- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ricardo Vela, manager of UC ANR News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS), won the ACE 2024 Rising Star Award, an annual award that "honors communicators, instructors and researchers who demonstrate exceptional leadership and technical skills in their communication field, to their institution, and service to ACE."
Five other UC ANR communicators won either a gold (first place), silver (second place), or a bronze (third place) award.
- A trio from UC ANR Strategic Communications--Michael Hsu, senior public information representative; Ethan Ireland, senior videographer; and Evett Kilmartin, photographer--teamed to win a silver award for their video, “Farm-to-Corrections Project."
- Strategic Communications' social media strategist Doralicia Garay won a bronze award for her entry, “Improving Lives in California” in the category, social media organic campaign.
- Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and author of the Bug Squad blog on the UC ANR site, won a gold award for “best feature photo."
They will receive their awards at the ACE conference, scheduled June 23-25 in Salt Lake City Utah. The theme: “Big Ideas Start Here.”
Ricardo Vela
Ricardo Vela is a 35-year, two-time Emmy-winning broadcast journalism professional, as noted on the ACE site. As program manager of NOS, he supervises a Spanish-language expert team that disseminates news and research about agriculture, nutrition, and natural resources to Spanish-speaking communities across California. Vela is “an advocate for Latino and other ethnic groups, promoting their contributions to society and creating for the first time, events for the UC ANR community to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and Cesar Chavez Day.”
Before joining UC ANR, Vela worked as a national news correspondent for Univision and CNN in Texas and Los Angeles. He started his journalism career at the Chicago Tribune and Univision in Chicago, Ill. While in Chicago, he collaborated with several Latino community organizations, always promoting equity and inclusion. He served as Univision's main news anchor in San Diego for 17 years and hosted a morning talk radio show,“Voces Hispanas,” for 10 years. His career includes serving as news director and anchor at Entravisión (a Univisión affiliate) in Palm Springs and as a news anchor at Telemundo in El Paso, Texas. In 2006, Hispanic Magazine listed him as among the 100 most influential Latinos in the country.
UC ANR Vice President Glenda Humiston appointed Vela as a founding member of the UC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to serve a three-year term.
The ACE Rising Star Award memorializes Frank Jeter (1891-1955), a pioneering ACE member from North Carolina who made significant contributions to the communication field and to ACE.
Michael Hsu, Ethan Ireland and Evett Kilmartin
The Hsu-Ireland-Kilmartin team produced a video featuring UC ANR's Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) and its unique partnership with Impact Justice, ChangeLab Solutions, Spork, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDRC). Last July they launched the "Farm-to-Corrections Harvest of the Month" project, which brings fresh, specialty produce into California prisons “to improve the diets of the residents, as well as improve their overall health and well-being.” Impact Justice is a prison reform organization, ChangeLab Solutions is a health equity nonprofit, and Spork is a regional food hub.
The video, Hsu said, aims to raise awareness and build support for the project. He cited its many wins:
- Opens major untapped market for California growers and producers (especially small farmers)
- Demonstrates a way for CDCR to meet requirements for in-state sourcing of food
- Provides healthier food for residents of the correctional facilities, while introducing new produce and nutrition education opportunities that can help them live better lives while they are in prison and after they return to their communities.
Hsu conducted the interviews and wrote the script; Ireland shot and edited the video; and Kilmartin contributed photos. Some images were taken in the California Department of Corrections, California State Prison, Solano (Vacaville). (See the news story, "Farm-to-Corrections' Project Provides Fresh Produce to People in Prison, Boosts California Growers.")
Doralicia Garay
![Cooperative Extension specialist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology was among those featured in an award-winning ACE entry by Doricia Garay. Cooperative Extension specialist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology was among those featured in an award-winning ACE entry by Doricia Garay.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/106957.png)
"The campaign's strategic emphasis on showcasing employees within the narrative of research efforts enhances the UC ANR brand identity and positions the organization as a collaborative pioneer in innovation," Garay wrote. "This comprehensive approach leverages the power of social media to extend reach, foster engagement, and effectively cater to our online community."
Among those featured in "Improving Lives in California:" entomologist Ian Grettenberger, assistant professor of Cooperative Extension, and a member of the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Kathy Keatley Garvey
Kathy Keatley Garvey, a journalist formerly with UC ANR before joining the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, submitted an image of a honey bee buzzing over a zinnia. Her entry, “Celebrating the Honey Bee," won the feature photo category, for "one image that effectively tells a story."
