- Author: Katherine Webb-Martinez
Every year the UC ANR Program Council visits programs for one of their monthly meetings. In June, they toured several sites in the Monterey Bay area.
Their first stop was UC Santa Cruz, where they met with Katharyne Mitchell, sociology professor, Agricultural Experiment Station faculty member and dean of the Division of Social Sciences. Joji Muramoto, UC Cooperative Extension organic production systems specialist, and three of the five new AES faculty located at UCSC – Matt Sparke, professor of politics; Greg Gilbert, professor of environmental studies; and Michael Loik, professor of environmental studies – described their research. The group walked around the UCSC Farm, learning about its 53-year history advancing small-scale, organic production and hearing from students what the experience has meant to them.
Next they headed to Marina to discuss the innovation initiatives at the UCSC Monterey Bay Education, Science and Technology Center (MBEST) and the developing collaboration with UC ANR focused on ag tech research and homebase for the new UC Cooperative Extension specialist position to work on food safety, drones and remote sensing.
They had lunch with staff at the UCCE Monterey County office in Salinas, then local farm advisors gave presentations on their research and extension. Michael Cahn discussed CropManage. Aparna Gazula and Mark Bolda described their work with non-English speaking farmers. Devii Rao talked about cattle grazing as a tool for wildfire prevention.
Their last stop was at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Lab for Crop Improvement and Protection Research in Salinas, where the recently announced UCCE specialist in coastal produce safety systems will be located, growing the cohort of UCCE specialists there.
- Author: Jodi Azulai
UC ANR Learning & Development
Landing page | Archived webinars | Learning resources
Extension Methods & Delivery
Building Support
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
Office, Team, & Personal Management
July 11, 2024 | 11 a.m. - Noon PDT
Register here.
Join us for an engaging workshop on Motivational Interviewing (MI), tailored for Cooperative Extension professionals. During this workshop, you will learn how to use Motivational Interviewing to engage community members in conversations about health behavior change and facilitate impactful conversations in group settings, even within your teams.
WIC at 50 Years: Honoring the Past, Nourishing the Future (Virtual, Extension Foundation)
July 16, 2024 | 8 - 9:30 a.m PDT
Register here.
By the end of this webinar, attendees will:
- Discover the history of WIC including key programmatic milestones, and the impact of WIC on maternal and child health over the past 50 years.
- Describe the WIC food packages, how they have evolved, and the most recent changes.
- Identify innovations in WIC that support the future of WIC as the premiere public health program.
July 25, 2024 | 11 a.m. - Noon PDT
Register here.
Learn about communicating to promote health equity and resources/frameworks to use.
Program Development & Evaluation Capacity Building Training Series, 2024 (Virtual, UC ANR)
Aug. 6-Oct. 15, 2024| Every Tuesday, 10 a.m. - Noon
Register here.
Join us for online interactive trainings to help you with planning and evaluating programs and projects. These trainings highlight UCCE examples. This 11-part series is offered a la carte. Select whichever interests you or take the complete series! Audience: CE academics, community educators and other program staff. New advisors and county directors are highly encouraged to attend.
Aug. 6: Defining Clientele & Affirmative Action Planning
Aug. 13: Improving All Reasonable Effort & Engagement with Diverse Audiences
Aug. 20: Conducting a Needs Assessment
Aug. 27: Using Delphi Method for Needs Assessment
Sept. 3: Practical Methods to Measuring Outcomes
Sept. 10: Using Ripple Effects Mapping Method in Program Evaluation
Sept. 17: Best Practices for Developing Surveys & Basics of Sampling Methods
Sept. 24: Navigating Institutional Review Board
Oct. 1: Methods to Analyze Surveys: Continuous Quantitative Data
Oct. 8: Methods to Analyze Surveys: Qualitative Data
Oct. 15: Writing Strong Impact Statements
Government Relations (UC ANR)
Engaging government officials and community stakeholders is a critical tool that helps builds awareness and support for your work and that of the University as a whole. For more information, read here.
Public & Media Relations (UC ANR)
UC ANR has subject matter experts to help you with media and other public relations. Be sure to contact them for support.
July 8 - 12 | Noon - 1 p.m.
July 16 | 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Join Ian Smith and Jodi Rosenbaum to become more aware about how to support employees with disabilities in the workplace, the Reasonable Accommodation Process, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/93898213427?from=addon
Meeting ID: 938 9821 3427
UC Managing Implicit Bias Series: What is Implicit Bias? (Virtual, UC Learning Center)
Start here.
In this course, we'll define implicit bias and exploring how it derives from the natural way human brains function. After completing this course, you should be able to:
- Describe how the brain uses shortcuts and schemas to process stimuli
- Explain how attitudes, stereotypes and biases form
- Differentiate between explicit and implicit biases
Every Tuesday and Thursday | 3 - 4 p.m.
Join Stephen during his weekly office hours to learn what can be cleaned up from your webpages before integration with the new Integrated Web Platform (IWP). Let Stephen test your pages for accessibility and learn how to make it more accessible.
Zoom meeting: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/97937501529?pwd=Zm1PaGRuc0htcnVZbmZQaGcya3oxQT09
Watch recording.
