Autumn Cano-Guin, PhD, BCC, CFLC-E
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Quality Youth Program Specialist, Department of 4-H Youth Development
CYFAR PDTA Coach
4181 Broughton Hall
Bio
Dr. Autumn Cano-Guin is the Quality Youth Program Specialist for NC 4-H Youth Development and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. A first-generation college graduate, Autumn is passionate about her work with underserved and marginalized youth, families, and communities which began 18 years ago with Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk programs. She now teaches family life coaching, directs multiple grant programs, and provides leadership in developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining research-based and evidence-informed programs for youth, families, and communities. She co-leads the 4-H PLWG Standing Committee on Positive Youth Development’s Program Planning and Evaluation for PYD Impact Working Group and is Chair of the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professional’s Research & Evaluation Committee. Autumn holds a B.S. in psychology, an M.S. in community psychology, and a Ph.D. in educational research and policy analysis. She is a Board Certified Coach through the Center for Credentialing Education and a Certified Family Life Coach-Expert through the Family Life Coaching Association. Autumn brings 26 years of qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation experience.
Programs and Initiatives
- Coach & Evaluation Consultant, Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk Professional Development and Technical Assistance Team
- Director, 4-H Empowering Youth and Families Program
- Co-PI, YEA: Advancing Equitable Agriscience Pathways (AEAP) through the National Juntos Consortium and STEM Agriculture Pathways (AP) Program
- Co-Chair, Research and Evaluation Subgroup, PLWG Advancing the 4-H Thriving Model Taskforce
- PI, Robots, Energy & Agriscience: Advancing equity and STEM growth mindset in rural STEM education (NCSU and NC A&T Joint CYFAR SCP Proposal) Program
- Chair, National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals Research & Evaluation Committee
- Chair, Family Life Coaching Association’s Emerging Coaches Committee
Primary Teaching Responsibilities
- AEHS 545: Family Communication and Coaching
- AEHS 547: Family Life Coaching
Contributing Websites
- Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Program
- NC 4-H Empowering Youth and Families Program
- 4-H Thriving Model
- NC 4-H
- NC 4-H Curriculum
- Family Life Coaching Association
Professional Honors/Offices/Recognitions
- 2023: Certified Family Life Coach—Expert, Family Life Coaching Association
- 2023: Certified Mental Health First Aider, Adults
- 2023: Certified Mental Health First Aider, Youth
- 2022: Regional Award Excellence in Peer Professional Development. National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals
- 2022: State Award Excellence in Peer Professional Development. Oregon Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals
- 2021: State Award for Excellence in Healthy Living Programming, NC Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals
- 2021: Susan Barkman Award for Research and Evaluation, NC Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals
- 2021: Research Friend of Extension Award, NC Cooperative Extension
Selected Publications
- Ealy PL, Tyler-Mackey C, Ashurst K, Blue-Terry M, Cano-Guin A, Dierenfield C, Grant S, Harmon D, Payne PB, Wells-Marshall J and Perkins DF (2024) Using technical assistance to bridge the gap between policy, research, and implementation. Front. Public Health. 12:1347632. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1347632
- Ealy, P.L., Tyler-Mackey, C., Ashurst, K., Blue-Terry, M., Autumn Cano-Guin, A.H., Derienfield, C., Grant, S., Harmon, D., Payne, P.B., Wells-Marshall, J., & Perkins, D.F. (submitted). Unpacking the Black Box of Successful Research-Practice-Policy Partnerships: How to Achieve Public Health Impact Across Public Systems. Frontiers in Public Health.
- Burnette, T. & Guin, A. (May 2023). Music Therapy Offers Tools for an Interdisciplinary Approach to Care for Youth Mental Health. CFLE Network, Spring 2023. National Council on Family Relations. Available at: https://www.ncfr.org/cfle-network/spring-2023/music-therapy-offers-tools-for-interdisciplinary-approach-care-for-ymh
- Greenaway, H., Guin, A., Gonzalez, M., Kotzian, S., Chilcote, A., & Toriello, P. (2022). Program Models in the Time of COVID: Design, Development, and Implementation. Journal of Extension.
- Ferarri, T. M., Guin, A. H. (May 2021). Advice for Writing a Journal Article – Journal of Youth Development Editors Weigh In. The Pulse, May 2021. National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialists. Available at: https://www.nae4hydp.org/news/news.asp?id=564422
- Guin, A. (2000). Professional Development for North Carolina 4-H Educators Who Teach Science: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of 4-H Science Curricula Training [Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University]. Available at: https://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/bitstream/handle/1840.20/38314/etd.pdf?sequence=1
- Gonzalez, M., Guin, A., Allen, K., Chilcote, A., Toriello, P., Mead, E. (2020). Best Practices for Engaging Communities of Color in Opioid Prevention Programs. Journal of Extension, 58(3). Available at: https://archives.joe.org/joe/2020june/tt5.php
- McCarthy, K. J., Perkins, D. F., Roberts, M., Potter, S., Guin, A. G, Carroll, J. B., Deringer, N. C., & Borden, L. M. (2020) Evaluation of a Coach-Based Technical Assistance Model: An Evolving Focus on Coachability and Goal Setting. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 8(2), 28-50.
