County Extension Directors (CEDs) for Wilkes and Moore counties have been appointed:

• John C. Cothren, formerly associate Extension agricultural agent, was named Wilkes’ Extension director, effective July 1. Cothren succeeds Bill Hanlin, who retired April 1 after nearly seven years of service as Wilkes’ CED. Cothren joined Extension in 2012, after more than three years as a high-school agricultural education teacher. He holds a bachelor’s degree from NC State University and a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University.
• Deborah McGiffin, an Extension agent with more than 20 years’ experience, has been named CED in Moore County, effective Aug. 1. McGiffin succeeds Stephen Greer, who is now Extension’s Northeast District director. McGiffin has served with Extension in Durham County, first as an Extension program assistant, then as a 4-H youth development agent and, most recently, as a family and consumer sciences agent and local foods coordinator. She holds a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science from the University of Georgia and a master’s in agricultural and extension education from NC State.