She also helped develop the “Healthy Food, Healthy Families” curriculum and curriculum in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPyramid nutrition effort.

Speller’s academic and community involvement includes membership in Epsilon Sigma Phi and Kappa Omicron Nu National Honor Society, the Texas Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. She has received agency Superior Service Awards for county agent and unit, as well as a Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Diversity, District 12 Youth Outreach Award and recognition from the Kappa Omicron Nu National Honor Society.

“I feel this is a great leadership opportunity to continue my career within our agency and utilize my management, supervision and administrative skills to benefit mutual growth and success that I hope will impact and improve the lives of individuals and families in Bexar County,” Speller said.

“By fostering existing partnerships, securing new partnerships with key leaders and nurturing our already solid relationship with Bexar County government entities, we can increase our visibility and better show the variety of ways in which AgriLife Extension benefits residents of the county.”

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