In case you missed this event...Grab your strategic plan and learn the secret to making it work day-to-day and week-to-week! How to Align Your Time with Your Priorities is a step-by-step guide to holding a weekly planning meeting (aka The Weekly Meeting). UC ANR pays for your access. Register here for your account.
In this webinar, you'll learn:
- What works…and what DOESN'T work when it comes to weekly planning
- Why weekly planning is the bridge between your strategic plan and getting control of your workday
- The 30-minute technique that will help you make sure that the most important things get done each day
Master Digital Marketing Series Certificate (LinkedIn Learning)
Link to learning path.
Enhance your digital marketing expertise by diving deeper into best practices for your strategies--from social media to SEO and beyond. For your LinkedIn Learning account, contact ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.
Learn something new today.
Image credits:
Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Copyright 2017 - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
- Author: Saoi Sope
Beveridge joins ANR's Small Farms team
Claire Beveridge joined UC ANR on April 1 as a small farms water conservation academic coordinator in Fresno County with support to Tulare and Madera counties. She is also part of the statewide Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, or SAREP.
As an academic coordinator, Beveridge supports small-scale, diversified and socially disadvantaged farmers in Fresno and surrounding areas in on-farm water conservation through education, technical assistance, outreach and research activities. This encompasses aiding farmers with improved irrigation practices and technologies, groundwater regulation compliance and on-farm groundwater recharge. She also facilitates small-scale farmer access to state incentives for water and energy efficiency, as well as drought and flood relief programs. Beveridge also helps to inform state water policy on the unique needs of small-scale farms.
She is broadly interested in fostering sustainable water resource management through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches among communities, decisionmakers and researchers.
Beveridge holds a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering with an emphasis in hydrology from the University of Washington. She conducted postdoctoral research at Florida International University and earned her bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering from UC Berkeley. She is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in California, an inaugural editor of the Community Science Exchange journal and resource hub, and recently completed a USDA International Agriculture Education Fellowship in Uganda.
“I grew up in Madera and am excited to be serving my home region as part of UC ANR,” she said.
Beveridge is based in Fresno and can be reached at cbeveridge@ucanr.edu.
Cassio-Madrazo joins water institute as project scientist 
Erika Cassio-Madrazo joined UC ANR on April 1 as a project scientist in the California Institute for Water Resources, focusing on collaborative projects to promote drinking water and wastewater access. She is supporting a multi-year wastewater needs assessment by the state of California to evaluate long-term funding and policy needs for water-related sanitation.
Cassio-Madrazo earned a degree in agribusiness from the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterey and completed her postgraduate studies in Regional Development at the Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo.
She worked at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional as a researcher and also served as Deputy Director of Academia and Research in Durango, Mexico. She also worked in the state government as Head of Water Culture specializing in water management and sociohydrology.
Cassio-Madrazo is based at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at ecassiomadrazo@ucanr.edu. She is also on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/erikacassiomadrazo04071978.
El-Moghazy joins UCCE as food safety specialist 
Ahmed El-Moghazy joined UC Agriculture and Natural Resources in February as a UC Cooperative Extension food safety specialist. Food safety, according to El-Moghazy, are measures that ensure food is free from harmful contaminants, prevent foodborne illnesses and is safe to eat. El-Moghazy is responsible for assisting California farmers and food processing facilities to enhance food safety practices by training appropriate personnel and addressing food-safety issues on their farms.
As the principal investigator for the 2-SAFE Lab at UC Riverside, El-Moghazy is investigating the accuracy and applicability of point-of-use biosensor technology. The small, lightweight and easy-to-use sensor can be used while out in the field or in a packing house to test contamination of liquids such as irrigation and washing water or solids like food samples.
Testing for foodborne pathogens traditionally takes two to three days and the process can be costly. The biosensor technology that El-Moghazy is using is inexpensive and can provide results within one work shift, which allows businesses that grow fresh produce to confirm the safety of their products before sending them to the market.
In addition to certified trainings, El-Moghazy offers technical assistance to ensure growers comply before and after inspections, as well as resources for several topics including produce safety, agriculture water, flooding, soil amendments, worker health, hygiene and training and postharvest handling and sanitation. He can also assist in developing food-safety plans and other general farm food-safety protocols. His technical expertise covers all aspects of food production and supply including irrigation water quality, hygiene of harvesting tools and transportation.
Before joining ANR, El-Moghazy completed two years as a visiting scholar in the UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering department before continuing as a postdoctoral fellow in the UC Davis Food Science and Technology department for 5 years. Much of his work was rooted in the development of biosensors and antimicrobial materials for food safety. While in Davis, he collaborated with local farms and food processing companies on food safety research and extension.
El-Moghazy earned a Ph.D. studying developmental biosensors for food safety applications to detect pesticides residues from a joint program offered by University of Perpignan in France and Alexandria University in Egypt. He also earned a master's degree in developmental biobased fungicides and a bachelor's in agriculture science from Alexandria University. Finally, he completed a fellowship at the Institute of Plant Protection, Szent Istvan University in Hungary, where he studied how to extend shelf-life of fresh produce using biomaterials.
