John Byrnes, Ph.D., R.D.

John Byrnes is an Extension Educator with Penn State Extension Philadelphia, which facilitates community-focused learning, student involvement, and solution-oriented research to help enrich the lives of urban citizens, improve the quality of communities, and enhance the success of local entrepreneurs.

Through John’s leadership, Penn State Extension Philadelphia staff have created an extraordinary central point of contact for Penn State professors, researchers, and students who want to create learning and research partnerships while applying research-based knowledge to help support a sustainable future for the City of Philadelphia. The Penn State Extension is housed within the Penn State Center Philadelphia and is located near Independence Hall. 

Penn State Center Philadelphia has developed strong programmatic emphasis in Horticulture, Nutrition Education, Urban Agricultural Entrepreneurship, Youth Development, and Landscape Architecture. Coordinated focus has been the key to all of the Penn State Center’s accomplishments to date. 

John received a Masters degree in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he explored the benefits of local food systems and sustainable agriculture with many of the field’s early leaders. John’s experience at Teachers College inspired him to “think globally, act locally” while providing NYC teens with cooking demonstrations and drug prevention education at The Door, a multi service center for youth located in Manhattan. 

John earned a Ph.D. in Health Education from Temple University where he encouraged teachers from the School District of Philadelphia to utilize a cross curriculum approach to exploring good health practices with their students. He has worked for Penn State since 1994, as a Food Safety and Nutrition Educator for his first 13 years and as the Penn State Center Director since 2005.