STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service administrator with more than 30 years of experience in youth education has been selected to lead Mississippi’s 4-H program.

Linda Mitchell has been named director of 4-H Youth Development, logging her first official day at the helm July 1. She served more than two years as interim director of the program. Since Mitchell was also the Extension coordinator for the Northeast region, she will retain those duties on an interim basis during the search for her replacement in that role.

In 1993, Mitchell began her career with Extension in Union County where she was a family and consumer science agent and 4-H agent.

Mitchell has served as an Extension home economist, 4-H agent and a district director. Prior to becoming the regional Extension coordinator, she served as a state 4-H specialist in Mississippi, working at the Starkville campus and at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona.

“Dr. Mitchell’s experience, passion, and local and institutional knowledge of Mississippi 4-H has no peer,” said Steve Martin, interim director for MSU Extension. “She brings a level of expertise and professional judgment that will serve MSU Extension well, and we are thankful for her continued leadership.”

For more information on the MSU Extension Service and 4-H, visit http://extension.msstate.edu/4-h/join-4-h.