Partnerships, Collaboration, Outreach
Haley Frater won the Academic Staff Spirit of Community Service Award.
As the Wisconsin Forestry Center outreach program manager, Haley is committed to the Wisconsin Idea, connecting the university’s expertise and resources with the forestry industry through professional training, workforce development, applied research, and other outreach. Haley is a creative, collaborative, and supportive staff member who contributes to a healthier environment on campus, within the community, and across the state.
One of Haley’s favorite phrases is “we’ll work with our partners on that.” Haley is a consensus builder who skillfully works with the many sectors of the forestry industry. She has partnered with DNR, DATCP, UW-Extension, professional associations, nonprofits, technical schools, sawmills, tree-care companies, family forest owners, etc. One of her collaborations with silviculturists at the DNR, SilviCast, a forestry podcast, has a global reach. It was downloaded 5,000 times last year.
Haley has collaborated with UWSP’s Continuing Education (CE) to build a program catered to the members of the Learning Is ForEver (LIFE) with impressive attendance. This fiscal year, LIFE Members had the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities such as exploring their yards and spring meadows, identifying trees in winter, and participating in a ruffed grouse project. In addition, Haley has saved the day with faculty recruitment whenever CE has been short on STEAM presenters.
When she was first hired in 2017, Haley saw a need for forestry-related professional development, so she spearheaded FEDI, the Forestry Education and Development Initiative. Haley’s tireless efforts launched FEDI into the full-blown Wisconsin Forestry Center (est. 2020). The center now employs four full-time staff and is funded by outside revenue that Haley helps secure.
Haley has volunteered extensively with the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, championing efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. She received the 2021 Wisconsin-SAF Julie Peltier Award, which recognizes efforts to further the inclusion and contributions of women and minorities to sustainable forest management in Wisconsin. Her outreach work directly advances the forestry sector in Wisconsin, contributing to career advancement and quality of life for thousands of forestry industry employees. More than 400 people attended the workshops she coordinated in 2021. Closer to home, she is an active volunteer with the UWSP Child Care Center, which her sons attend.
The Academic Staff Spirit of Community Service Award “stresses the importance of service in building and contributing to a healthier community environment on and off-campus” (UWSP Common Council, 2022). Haley embodies the very essence of this statement.