"The purpose of this photo was to celebrate the honey bee by capturing an image of a pollen-packing worker bee in flight over a bright flower," wrote Garvey. Her gear: a Nikon D500 with a 105mm lens. Settings: 1/4000 of a second (to freeze the action), ISO 1000, and f-stop 6.3. She sought to showcase "the amazing color: the bright red zinnia and the orange pollen;" the bee's speed (deliberately blurring the wings); and "to emphasize that foraging honey bees are incredible workers."
"That is one huge ball of pollen that she'll take back to her colony," Garvey wrote. Feedspot, which ranks blogs by traffic, social media followers and freshness, ranks her Bug Squad blog as the No. 4 bug blog in the world, Garvey has written the blog every night, Monday through Friday, since Aug. 6, 2008.
Communication Professionals
ACE, headquartered in Morton Grove, Ill., describes it members as "communication faculty and professionals at public and land-grant universities throughout the United States and in similar institutions in other nations.We are communication professionals at local, state and federal agencies; corporations and nonprofit organizations; and agriculture- and natural resources-focused international research centers."
Its members include "writers, editors, graphic designers, webmasters, video producers, information technologists, photographers, administrators, researchers, faculty members and others in the communications field. We plan, prepare and disseminate research results and Extension educational materials. We distribute research-based information to scientists and technicians, and practical, problem-solving information to people who put it to work: farmers, families, foresters, food processors, ranchers, homemakers, news media, youth, marine businesses, businesses and many others."
![This image won This image won](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/106954.jpg)
![Heile Gantan of Impact Justice and Ron Strochlic of Nutrition Policy Institute (standing) chat with residents of California State Prison Solano about the quality of their food. This image was part of a project that a won a silver award in the video category, “Farm-to-Corrections Project. Heile Gantan of Impact Justice and Ron Strochlic of Nutrition Policy Institute (standing) chat with residents of California State Prison Solano about the quality of their food. This image was part of a project that a won a silver award in the video category, “Farm-to-Corrections Project.](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/106955.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Congrats to the University of California recipients of awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information.
ACE officials recently handed out gold, silver and bronze awards at their 107th annual conference, held in Asheville, N.C. ACE's first conference occurred July 10, 1913, when land-grant college agricultural editors gathered at the University of Illinois.
And now, the California winners:
The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) won the gold award in the Information Technology category, Instructional Design for a Non-Academic Public Online Course, for its “Self-Paced Online Course: Urban Pyrethroid and Fipronil Use-Runoff and Surface Water Protection.”
The team: Petr Kosina, Cheryl Reynolds, Robert Budd, Aniela Burant, Carlos Gutierrez, Karey Windbiel-Rojas and Loren Oki.
The course, for pest management professionals who work primarily in structural pest control or landscape maintenance, “presents information on the Surface Water Protection Regulations that were put into place to reduce the amount of pyrethroids in surface water runoff. It discusses the types of applications allowed under the regulations as well as those that are prohibited and those that are exempt." The course, available for free, must be completed by Dec. 30 of the current year.
Kathy Keatley Garvey (yours truly), communication specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a bronze award (third place) in the pictorial series category. Her submission included a series of monarch images published July 27, 2022 on her Bug Squad blog, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
Headlined “Monarch Butterflies: Closer to Extinction,” the blog included photos of a monarch egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and male and female butterflies, all images she captured in her family's pollinator garden in Vacaville.
The blog dealt with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announcement on July 21, 2022 that the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is now on its "Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered--threatened by habitat destruction and climate change."
Wrote Garvey:
“The good news? That the iconic monarch landed on the Red List, which means opening safeguards to protect it."
“The bad news? Being on the list means that it's closer to extinction. The other bad news? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has not yet listed it as endangered or threatened, only that it's a candidate for its list of endangered and threatened wildlife."
“The sad news? The IUCN Red List now includes 147,517 species, of which 41,459 are threatened with extinction."
Garvey launched the Bug Squad on Aug. 6, 2008 and writes it every night, Monday through Friday. The insect blog draws worldwide rankings and accolades.
The ACE winners represent universities or higher institutions of learning in 18 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming. (See list)
![A caterpillar featured on the Bug Squad blog's pictorial series that won an international award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A caterpillar featured on the Bug Squad blog's pictorial series that won an international award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/100384.jpg)
![A screen shot of a course that won a gold award for the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program in the ACE competition. A screen shot of a course that won a gold award for the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program in the ACE competition.](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/100386.png)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A UC Davis communications specialist who creates habitat for monarch butterflies in her family's pollinator garden, won a silver award or second-place honors, in a photography competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). ACE announced the award June 22 at its virtual conference.
