Names in the News

Gonzalves named UCCE director for Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties 

David Gonzalves joined UC ANR on Feb. 1 as the new director for UCCE in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.  

As director, Gonzalves is responsible for the coordination and overall operation of UCCE programs in the three counties. He will provide administrative oversight of educational and applied research programs, maintain effective communication within UC and county government, maintain positive working relationships with partnering public and private agencies and expand collaborations. 

Gonzalves brings experience working for county government and UC. Most recently, Gonzalves was a campus building official at UC Merced. He is well-versed in county government and the importance of following local requirements as a construction official.Beginning his career at the County of Merced as a fire inspector, Gonzalves worked his way up to supervising building inspector and eventually assistant development services director. Then, for the City of Merced, he filled the role of chief building official and ultimately director of development services, leading the city's Building, Planning and Engineering teams. For three years, he served as Tuolumne County's Community Resources Agency director.

The hiring of Gonzalves relieves former county directors Maria de la Fuente, Devii Rao and Mark Bolda of administrative duties so they may focus on their academic responsibilities.

Gonzalves is based at the UCCE Monterey County office in Salinas and can be reached at dgonzalves@ucanr.edu.

Woodward to assist Meyer, Obrist 

Vanya Woodward joined UC ANR on Feb. 1 as an executive assistant to Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president for programs and strategic initiatives, and Daniel Obrist, vice provost for academic personnel.

Anyone who wants to get in touch with Meyer or Obrist should copy vwoodward@ucanr.edu on emails, which may be seen more quickly by Woodward, who can help resolve issues or flag it for their attention. To set up meetings with Meyer or Obrist, contact Woodward. 

Before joining UC ANR, Woodward worked in the private sector for Tactical Marketing, Philips and SearcherMagnet. She earned a bachelor's degree in English with a focus on creative writing from American River College.

Woodward is located on the second floor of the ANR building at 2nd Street in Davis in cubicle 208b. She can be reached at vwoodward@ucanr.edu and (530) 271-9296.

Baddorf joins SAREP 

Alicia Baddorf joined the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program on Feb. 1 as the new sustainable supply chain coordinator. She succeeds Gwenael Engelskirchen, who is now SAREP's sustainable food and farming coordinator. 

Baddorf brings over 10 years of sustainable agriculture and regional food systems experience to UC SAREP. Her research broadly aims to support farmers and ranchers in adopting more sustainable agricultural practices and assist communities in building equitable and healthy regional food systems. 

She has experience with farms and food hubs, including educational program development, farming and the management of sales, community-supported agriculture programs, and marketing. With the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, she advised small-scale farmers finding right-fit technologies to expand their marketing opportunities.

She holds dual bachelor's degrees in sociology and French studies from the University of Delaware and is currently pursuing a master's degree in community development from UC Davis. 

Baddorf is based at the UC ANR 2^nd Street building and can be reached at akbaddorf@ucanr.edu.

Oker named soils and irrigation advisor for Kern County 

Tobias Oker joined UCCE on Jan. 3 as a soils and irrigation advisor for Kern County.

Prior to joining UC ANR, Oker was an irrigation research engineer at the University of Georgia, Tifton campus for close to four years. At UGA, he collaborated with the state Natural Resources Conservation Service to update the Georgia Irrigation Guide. He also worked on a research project to develop crop water-use curves for apples, peaches, pecans and a grapefruit variety called muscadine. 

Oker earned a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, where his doctoral research focused on Mobile Drip Irrigation, a novel technology with a demonstrated potential to improve irrigation efficiency in center pivot systems, the main irrigation method used in the Midwest.

Before attending K-State, he worked in Uganda at the National Agricultural Research Organization as a water management research and extension scientist for three years, and before that as a research assistant for two years.

He earned a M.S. in water science and engineering from IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands and a B.S. in agricultural engineering from Makerere University in Uganda.

Oker is based at the UCCE office in Bakersfield and can be reached at teoker@ucanr.edu and (661) 868-6218 and on Twitter @TobiasOker.

Andrews named specialty crops advisor 

Ellie Andrews joined UCCE on Jan. 3 as a specialty crops advisor for Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties.

