Darlene Ruiz

Land Equity, Access, & Stewardship Coordinator

Darlene Ruiz serves as the Land Use Academic Coordinator for the Climate Action and Land Equity (CALE) project with UC Cooperative Extension San Diego for the Southern California region. In this role, she supports efforts to expand equitable land access, diversify land management, and strengthen technical assistance and capacity for historically underrepresented communities engaged in agriculture and natural and working lands stewardship. The initiative contributes to statewide climate-smart planning and advances California’s goals for resilient, inclusive land management.

Ruiz previously worked as a Small Farms staff research associate in San Diego County, where she strengthened research collaborations and provided education and resources for small- to mid-scale and aspiring farmers. She brings a combination of lived experience and academic training to her work and is passionate about sustainable agriculture, food equity, and supporting underserved communities in accessing land and resources.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior with a minor in Chicana/o studies from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree in Agricultural Education from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

ACADEMIC COORD II-FY

Small farms, agricultural tourism, organic certification, sustainable practices, entrepreneurship and starting a business, market development: diversification strategies, waste reduction/ compost, land access equity.

M.S. Agricultural Education : Sustainability, Agritourism, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 2023
B.S. Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, UC Davis. 2013

Counties

San Diego