Our Team

Lynne Borden, PhD

Dr. Lynne Borden is the associate dean for research and engagement for the University of Minnesota Extension. As the principal investigator of the CYFAR Professional Development and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Center, she provides overall leadership to all aspects of the team.

Daniel Perkins, PhD

Daniel F. Perkins, PhD, is a professor of family and youth resiliency and policy at Penn State University and the principal scientist of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State, a university-wide applied research center. Since 1993, Dr. Perkins has provided leadership to CYFAR grants. Dr. Perkins has designed and evaluated strengths-based family and youth development programs in 4-H and Cooperative Extension and has led complex projects for over 25 years. His work involves teaching, research, and outreach through the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service. His scholarship integrates research and practice in three focus areas: (a) healthy family development (increasing resiliency through evidence and strengths-based educational programming); (b) implementation science (involving mixed method hybrid evaluations of preventions and interventions, implementation outcomes, and community-based delivery models, especially in military connected contexts); and (c) community collaboration (promoting strategies for mobilizing communities in support of children, youth, and families). He has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a recent recipient of the W.K.K. Kellogg Community Engagement Award for the northeast region. He is passionate about the applied mission of the land-grant university.

Phillip L. Ealy, PhD

Phillip L. Ealy, PhD brings a wealth of leadership, mentoring, teaching, and coaching experience to his role as the coaching coordinator for the CYFAR PDTA Center. As a retired Army officer, he has honed his skills in guiding and mentoring others. He holds a Ph.D. in Workforce Education and Development, a Master of Professional Studies degree in Organization Development and Change from Pennsylvania State University, and a B.S. in Communications from West Virginia State University.

Heidi Fahning, PhD

Heidi Fahning, PhD, is the Center for Research and Outreach (REACH) Lab research project director. She strives to make research applicable to communities, and her approach is informed by extensive experience in research, grant writing, and evaluation across a wide variety of contexts.

Sarah Louise Butler

Sarah serves as the grant program associate for the CYFAR PDTA Center at the University of Minnesota. In this role, Sarah provides administrative support, program management, and web content management.

Coaching Team

Kerri Ashurst, PhD

Dr. Kerri Ashurst is a senior Extension specialist for family and relationship development in Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky. She has worked with a variety of grants, focusing on outreach and support to families, and has been affiliated with CYFAR for over 23 years. Kerri holds a BA in psychology, an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy, and a PhD in Family Sciences from the University of Kentucky.

Dawn E. Burton

Dawn E. Burton serves as Assistant Director for Partnerships and Community Collaboration at the Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program, where she enhances organizational capacity and expands statewide impact through strategic internal and external engagement. She has over 10 years of Extension experience, having previously served as a Specialist providing statewide leadership for health and wellness programming, educational program development and evaluation, and grant management. Her work focuses on strengthening partnerships across 4-H Youth Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community and Economic Development, and Family and Community Health programs. Ms. Burton holds a BS and an MS in Chemistry from Prairie View A&M University and is pursuing her PhD at Texas A&M University.

Cayla Taylor, PhD

Dr. Cayla Taylor is a 4-H Senior Educational Program Manager at Iowa State University, where she oversees educational program development, college and career readiness initiatives, new youth outreach, 4-H AmeriCorps, ISU college and departmental K–12 outreach, and national 4-H educational efforts. She also leads scholarly outreach connected to state and federal grants and research. For the past three years, Cayla has served as a project co-director for a local CYFAR initiative. She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and bachelor’s degrees in Family and Consumer Sciences and Journalism and Mass Communication, all from Iowa State University.

Autumn Cano-Guin, PhD

Dr. Autumn Cano-Guin supports program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability for CYFAR Sustainable Community Projects nationwide as a coach and evaluation consultant for the CYFAR PDTA Center. She also serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the Youth, Family, and Community Sciences graduate program and as the program design and evaluation specialist for North Carolina 4-H’s Healthy Living and STEM Programs. In addition, Dr. Guin co-directs multiple grant programs and provides leadership in the development, implementation, oversight, evaluation, and sustainability of research-based, evidence-informed programs for youth, families, and communities. Dr. Guin holds a BS in psychology, an MS in community psychology, and a PhD in educational research and policy analysis, with a specialization in educational evaluation and professional development for educators. Additionally, she is a board-certified coach with 24 years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation.

Pamela Payne, PhD

Dr. Pamela B. Payne is an assistant professor of human development and family studies as well as Cooperative Extension at the University of Nevada, Reno. Pam has previously worked with CYFAR programs, piloting what is now the Common Measures process for CYFAR grant recipients. Pam is interested in positive relationship development, specifically romantic relationships, parenting, and youth outcomes. She has also developed extension programs and courses for military families. Dr. Payne holds a BA and a PhD from the University of Arizona and an MA from Pepperdine University.