Kathy Keatley Garvey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology captured the image of a monarch egg with a Canon MPE-65mm lens.
“The purpose of my image is to draw attention to the dwindling monarch butterfly population,” Garvey wrote. “They are on life support.” The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation's reports that overwintering monarchs have declined 99 percent in coastal California since the 1990s.
Garvey posted the image at https://bit.ly/3cUx358 Aug. 10, 2020 on her daily (Monday-Friday) Bug Squad blog on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
Wrote the judge: “Capturing a subject this small is really quite impressive. I appreciate the photographer sharing their equipment and process to capture this image of such a delicate and beautiful little butterfly egg. Very well done.”
The image scored 25 out of 25 points in creativity/originality, audience interest/impact, and overall evaluation.
In her contest entry, Garvey described the egg “as an incredible work of nature! The intricate egg is about the size of a pinhead, 0.9mm wide and 1.2mm high. It's creamy yellow with narrow longitudinal ridge. Unless it encounters a predator or parasitoid or another life-threatening factor, the egg will usually hatch 3 to 4 days after Mama Monarch deposits it beneath a milkweed leaf.”
“A good place to see butterfly specimens from all over the world is at the Bohart Museum of Entomology (now temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)," Garvey wrote. “Of the nearly eight million specimens in the Bohart, some 500,000 are in the Lepidoptera collection, curated by entomologist Jeff Smith.“ She also drew attention to the butterfly-rearing process of Bohart associate and natural historian Greg Kareofelas.
In addition to the silver award, the UC Davis communicator won a bronze award or third-place honors for her photo series of male and female Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, “keeping busy.” Her post, “Fifty Shades of Orange, with a Touch of Silver,” appeared July 13, 2020 on her Bug Squad blog at https://bit.ly/2Q6cU3q.
Wrote the judge: “This submission was a delight! I adored the written piece that accompanied the photos, describing the insect wedding during COVID times. To take notice of these delicate creatures, which many people just pass by without noticing, and to document them in photos is unique…. When photographing subjects of this size, the tack-sharp focus which captures the details that our eyes cannot normally see is what makes them so captivating. It's also incredibly difficult to capture--the photographer did a lovely job.”
“So there they were," Garvey wrote. "The two of them. The blushing bride and the quite dapper-and-dashing groom. They didn't invite me to their wedding. I was an uninvited guest, the only guest. So, I felt obliged to crash their wedding and capture some images…Who can resist insect wedding photography? That's about the only wedding photography happening during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Garvey also drew her readers to the research website of butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, and his information on A. vanillae (see https://bit.ly/3uw9Yf1), and to specific work of insects “keeping busy” (see https://bit.ly/3rVU1xg) by UC Davis alumnus and renowned macro photographer Alex Wild, curator of entomology at the University of Texas, Austin.
ACE, founded in 1913 primarily for ag communicators, is now an international association of professionals who practice in all areas of communication.
(Editor's Note: Last year three UC Davis-affiliated communication specialists won a total of six writing or photography awards in the ACE global competition for work accomplished in 2019 (pre-COVID pandemic). Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for the Western Integrated Pest Management Center,Davis, won one silver (second-place) and two bronze (third-place) for his writing and photography; Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, two silvers for her writing and photography; and Diane Nelson, communication specialist for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a bronze for her writing.)
![This image of a monarch butterfly egg won a silver award or second place in the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This image of a monarch butterfly egg won a silver award or second place in the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/83543.jpg)
![This is one of a series of images of Gulf Fritillaries that won a bronze award in the international ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This is one of a series of images of Gulf Fritillaries that won a bronze award in the international ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/83544.jpg)
![An An](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/83545.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Together they won a total of seven communication awards in a competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE).
Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for the Western Integrated Pest Management Center, Davis, won one silver (second-place) and two bronze (third-place) for his writing and photography;
- Writing for the Web, silver award for “IPM in Yellowstone”
- Photo Essay, bronze award for “Growing in Guam”
- Social media, bronze award for single blog post, “To Communicate Better, Start with Audience”
Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won two silvers for her writing and photography;
- Writing for Newspapers, silver award for “Paying It Forward,” about the successful career of award-winning academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack
- Picture Story, silver award for “Kira Meets a Stick Insect” (at Bohart Museum of Entomology)
Diane Nelson, communication specialist for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a bronze for her writing:
- Writing for the Web, bronze award for "Can Science Save Citrus?"