Andrews enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of applied agricultural sciences and is excited to assist specialty crop growers with nutrient management, irrigation and integrated pest management. She can provide support for growers who want to implement practices that build soil health, such as organic matter amendment application, cover cropping, and strategies for reducing soil disturbance. She also can assist with variety selection, diversification, crop planning, and climate adaptation strategies.

Originally from Ohio, Andrews earned her bachelor's degree in field ecology with a focus on plant biology. During and after college, she worked on several small-scale certified organic farms where she gained experience with specialty crops such as mixed vegetables, greens, cut flowers, herbs, microgreens and culinary mushrooms. 

While working directly with growers for Ohio State Extension, Andrews earned a master's degree in plant health management from Ohio State University, where the applied interdisciplinary degree taught her about integrated pest management, plant pathology and soil fertility.

She earned a Ph.D. in horticulture and agronomy at UC Davis. Her doctoral research focused on using organic matter amendments to improve nutrient cycling, soil-plant water dynamics, and soil microbial communities.

Andrews is based at the UCCE office in Santa Rosa and can be reached at eandrews@ucanr.edu.

Benítez joins BFI, UC ANR as project scientist 

Francisco Benítez Altuna joined UC ANR and Berkeley Food Institute on Jan. 3 as a project scientist. 

Benítez will work with a stakeholder advisory group and collaborate on research with BFI-associated faculty on agroecological research and extension programs.

During his academic career, Benítez has developed a strong multidisciplinary background in food value chains. He is interested in understanding the challenges farmers face and the complex interactions between socioeconomic and context characteristics that shape the transition towards sustainable food value chains.

Benítez earned a Ph.D. at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands and master's degrees in agribusiness and rural development from the Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of Talca in Chile.He earned an engineering degree in agro-industry from the National Polytechnic School in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador. 

Benítez is based at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier and can be reached at fjbenitez@ucanr.edu.

Snell wins Young Range Professional Award 

Laura Snell, UCCE director and livestock and natural resources advisor for Modoc County, received the Young Range Professional Award on Feb. 15 at the Society for Range Management conference in Boise.

“When Laura first came to California, she had not worked west of the Rocky Mountains, yet she swiftly gained and in-depth knowledge of the rangeland systems in Modoc County,” wrote David Lile, UCCE director and livestock and natural resources advisor for Lassen County in his nomination letter. 

“The programmatic issues that have confronted Laura in Modoc County are not easy, they are not simple to solve, and are not for the timid,” Lile wrote. “Questions relating to wild horses, post-wildfire grazing on public land, groundwater management/policy, drought mitigation, and predators are defined by widely divergent views which are often emotionally charged. Despite this Laura has not wavered in her work to bring a science-based perspective to these topics and has not been dissuaded by those who might criticize applied science to promote their own agenda. Most importantly the science-based information that she provides is locally relevant and based on local/regional information that she has often been involved in collecting.”

Lile added, “Although she is the youngest (substantially) among the County Directors of the 11 northern region counties, at our request, she was appointed to serve as our regional representative to the statewide County Director Executive Committee.”

He noted that Snell also promoted a culture of professional collaboration by organizing the lntermountain Workgroup meeting and co-chairing a joint meeting of Cooperative Extension advisors and agents from California and Nevada.

FFA honors UC Farm Smart 

The State FFA Executive Committee for the California Association of Future Farmers of America recently voted UC Farm Smart as a recipient of its Distinguished Service Award. The award is reserved for those who provide assistance of an outstanding nature to FFA, thus distinguishing the recipient from others who provide routine assistance to the FFA. 

Farm Smart, an outreach program focused on agricultural literacy at UC ANR's Desert Research and Extension Center, has educated more than 168,000 people in the Imperial Valley and surrounding areas since its inception in 2001. Through the community-supported program, K-12 students and retirees who visit the desert in the winter are invited to tour Desert REC and learn about agriculture.

Stacey Amparano, Farm Smart program manager, will be presented the award at the 95th annual State FFA Leadership Conference on March 18 in Ontario. 

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