Kathy Lee, Support Specialist

Kathy has been with the Watauga County Extension Office since 2007. A native of Avery County, she worked in the North Carolina Department of Corrections and at Appalachian State University before coming to Extension.

Kathy works closely with the 4-H program on their annual plant sale and is a licensed notary public. She completed the Master Gardener's Program in 2010.

Eddy Labus, Livestock and Crops

Eddy Labus joined the Watauga County Extension office in 2008. Originally from West Virginia, he holds a Bachelors degree in Agriculture from Berea College in Kentucky. Eddy is the Extension liaison for the Watauga County Cattlemen's Association and is actively promoting the Beef Quality Assurance program.

Eddy also works with landowners on pastured pork and poultry and the FAMACHA parasite monitoring protocols. He serves as the county's pesticide education coordinator and has also been working with landowners and farmers throughout the county on a multiflora rose eradication program.

Meghan Baker

Meghan Baker is the Christmas tree and Commercial Horticulture Extension Agent for Watauga County. She is the Extension Liaison for the Watauga County Christmas Tree Association, Watauga Beekeepers Association, and is also in charge of the county's Master Gardener program. Meghan also works extensively in the area of home horticulture and conducts numerous programs on gardening, weed management, and pest control--such as hemlock woolly adelgid control.

Meghan received a Bachelors Degree from Appalachian State University in 2001 and her Masters Degree in Plant Science and IPM from Clemson University in 2005. She has been with the Watauga County Extension Center since 2005.

Wendy Patoprsty, Natural Resources

Wendy Patoprsty is the Extension Agent for Natural Resources and Environmental Education in Watauga County.  She moved to Watauga County in 2000 after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from the University of Georgia.  She started with Extension in 2001 as a grant funded Water Quality Technician and was hired as a Natural Resources Extension Agent in 2003.  In October 2008, NC A&T State University hired Wendy as an Environmental Education Extension Agent.  In this position Wendy collaborates with community development projects, stormwater projects, and community environmental education.

In 2014, Wendy received her Masters degree in Geography from Appalachian State University.  She coordinates the Kids in the Creek Program, the Big Sweep river cleanup which removes tons, literally, of trash from High Country streams each year. Wendy is also very involved in Operation Medicine Cabinet, which brings together more than a dozen agencies throughout the High Country to keep pharmaceuticals out of area watersheds. She is a Natural Resource Leadership Institute Fellow, has her NC Environmental Education Certification, and participated in the 2010 Marine Mammal Institute.

Susanne Winebarger, Admin. Secretary

A native of Watauga County, Susanne has been with the Watauga County Extension office for almost 20 years. She graduated with a degree in secretarial science from Kings College in Charlotte, NC in 1991. As the "senior" member of the Watauga County Staff, Susanne has worked with 4 different county directors.

Susanne has received numerous awards for leadership and customer service from Cooperative Extension and the Boone Chamber of Commerce and also serves as the secretary for the Watauga County Christmas Tree Association. 

Richard Boylan, Alternative and Organic Ag

Richard Boylan is the Area Agent for Alternative and Organic Agriculture for Watauga and Ashe Counties. Richard received his bachelors degree from Antioch College and a Masters degree from Syracuse. 

In 2009 Richard received the Sustainable Ag Extension Agent of the Year award from the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. A strong and passionate proponent of sustainable agriculture, he helped jumpstart the area’s organic farm marketing cooperative, New River Organic Growers. He has helped local farmers adapt organic farming practices to the climate and soil conditions of the region and sell their products to consumers across the state. He also works closely with the farmers' markets in both counties...and grows some mean garlic!