El-Moghazy is based at UC Riverside in the Microbiology and Plant Pathology department and can be reached at aelmogha@ucr.edu or (951) 827-0257.
Jakober named Director of Risk & Safety Services 
Chris Jakober has joined UC ANR as Director of Risk & Safety Services. In this role, he will lead ANR's programs and teams for Environmental Health & Safety and Risk Management, reporting to Director of Facilities Planning and Management Brian Oatman.
Jakober completed his bachelor's degree in chemistry at Oklahoma State University, where he studied land application of wastewater treatment residuals for nitrogen and phosphorus runoff mitigation and an in-vitro procedure to determine bioavailability of heavy metals from ingestion of contaminated soils. In 2001, further educational pursuits brought him to California, where he completed his doctoral work at UC Davis in agricultural and environmental chemistry, measuring carbonyls in motor vehicle exhaust.
His professional experiences include air-quality consulting on novel dust mitigation at Owens Lake for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, air quality research for the California Air Resources Board (e.g., regulating ozone emissions from indoor air cleaners, area source greenhouse-gas emissions verification, and health exposure risk assessment for environmental justice communities), and environmental health and safety in support of research at UC Davis.
He continues to maintain interest in his family's purebred cattle ranch in South Dakota.
Jakober is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at cjakober@ucanr.edu and (530) 756-1046.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
The UC ANR Renewable Resources Extension Act Statewide Program is soliciting proposals that will develop and/or support new or existing UC Cooperative Extension projects and activities addressing the educational and extension needs in the management of California's renewable resources on forest and rangeland.
The primary purpose of this program is to promote proper management of these valuable resources, especially on private lands, and to provide the information, education and training needed by Extension personnel, landowners, land managers and natural resource professionals. Maximum award is $15,000 per project.
RREA is also accepting proposals that will use the services and talents of student interns. Internships are open to undergraduate or graduate students from any institution of higher education in California, particularly the University of California and California State University systems.
Principal investigators will not be granted additional RREA funds to pay for supplemental costs associated with the project. Student interns are expected to work on projects or activities that address educational and extension needs in the management of California's renewable resources. Intern proposals must demonstrate the connection to UC Cooperative Extension (county or campus office). Interns will be funded up to $6,000.
The submission deadline is 5 p.m. on July 19, 2024.
For details and to apply, log into the ANR Portal and click on the "2024-2025 RREA Project & Student Intern Grants" link or https://ucanr.edu/urs/author/propedit.cfm.
For questions about the submission process, please contact Andrea Rayray, Statewide Programs and REC Operations research administrator, at arayray@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Lewis receives PCOC Lifetime Achievement Award
Vernard Lewis, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension urban entomology specialist, has received the 2024 Harvey Logan Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pest Control Operators of California.
In a news release, Lee Whitmore, a PCOC past president, said, “Vernard has been an unparalleled champion for our industry for decades. His research has been instrumental in protecting the consumer public by ensuring industry professionals communicate accurately about pest control technologies and processes. His collaboration and research have enhanced the effectiveness of various treatment technologies through meticulous yet fair evaluation, benefiting both professionals and consumers alike.”
Lewis joined UC Berkeley as a Professor of Cooperative Extension in 1991 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.
As an internationally recognized expert on urban pests, Lewis has published more than 150 papers and delivered more than 700 presentations on termites, bed bugs and cockroaches. He is probably best known for his termite research, which largely occurred in Villa Termiti, a 400-square-foot structure at UC Berkeley's Richmond Field Station designed to test alternative pest control methods.
Lewis also has been instrumental in supporting PCOC's Termite Academy, which has been hosted at the UC Berkeley's Richmond Field Station since 2018.
Whitmore said, “Perhaps his most significant contribution lies in his efforts to encourage diversity and inclusivity within the field of entomology. By serving as a mentor and inspiration to minority individuals and women, Dr. Lewis has helped to address the historical underrepresentation of these groups in the field. In doing so, he has not only opened doors for countless aspiring entomologists and pest control professionals, but has also enriched the industry with diverse perspectives and talents.”
Vela honored with inaugural Workplace Inclusion and Belonging Award
Elizabeth Moon, director of Workplace Inclusion and Belonging, created this award to recognize outstanding individuals or groups within the ANR community who have demonstrated exceptional commitment, leadership and innovation in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“It's about celebrating those who encourage and inspire this culture,” Moon said, “those who showcase best practices and innovative approaches for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as those who foster the networking opportunities and the connections that come from that.”
In announcing Vela as the first recipient of the award, Moon said, “Ricardo is someone who his nominators say is the first person they think of when they think of inclusiveness within ANR. They say that it's his daily goal to showcase the diversity in ANR and celebrate Latinos and other ethnic groups within the division.
“He has created and spearheaded numerous programs and initiatives that have brought in diverse perspectives, fostered greater understanding and increased feelings of belonging and recognition among staff and academics. And he always finds ways to promote inclusiveness and build community in our organization.”
Vela's name will be engraved on a plaque that will be placed outside the Valley Room at the ANR building in Davis.
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