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Biography

Sherry Nelson retired in August of 2020 from the University of Missouri Extension after 23 years of service. She was a Regional Human Development Specialist. Sherry has been an EDEN Delegate for Missouri since 2003 and is a member the EDEN Family and Consumer Sciences/4-H Program Area Work Group. Sherry served on the MU Extension Community Emergency Management Program leadership team since it’s inception in the early 2000’s and served as NE region chair for this program. She began her first disaster work in 1993 as a flood counselor for the MO Department of Mental Health while she was earning her Masters in Social Work.. She learned during that time that behavioral health care for survivors and self-care are critical for disaster recovery but often neglected. After coming to MU Extension in 1996, she volunteered a few years later when the University of Missouri Extension service decided to implement Emergency Management teams in each region of the state. She has trained CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) and worked with numerous long-term recovery committees in NE Missouri. Sherry has presented numerous times at the EDEN conference and the MO National Association of Social Workers conference on disaster preparedness and recover.