- Guin, A., Allen, K., Barnes, J. (2018). Development and pilot evaluation of the Very Important Parents Program (VIP): An intensive parent education program for teens. Family Science Review, 22(3), 103-123.
- Barnes, J., Guin, A., & Allen, K. (2018). Training Needs and Online Learning Preferences of Early Childhood Professionals. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 39(2), 114-130.
Education
BS Psychology Fayetteville State University
MS Community Psychology North Carolina State University
PhD Educational Research and Policy Analysis North Carolina State University
Area(s) of Expertise
- Community Program Development and Program Success Coaching
- Parenting, Youth Development, and Family Life Coaching
- Programming with Underserved Youth, Families, and Communities
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors
- Nonformal Education, Curriculum Development, and Educator Professional Development
- Mixed-methods Research and Evaluation
- Grant-Writing
Grants
The National Juntos Consortium (NJC) and STEM AP is a transformational, interdisciplinary, collaborative project that will prepare Latinx youth to become the next generation of leaders and workforce in STEM and Agriscience. Led by NCSU, STEM AP will improve STEM participation, persistence, and career readiness among Latinx youth in North Carolina and Washington. The project draws from culturally responsive pedagogy, behavioral science theory, and evidence-based practice, and will establish a replicable, scalable program that improves Latinx youth representation in post-secondary STEM education programs and advances DEIA work within the LGU Extension System. The project objectives include: 1. Increase opportunities for Latinx youth to engage in STEM education and workforce activities; 2. Enhance the skills and capacities of Latinx youth to engage with STEM APP learning and career opportunities; and 3. Increase the motivation of STEM APP youth to engage in STEM-related learning and career opportunities. 4. Develop the National Juntos Consortium to support the scalability and sustainability of Juntos and Juntos STEM AP. Through this innovative approach, combining 4-H Thriving Model, positive youth development, and the behavior change process as defined within the COM-B framework, the project will increase Latinx youth STEM identity (i.e. seeing themselves as successful in a STEM career pathway) and the likelihood to pursue and be successful in a STEM (agricultural sciences) career. The project will also launch the National Juntos Consortium, a first-of-its-kind collaborative Extension initiative with representation in all national regions focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
Health Rocks! is a 4-H Healthy Living Program based on decision-making and appropriate health knowledge with its beginning level curriculum targeted at youth ages 8 to 12, and intermediate level targeted at youth ages 12 to 14. This experiential education program is facilitated by teen/adult leadership teams to help youth learn key health messages and skills such as critical thinking, how to manage stress and peer pressure, how to communicate effectively, and how to critically analyze media messages. Special emphasis is placed on tobacco use prevention.
To support both of CYFAR���s strategic objectives through their National Outcome on School Age (K-8), School age youth will demonstrate knowledge, skills attitudes and behavior necessary for fulfilling contributing lives, this letter of intent proposes a comprehensive STEM educational program for middle schools in 4 rural counties in North Carolina to increase STEM literacy. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) directed the Department of Education to increase the accessibility of STEM education for all students (OSTP, 2018). ���The lack of a level educational field is most apparent during the current events surrounding COVID-19 as many students and educators struggle to adapt to the provision of and participation in online learning systems��� (Guin, 2020). Learning loss is ���greatest among low-income, black, and Hispanic students��� (Dorn et al., 2020, p. 4). Creating effective educational interventions for youth to lead the nation���s growing STEM-reliant economy is an issue of national security (OSTP, 2018). Combatting new microbial attacks, developing online education platforms, and the production of clean energy are among issues facing the immediate future of the nation. With over 100 years of experience serving youth as the largest youth development program in the nation and the youth development program for Cooperative Extension, NC 4-H is at the forefront of the effort to increase STEM literacy among young people. The proposed project will bring together a multidisciplinary team of professionals from two land-grant universities, two Cooperative Extension Systems, and local education agencies the proposed project leverages resources and personnel to serve middle school aged youth, their teachers, their nonformal educators, and their families while focusing on the 2021 CYFAR Program Emphasis Area USDA (REE) Goal 6: Education and Science Literacy, to leverage technology and innovation to distribute tools, information, and resources and use nonformal education programs, outreach, 4-H, and other youth development programs to transfer knowledge and technology. The proposed project will utilize existing research-based and nationally peer reviewed and recognized 4-H middle school curricula to 1) Create and implement a formal and nonformal education program to increase student knowledge, skills and attitudes in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). STEM education will focus on food, agriculture, natural resources, biological and physical science curricula. Leveraging hands on technology applications at the middle school level; 2) Strengthen rural middle teachers knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding science instruction, use of instructional resources, and technology applications that serve vulnerable families and communities; 3) Promote family engagement and learning through non-formal program efforts and community events; and 4) Expand STEM learning systems into new and existing programs using citizen science and virtual learning platforms. A multi-faceted formative and outcome evaluation which uses the strengths of the CYFAR cross-site evaluation common measures will ensure the project meets these objectives. References Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from: https://fresnostate.edu/kremen/about/centers137projects/weltycenter/documents/COVID-19-and-student-learning-in-the-United-States-FINAL.pdf Guin, A. (2020). Professional Development for North Carolina 4-H Educators Who Teach Science: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of 4-H Science Curricula Training. (Doctoral dissertation). North Carolina State University.