Ricardo Vela, Miguel Sanchez and Norma de la Vega of UC ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish won a bronze award for a video:
- Diversity 6, Electronic Media and Audio for Targeted Audiences, bronze award for Breakfast - Desayuno de Campeones - English and Spanish videos
The awards will be presented Wednesday, June 24 during ACE's virtual conference, which opened June 22 and continues through June 25.
ACE is an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information. The organization offers professional development and networking for individuals who extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.
![Kira Olmos, 5, of Winters reacts to her first encounter with a stick insect at a Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. This candid image won a silver award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Kira Olmos, 5, of Winters reacts to her first encounter with a stick insect at a Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. This candid image won a silver award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71775.jpg)
![A feature story on UC Davis staff academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack (pictured) won a silver award in the ACE competition. The article, by Kathy Keatley Garvey, traced her success story. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A feature story on UC Davis staff academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack (pictured) won a silver award in the ACE competition. The article, by Kathy Keatley Garvey, traced her success story. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71776.jpg)
![Western IPM Center's Steve Elliott won a silver award for his piece on Western IPM Center's Steve Elliott won a silver award for his piece on](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71777.jpg)
![Diane Nelson of the UC College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences won a bronze award for her piece on Diane Nelson of the UC College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences won a bronze award for her piece on](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71779.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Three UC Davis-affiliated communication specialists won a total of six writing or photography awards in a global competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE).
Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for the Western Integrated Pest Management Center, Davis, won one silver (second-place) and two bronze (third-place) for his writing and photography; Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, two silvers for her writing and photography; and Diane Nelson, communication specialist for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a bronze for her writing.
Elliott's entries and the categories:
- Writing for the Web, silver award for “IPM in Yellowstone”
- Photo Essay, bronze award for “Growing in Guam”
- Social media, bronze award for single blog post, “To Communicate Better, Start with Audience”
Garvey's entries and the categories:
- Writing for Newspapers, silver award for “Paying It Forward,” about the successful career of award-winning academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack
- Picture Story, silver award for “Kira Meets a Stick Insect” (at Bohart Museum of Entomology)
Nelson's entry and category:
- Writing for the Web, bronze award for "Can Science Save Citrus?"
The awards will be presented during ACE's virtual conference June 24-25. ACE is an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information. The organization offers professional development and networking for individuals who extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.
The Western Integrated Pest Management Center, also known as the Western IPM Center, is housed within the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program and funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. It promotes "smart, safe and sustainable pest management to protect the people, environment and economy of the American West," which includes 17 Western states and Pacific island territories.
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is world-renowned for its quality research, education and public service. Faculty are globally recognized for their expertise in insect demography, systematics and evolutionary biology of ants, pollination and community ecology, integrated pest management, insect biochemistry, molecular biology, and the systematics and evolutionary biology of nematodes. The department is one of 14 in the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) is one of four colleges on the UC Davis campus. It is dedicated to "solving real-world problems in the agricultural, environmental, and human sciences to produce a better world, healthier lives, and an improved standard of living for everyone." It is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the world for agricultural sciences and forestry by QS World University Rankings; ranked No. 1in the world in plant and animal sciences by U.S. News & World Report; and ranked No. 1 in agricultural economics and policy research by the Center for World University Rankings.
![When Kira Olmos, 5, of Winters visited the Bohart Museum of Entomology with her mother, Kendra Olmos, executive director of the Center for Water-Energy Efficiency, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, she wasn't at all sure--at first--about meeting a stick insect. This candid photo won an international award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) When Kira Olmos, 5, of Winters visited the Bohart Museum of Entomology with her mother, Kendra Olmos, executive director of the Center for Water-Energy Efficiency, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, she wasn't at all sure--at first--about meeting a stick insect. This candid photo won an international award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71552.jpg)
![A news article on UC Davis academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack, shown here talking to a student, won an international award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A news article on UC Davis academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack, shown here talking to a student, won an international award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71553.jpg)
![Diane Nelson's article on Diane Nelson's article on](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71607.jpg)
![Steve Elliott's piece on Steve Elliott's piece on](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/71608.jpg)