Posts Tagged: August 2023

Names in the News

Vega joins UCCE in San Diego and Los Angeles counties 

Liliana Vega is the new UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development advisor serving San Diego and Los Angeles counties as of Aug. 1.

Her research and outreach focus on positive youth development through a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) lens, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), youth leadership, outdoor education, and college and career readiness/workforce development programs focused on reaching BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) youth and families.

Vega holds a bachelor's degree in multi-ethnic and Mexican American studies from Boise State University and a master's degree in adult/organizational learning and leadership from the University of Idaho.

With over 15 years of experience as a 4-H professional – previously serving San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties for the last five years and in Idaho's Ada and Canyon counties before that – Vega feels prepared for her new role as an advisor in San Diego and Orange counties.

In 2021, Vega was part of the team that won a Diversity & Inclusion Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals for increasing the number of Latino youths participating in the California 4-H program by more than 250% over three years. 

 “I'm excited to forge new partnerships in San Diego and Orange counties and collaboratively work to provide access to experiential learning, increase youth-adult partnerships, and help youth gain the support they need to grow and thrive as individuals,” she said.

Vega has extensive experience in forming community partnerships to deliver quality youth development programs, with a focus on increasing access for minority, low-income and underserved audiences. Her expertise is in culturally adapting programs for the Latinx community.

Currently, Vega serves on the National 4-H LGBTQ+ and Immigrant/Refugee Youth and Community Champion Groups. She also chairs the 4-H Statewide JEDI Advisory Committee,  California 4-H True Leaders in Equity Youth Taskforce, and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Career/College Readiness and Workforce Development Workgroup. 

Vega is based at the UCCE office in San Diego and can be reached at live@ucanr.edu. 

Sayre named UCCE agriculture and resource economics specialist 

James “Jay” Sayre joined UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics as a CE Specialist on July 1.

His role focuses on the economics of food supply chains across the state of California. Sayre aims to study policies to promote greater competition in food supply chains to benefit smaller-scale producers, understand the role of international trade in agriculture and its effects on Californian consumers, and assess how supply chains can best respond to a changing climate. 

Sayre is excited about combining economic theory and modeling approaches with understanding the needs of stakeholders in California to benefit food supply chains within California.

Sayre earned a doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics this spring down the road at UC Berkeley. His dissertation research spanned several disciplines, with chapters seeking to understand how agricultural supply chains lead regions to specialize in certain crops, the consequences of phytosanitary and other non-tariff barriers to trade, as well as developing methodology to accurately assess crop yields across large regions using satellite imagery and other sources of publicly available data. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

The Colorado native is looking forward to addressing a variety of issues in the near future relevant to California stakeholders. An ongoing project looks to develop fine-scale projections of future agricultural productivity for most of the major crops California produces, including crops that have historically not had such measures available, like perennials such as almonds, avocados and other fruits.

He hopes such information will be relevant not only for growers seeking to understand whether their land will be relatively more suitable in the future for different crops, but also agricultural intermediaries and policy makers looking to understand where production of certain crops may shift in the future.

Before joining Cooperative Extension and UC Davis, Sayre worked in Mexico, seeking to better understand the cross-border nature of supply chains that operate in both California and Mexico. He is proficient in Spanish and aims to increase the accessibility of extension to Spanish speakers.

Sayre is based in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics at UC Davis and can be reached at jsayre@ucdavis.edu. 

Valliere joins UCCE as weed and restoration ecology specialist 

Justin Valliere joined UC ANR on July 1 as an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension in invasive weed and restoration ecology at UC Davis.

Valliere's research aims to evaluate how human-caused environmental change and invasive plant species impact native ecosystems, and how we can reverse this degradation through ecological restoration. The overarching goal of his research and outreach is to develop real-world solutions for land management in the face of global change.

