Faculty Spotlight: Jody Green

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Jody Green
Jody Green

About Jody Green:
I am Canadian, born and raised, having lived most of my life in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. I received a bachelor’s degree in gerontology from the University of Guelph and an associate’s degree from Sir Sandford Fleming College, before earning a master’s and Ph.D. in entomology from Purdue University. I’ve lived in Omaha since 2008, and performed various roles, including lab manager, termite inspector, distance education course author, pest management consultant, toddler wrangler, volunteer coordinator, race manager and extension assistant for the UNL Pesticide Safety Education Program. I am an extraverted, nature-loving, trail-running busybody who loves to laugh and help people.  

What is your position at UNL?
I am the urban entomologist extension educator in Lancaster County. Aside from educational programming, my job includes fielding calls and identifying structural- and health-related insect specimens from individuals in the community. My goal is to provide relevant information and practical solutions, and change attitudes and behaviors so future problems can be prevented.

What drew you to UNL?
Agricultural extension provides many opportunities to both the user and teacher; it’s not just a desk job involving a single group of people. It provides something different and challenging each and every day. This current, dynamic and communicative system that fits my skill set and personality is the reason the land-grant university in Nebraska is the place for me.

What aspect of working in an educational setting do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy the opportunity to work among and collaborate with incredibly talented people with diverse backgrounds, disciplines and life experiences. The university system is full of other curious and enthusiastic learners, who continually ask questions, seek answers and encourage success.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement was having the courage to leave my friends and family in Canada to take a chance on furthering my education and create my own story. My motto is to live life with no regrets (something I learned in my 20s working in nursing homes, but didn’t put into action until my 30s).

What is something that most people don’t know about you?
There’s a science textbook out there with a picture of me at mile 30 of a 50-mile trail race. It’s a chapter about the human nervous system under the subject, “Exertion.” 

What is your life like outside of work?
My life in Omaha is as action-packed and exciting as it is in Lincoln, but with different players. I live an adventurous life with my food scientist husband, our kindergartener girl and Pip the pup. I volunteer my time as vice president of a nonprofit, trail running group (G.O.A.T.z) that puts on races, performs trail maintenance at local parks and contributes to charitable causes. I like to pace marathons for strangers, and act as support crew and pacer for friends running 100-mile distances. 

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