In memoriam: Bonnie Braun, Virginia Cooperative Extension associate director

Longtime Virginia Tech employee and Virginia Cooperative Extension associate director Bonnie Braun passed away on Nov. 5 at her home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Braun served at the university from 1983-94. She was chosen as the first associate director of Extension for both 4-H and family and consumer sciences and ultimately became responsible for agriculture and community resource development. She simultaneously served as associate dean in what was then the College of Human Resources.

Recognizing the need for a foundation to receive and distribute money, she worked with the university and National 4-H Council to create the Virginia 4-H Foundation. 

While at Virginia Tech, she was selected to become a W.K. Kellogg Leadership Fellow for three years, expanding her leadership perspectives and experiences. Braun was then tapped to serve a year as the interim Extension deputy administrator for home economics and human hutrition at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

There, she streamlined processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the national Extension office. The USDA appointed her to the Strategic Planning Committee on Agricultural Competitiveness and Profitability and the Forest and Extension Service Rural Revitalization Farm Bill Implementation Team. She brought her time at the USDA back to Virginia Tech to continue work on continuing education and Extension in Blacksburg.

Braun’s contributions extended beyond academia, as she was actively involved in her community, church, and philanthropic endeavors. Upon retirement, she remained active, initiating projects such as the Historic Gettysburg Adams County Preservation Society Investing in Youth initiative, as a consultant for the Health Literacy Maryland Coalition, and the University of Maryland Health Insurance Literacy Initiative.

Braun is survived by her husband, Bill; sister, Cindy Fitterling; children, Joel and Jennifer Braun; and four grandchildren.