“CE already is such an effective system for supporting agriculture, but it's also an important model for natural resource management and restoration,” Valliere told Trina Kleist, writer for UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. “There is a real need for help advising folks throughout the state about managing and restoring natural lands, and I'm excited to help bolster that.”

As a teen, the Massachusetts native participated in the local 4-H program. His passion was pressing plants. Though a lot of them were weeds from Europe, he didn't yet know the difference, and if the judges at the county fair did, they didn't mind. His collections won blue ribbons.

Prior to joining UC Davis, Valliere was an assistant professor of biology at CSU Dominguez Hills, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, and a postdoctoral fellow at the La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science at UCLA.

Valliere earned his Ph.D. in plant biology from UC Riverside, and a bachelor's degree in biology from Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont.

In June, a UCOP writer asked Valliere, “What is it like to be an LGBTQ scientist, studying our natural world?” He replied, “I don't know that there is a direct connection there, but plants are super queer! … Plants are a great example of how the world doesn't fit into that heteronormative binary in terms of sex and gender fluidity.” 

Valliere is based in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis and can be reached at jmvalliere@ucdavis.edu.

Hill named UCCE specialist in diversity and equity economics 

Alexandra “Ali” Estvan Hill joined UC ANR and UC Berkeley's Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics on July 1 as an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension specializing in the economics of diversity and equity.

From 2019 until she joined UC, Hill worked as an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Colorado State University. Her research centers around the U.S. agricultural workforce and seeks to demonstrate how a variety of factors impact worker well-being, quantified in terms of income or health impacts – and to make a business case for employers, in terms of implications for production or profits, to institute policies and practices that promote worker well-being. 

Hired farmworkers contribute greatly to the racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic diversity of U.S. agriculture; however, they are frequently not treated equitably and face a multitude of economic, physical, legal and emotional hardships in their personal and professional lives. Hill's research seeks to begin dismantling these inequities by finding avenues through which employers can increase worker well-being while maintaining or increasing profits. 

Hill brings extensive experience working with individual agricultural businesses to accomplish these objectives through enhancing firm data collection and analysis to provide an array of effective, efficient and actionable insights.

She is building an extension program centered around advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the agri-food system by enhancing the well-being of agricultural employees and other disadvantaged members of rural and urban agricultural communities. 

She earned her Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics from UC Davis and master's degree in agricultural and applied economics and bachelor's degree in agricultural and consumer economics from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

Hill is based at UC Berkeley and can be reached at alihill@berkeley.edu and on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-estvan-hill.  

Smith-Helman joins Climate Smart Agriculture Program 

Bailey Smith-Helman joined UCCE Santa Cruz County on July 3 as a community education specialist with the UC ANR Climate Smart Agriculture Program. 

Smith-Helman, who relocated from Washington, D.C., is excited to get back in the field and support Santa Cruz County growers with climate-smart agriculture practices and California Department of Food and Agriculture financial incentive programs.

CDFA programs provide financial incentives to eligible farmers and ranchers implementing new practices that maximize water efficiency, build soil health, and improve manure management. She is ready to assist interested growers with grant applications, project planning and implementation.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in political science and environmental policy, Smith-Helman, who speaks Spanish fluently, moved to Paraguay to serve as an agriculture volunteer with the Peace Corps. In Paraguay, she worked closely with agricultural educators and local producers to develop education plans and lessons to engage high school students in agricultural coursework.

After returning to the U.S., Smith-Helman worked for USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, where she gained experience in agriculture policy analysis and program management.

Smith-Helman is based in Watsonville and can be reached at bsmithhelman@ucanr.edu.

Schueler appointed real estate and facility development manager 

Eric Schueler joined UC ANR on Aug. 1 as manager of real estate and facility development.

He will conduct analysis in support of real estate-related decision-making efforts; participate in the selection, evaluation, acquisition, management and disposition of real property and building space; participate in development of budgets and resource allocations; and manage compliance with lease agreements and lessor/lessee relationships.

