Posted on August 22, 2022 at 10:47 AM by Cade Cameron
Brandi Murley started 4-H in 5th grade. Her 4-H experiences included nine years as a club member, four years as a County Youth Council member, and two years as a Northwest Iowa Council member. As both a club member and council member, she assisted with and led many workshops and youth activities.
4-H Day at the Legislature was one of her most memorable experiences. She participated in numerous 4-H projects, including horticulture and citizenship. During high school, she worked as staff in the 4-H Building at the Iowa State Fair, which led to the ISU Extension summer program assistant while she was in college. Brandi wanted to be involved in Iowa 4-H past her high school graduation. She became a certified 4-H judge and judged at various county fairs across northwest Iowa. She also served as an evaluator for Iowa 4-H Project Awards.
Brandi pursued a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education, Communication, and Leadership with the goal of returning to Extension as an employee. For three years, Brandi served as an agribusiness volunteer in the United States Peace Corps. With her experience in agriculture and leadership, Brandi had from 4-H and college, she was deployed to post-conflict Uganda for two years with an international organization teaching out-of-school youth appropriate agricultural practices. Her third year was spent as a communications and knowledge management volunteer responding to the South Sudanese Refugee Crisis.
Brandi credits her leadership skills through 4-H because they led her to be confident in public speaking, volunteer management, and creativity. These skills became critical during her three years in Uganda where donors were consistently looking for implementers to design innovative and creative programs which help to solve social problems. Calhoun County is proud to have Brandi Murley representing our community, state, and country.
