Tayler Ulbrich honored with award from the Michigan Association of Extension Agents

Tayler Ulbrich, associate director for engagement for the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Agroecosystem Research program—LTAR —has received an Outstanding Extension Specialist Award from the Michigan Association of Extension Agents, or MAEA.

About the award

The award is given to two specialists each year. Recipients are nominated by MAEA members f or their service to MSU Extension and their audiences. Nominees are evaluated, in part, on leadership, Extension program accomplishments, innovation, and professional activities. Once such program accomplishment was the 2025 collaboration between the KBS LTAR and MSU Extension in hosting the third annual KBS LTAR Field Day, which brought some 140 participants to KBS on a sunny September day.

In announcing the award, MSU Extension’s Sarah Zeiler said, “Tayler’s Ph.D. took an interdisciplinary approach to agroecosystems, focusing on both the ecological dynamics of plants and microbes, as well as the social science of how Michigan farmers perceive and value soil health. In this work, Tayler recognized the need to connect farmers and scientists’ ways of knowing. In her new role with LTAR, Tayler seeks to address this by guiding efforts to co-produce research with scientists and agricultural professionals.”

More accolades from MAEA

Ulbrich was the second KBS professional in as many years to garner an award from the MAEA. In 2023, Brook Wilke, associate director for science and agronomy for the KBS LTAR, was recognized with a MAEA Outstanding Academic Specialist Award. Among the comments that accompanied Brook’s award: “His self-stated philosophy is, ‘Find a way to say yes. Identify strategies to make the most of finite resources. Encourage other people and help them achieve their goals.’ According to Brook, this approach has helped him develop many positive professional relationships and collaborations over the years.”

Congratulations to both Brook and Tayler on these recognitions of their outstanding work.