During his 10-plus years with the University of California, Schueler has kept up-to-date on its internal policies and governing laws that impact real estate transactions, and has been involved with the acquisition, disposition, and long-term ground leases for the development of programmatic and auxillary programs. He brings a wealth of experience in negotiating contracts, underwriting acquisitions, marketing surplus properties, and developing essential programmatic uses via joint venture endeavors.

Through his work in the private sector, Schueler developed office complexes and industrial parks for regional and national development firms, which afforded him the experience of being involved with development projects from inception to completion and working closely with local professionals, municipalities, investors, company leadership, local communities, third-party consultants and end-users.

Schueler holds a bachelor's degree in economics and real estate from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Louisiana State University.

Schueler is based at UC Office of the President in Oakland and can be reached at eric.schueler@ucop.edu.

 

Help set UC ANR’s strategic direction for the next 15 years!

All UC ANR employees have crucial insights to inform the development of UC ANR's 2040 Strategic Vision so it's important that you provide input from your unique perspective.

Our Strategic Vision document does not just sit on a shelf; it is used to prioritize UC ANR's areas of action and shapes our structure and allocation of resources for the next few years.

On Aug. 21, you received an email from our Vice President Humiston inviting you to participate in the “UC ANR Strategic Vision Input Survey,” with a unique survey link just for you. On Aug. 28, reminders were sent to those who had not yet submitted a response.  

If you haven't yet responded, please be sure to find the email from “Glenda Humiston, Vice President, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources noreply@ucsd.edu” and respond to the survey by Sept. 8. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.

All responses are confidential, and will be aggregated, analyzed, and presented back to the Strategic Visioning Committee. 

If you have questions about the survey, please contact c2olson@ucsd.edu. If you have any questions about UC ANR's Strategic Visioning process, please contact Kathryn.Stein@ucop.edu.

PAC discusses strategic vision, Fire Network

UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz deans join for first time since becoming AES campuses

The UC President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources met Aug. 11 via Zoom.

Vice President Glenda Humiston welcomed deans Rakesh Goel of UC Merced and Katharyne Mitchell of UC Santa Cruz, the new Agricultural Experiment Station campuses.

The group watched a video highlighting activities at the UC ANR statewide conference in April, then discussed the strategic visioning process. Kathy Eftekhari, chief of staff to the vice president, reported that the UC ANR Strategic Visioning Survey would be sent out Aug. 21 with a deadline of Sept. 8 for responses.

To help address new challenges, Humiston announced that a position call for 10 more UCCE specialists will be coming soon. 

As evidence of community support, UC ANR raised over $5 million in donations during fiscal year 2022-23, Greg Gibbs, Development Services director, reported. 

During the deans' reports, the PAC members heard from deans of the new AES campuses. UC Merced Dean Goel announced his campus is building a 40-acre smart farm. UCSC Dean Mitchell of UCSC, who is a social scientist, said she is excited about the interdisciplinary work the AES members can do on climate change with an eye on equity and social justice. 

UC Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox, ex officio member of PAC as chair of UC ANR's governing council, lauded the achievements of Kathryn Uhrich, who is stepping down as College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences dean after eight years, but will continue serving as a UCR Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. Peter Atkinson, UC Riverside entomology professor, will become interim dean on Sept. 1.

Vice President Humiston provided an update on California Department of Food and Agriculture's Ag Vision and efforts to strengthen collaboration between the UC, California State University and California Community College systems to enhance economic, workforce, and community development.  She highlighted examples of successful current higher education collaborations across the state, such as F3 Innovate with UC Merced, Fresno State and others.

Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of UC ANR's Fire Network, gave a presentation on the wildfire team's work. They are doing research and outreach on prescribed fire, community resilience and planning, home hardening, policy, regional wildfire mitigation planning, post-fire recovery and resilience and seed sources and tools for reforestation. They are also building synergies with UC ANR colleagues such as collaborating with UC Master Gardener volunteers in their extension work. 