NC 4-H under the leadership of Dr Michael Yoder and Dr Autumn Guin will lead a national study to replicate the original 4-H Thriving Model Study. The replication will specifically invite a more representative sample of 4-H youth to determine if the 4-H Thriving Model applies to all 4-H youth.
The Children, Youth, and Families Professional Development and Technical Assistance Center provides support for quality program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability for the CYFAR grant funded projects. The CYFAR PDTA does this through the engagement of grantees with an assigned coach and through evalaution support. This work is a collaboration of coaches from multiple landgrant institutions.
PFPC is a research-based and evidence-informed curriculum-based program. Marshaling research on adverse childhood experiences, resilience, and protective factors, the NC 4-H team worked with specialists at multiple universities and within 10 counties in NC to create and evaluate a family-centered program which teaches families to communicate better with each other, to understand the opioid issues facing their communities, and to provide education as advocates within their home communities. Desired short and long-term results: Short-term objectives: 1) Increase youth and caregiver knowledge about the health impacts of substance misuse; 2) Increase youth and family self-efficacy for making healthy decisions about substance misuse; 3) Increase families������������������ ability to communicate and problem solve; 4) Empower youth and adults to work with community leaders to educate the public about the impact of substance misuse. Long-term objectives: 1) Decrease the likelihood of youth substance misuse; 2) Establish a strong evidence-base for PFPC Program; 3) Sustain and expand PFPC Program.
PFPC is a research-based and evidence-informed curriculum-based program. Marshaling research on adverse childhood experiences, resilience, and protective factors, the NC 4-H team worked with specialists at multiple universities and within 10 counties in NC to create and evaluate a family-centered program which teaches families to communicate better with each other, to understand the opioid issues facing their communities, and to provide education as advocates within their home communities. Desired short and long-term results: Short-term objectives: 1) Increase youth and caregiver knowledge about the health impacts of substance misuse; 2) Increase youth and family self-efficacy for making healthy decisions about substance misuse; 3) Increase families������������������ ability to communicate and problem solve; 4) Empower youth and adults to work with community leaders to educate the public about the impact of substance misuse. Long-term objectives: 1) Decrease the likelihood of youth substance misuse; 2) Establish a strong evidence-base for PFPC Program; 3) Sustain and expand PFPC Program.
Co-PI's will work as national program coaches for the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Professional Development and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Center. Autumn Guin and Diana Urieta will each provide technical assistance, mentoring, education, and other forms of support to up to 8 CYFAR Sustainable Community Projects (SCP) community sites. They will conduct needs assessments with each site and create tailored action plans for each project. They will provide continuing support of the sites through monthly telephone calls, periodic trainings using distance education technologies, and other forms of technical assistance as needed. In addition, They will provide an average of three site visits per calendar year to provide in-person project support, will participate in the annual CYFAR professional development conference each spring, and the annual CYFAR PDTA meeting each fall. Autumn Guin will also serve as an evaluation consultant for the CYFAR PDTA Center. In this role, she will consult with the new CYFAR Sustainable Community Projects (SCP) grantees within their first six months of funding to support the development of their evaluation plans and provide training on the use of CYFAR PDTA Center evaluation tools (e.g., Survey Builder); collaborate with University of Minnesota team members to refine the content and delivery mechanism of the Evaluation Institute learning modules; and provide support and insights into CYFAR PDTA Center data analysis, evaluation reports, and evaluation resources for CYFAR SCP grantees (e.g., using the Coach-PI Survey data for the results sections of manuscripts; reviewing outcomes templates for CYFAR SCP grantees; informing webinars on how to effectively evaluate and use Common Measures).
Health Rocks! is a 4-H Healthy Living Program based on decision-making and appropriate health knowledge with its beginning level curriculum targeted at youth ages 8 to 12, and intermediate level targeted at youth ages 12 to 14. This experiential education program is facilitated by teen/adult leadership teams to help youth learn key health messages and skills such as critical thinking, how to manage stress and peer pressure, how to communicate effectively, and how to critically analyze media messages. Special emphasis is placed on tobacco use prevention.
The 4-H Pollinator Habitat Program will: - Educate ������������������ Curriculum and teen leadership will amplify the importance of pollinators and their habitats and teach youth how to take action toward conserving them. - Elevate ������������������ Stakeholders and 4-H communities will engage in important discussions related to pollination and environmental conservation. - Engage ������������������ 4-H communities will join Corteva employees for pollinator habitat building events and activities.