Speakers Bureau

About

The Speakers Bureau creates and teaches Adult Education classes to residents in Ramsey County. They often partner with other organizations, including public libraries, community education programs, and parks & recreation programs. Private groups, like businesses, churches, or garden clubs also request classes. Follow this link for more about the Speakers Bureau.

The current Speakers Bureau project leads are Jan Fransen and Sandy McDonald.

Volunteer activities run year-round. Check Sign Up Genius for chances to get involved.

Volunteer Roles

Classes are taught as a team of Ramsey County Garden Education volunteers. See Sign Up Genius to register for any of these positions.

Presenters are responsible for teaching the class itself. Classes can have up to 2 co-presenters. They operate the slide presentation using a projector and laptop (in-person classes) or screen-share feature (online classes) to present the class materials. The presenter tracks and reports contacts in the state database when hours are logged.

Aides are responsible for assisting the presenter by monitoring participant questions, counting the total number of participants for each class, and collecting surveys (in-person classes) or launching in-class polls (online classes). Aides also share the related class handouts (in person classes) or resource page (online classes). Aides report their hours, but not the number of contacts.

Shadows are responsible for learning from the presenters and aides. Shadows should sign-up as an Aide or Presenter for another class soon after their observation. Shadowing interns can report their hours as Volunteer hours; shadows after their intern year(s) can report their hours as Education hours.

General Tools & Resources

These materials can be used by Garden Education volunteers who are teaching classes.

Teaching Materials include slides in Google Slides format, a Study Guide document for volunteers, and class Handouts for participants.
Sample Videos of most classes can be found with each class's teaching materials.
Participant webpage provide the class handout, a copy of the slides, and other links or PDFs for participants to learn more after the class.
In Person teaching instructions provide information about teaching at the Ramsey County Extension Office (the Barn).
Class Evaluation Form (for in-person classes) is used to collect feedback from participants. Put completed forms in the Resource Box and return to the Barn.
Participant Survey Form (for in-person classes) collects information about who is attending a class. This is the demographic information used when entering hours. One form/event
Newsletter Sign-up Form (for in-person classes) is a sign-up list for the Ramsey County Garden Education Volunteer Program newsletter. After the class, the lead presenter should transcribe the information into the Ramsey County Garden Education Volunteers Newsletter Request Google Form. One form/event

Class Materials for Volunteers

Resources include slides, a Study Guide document for volunteers, and class Handouts for participants.

Class Materials for Participants

Includes a class handout, a copy of the slides, and other links or PDFs for participants to learn more after the class.