Jesse joined UNH Cooperative Extension in 2022 as a Field Specialist in Agricultural Business Management in Rockingham County. Jesse is a New Hampshire native who has provided technical assistance to NH land stewards for nearly a decade. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Babson College and a Master's in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School.

As a member of the Agricultural Business Management Team, Jesse works with farmers in Rockingham County and throughout the state to build strong business skills and develop supportive networks. She loves to brainstorm with producers about marketing, sales channels, and record keeping. “For me, it’s all about keeping farmers on farmland,” Jesse says, “Understanding how money is flowing through a farm business is a crucial part of long-term farm viability—I love working with farmers to set up good record keeping systems so that they can make data -driven farm management decisions.” She’s also committed to helping farmers connect with additional resources in our region as agricultural service providers, suppliers, customers, funders, and other farmers are all key touch points in a successful agricultural community.

When not working with farmers on farm business management, she loves to explore the White Mountain National Forest and Saco River with her pup, Tadhg.

Aytur is a Professor of Health Management & Policy with a focus on relationships between policy, environment, and systems change to promote healthy behaviors and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. She is particularly interested in health disparities and in relationships between land use, transportation, and environmental policies which affect access to health- promoting resources. Aytur received a dissertation grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the relationships between land use policies, transportation infrastructure investments, physical activity, and obesity. She also received an award in 2008 from the University of North Carolina Center for Urban and Regional Studies to conduct a community-based participatory research project in a rural African-American community, examining the impact of a local Farmer's Market on health behavior. Additionally, Aytur obtained practical public health experience by working in public health departments in several states, focusing on policies related to healthy eating, active living, and chronic disease prevention. She also has experience working in hospital settings, conducting patient-centered outcomes research. Aytur continues to be involved in collaborative, transdisciplinary projects to examine how policy, environment, and systems change can improve population health.

Lawrence Hamilton is Professor of Sociology and Senior Fellow in the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, where he teaches courses about society in the Arctic, survey research, and statistical analysis. His books include Regression with Graphics and Statistics with Stata; the latter has been translated into Arabic and Chinese. Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses on human-environment interactions, in locations ranging from Arctic Alaska to northern New England or the Intermountain West. His most recent papers include “Cold winters warming? Perceptions of climate change in the North Country” (Weather, Climate, and Society 2018); “Demographic variation and change in the Inuit Arctic” (Environmental Research Letters. 2018); and “A change in the wind? U.S. public views on renewable energy and climate compared” (Energy, Sustainability and Society 2018).