Beth LaPlante joined the Extension family as unit assistant, youth and family, in 1993. In 1999, she became an Extension Unit Educator, Youth & Family. She then accepted the position of Kankakee County Director in 2003. In this role, she provides leadership in developing, marketing and evaluating county programming for the University of Illinois Extension in Kankakee County.

In collaboration with the Riverside Community Health Clinic, she recently created a satellite office to bring University expertise and knowledge to the Hopkins Park/Pembroke community.

With Beth's visionary marketing skills, University of Illinois Extension, Kankakee County, has contracted with STARadio (WKAN) for marketing rights to one of the River Valley Metro buses. The billboard-type bus rotates through all the Metro bus system routes...a mobile sign board for Extension. It has caught the attention of area residents who have subsequently called the Kankakee County Extension office for help "connecting..." University of Illinois Extension to their lives.

Beth is a graduate of the Graham Hospital School of Nursing in Canton, Illinois. She received a Bachelors Degree in Health Education from Western Illinois University and Masters of Education from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana.

Before coming to Extension, Beth worked in a variety of health care positions including health educator for the Grundy County Health Department. She currently serves on the Kankakee County Red Cross Board and Kankakee County Illinois Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Program.