UC President Michael Drake led a discussion about regenerative agriculture. PAC members explained some of the challenges it brings for farmers. They also suggested ways that UC ANR research and outreach might demonstrate that it can work and be financially sustainable to encourage adoption of regenerative agriculture practices. 

The commission's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2024.

Discuss empowering your own professional growth Sept. 13

Join Elizabeth Moon, UCANR Director of Workplace Inclusion and Belonging, for an open conversation on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 9-9:45 a.m. 

The topic of conversation will be “Empowering Your Own Professional Growth.” She will discuss building a plan and engaging leadership.

This event is hosted by the UC ANR Staff Assembly and Diversity Equity and Inclusion councils and is open to everyone in UC ANR. Moon's presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.

Zoom details are below:

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/5795309259

Meeting ID: 579 530 9259

One tap mobile

+16699006833,,5795309259# US (San Jose)

+16694449171,,5795309259# US

 

L&D - Survey design, Latino STEAM, Engage audiences, Aggie Enterprise, Admin Orientation

UC ANR LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Landing page| Presentation Recordings| Learning Resources

Extension Methods & Delivery
Building Support
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Office, Team, and Personal Management

Crafting Insights- Mastering the Art of Survey Design (Extension Foundation)
Sept. 14
11 a.m.- noon

Details & Registration
Building upon the valuable insights from the November 2022 Extension Skills Workshop "Survey Mistakes that can Ruin Your Data," this workshop provides an overview of the best practices for survey design. Having clear goals of our survey does not mean all the time that we know how to align our questions to capture those goals. In this workshop, Najat will focus on the most common guidelines survey developers should follow to create valid and reliable survey tool. Attendees will see examples from the Extension world about how to improve survey design and create effective tools!

Fall GIS and Data Science Workshops from IGIS (UC ANR IGIS)
Topics and dates below, starting Sept. 22

Details and registration
The Informatics and GIS (IGIS) Statewide Program is pleased to share our Fall 2023 Workshop Schedule. All workshops will be on Zoom and are free for the ANR community.

Intro to ArcGIS Online - Fri 9/22/23, 1-4 p.m.
Intro to R Wednesdays workshop series - 09/27, 10/04, 10/11, & 10/18,
10 a.m.-noon
Intro to ArcGIS Pro -Fri 10/13/23, 1-4 p.m.
Intro to Jupyter Notebooks inArcGIS Pro - Fri 11/17/23; 1-4 p.m.
Intro to ArcGIS Story Maps -Fri 12/15/23, 1-4 p.m.
Creative Latino Community & Youth STEAM Outreach and Engagement (Extension Foundation)
Sept 25
11 a.m.-noon PT

Details & Registration
Learn about some creative and cultural based Latino/Hispanic outreach programming being done through Oregon State University Extension to reach underserved, under-represented communities. The presentation will include an overview of the “Mariachi STEAM Camp”, “COVID Corridos Workshop,” “Wonderful World of Puppets Workshop,” “Drones, Dance and Coding Workshop” and “¡Viva Veggie Vida!” outreach.

How to Engage Audiences at Conferences, in the Classroom and Beyond! (NCFDD)
Oct 24
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT

Details & Registration
This webinar discusses the importance of audience engagement for public presentations and provides strategies for capturing and keeping the attention of an audience in various contexts. The presenter will provide recommendations for how to study an audience prior to a presentation, as well as suggestions for verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that engage an audience the entire presentation.

Purposeful Discussions on Racial Differences- Practical Strategies for Individuals and Organizations (Part 2) (Extension Foundation)
Sept. 28
11 a.m.-noon PT

Details & Registration
Building from their January 2023 Dynamic Discussion, the team of panelists will explore personal practices and approaches to help work through discomfort, dissonance or fears experienced when we enter dialog across differences.

The team will also share tools that individuals and organizations can consider implementing to hold the complexity of our work across racial, ethnic and other human differences. Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Implicit Bias in the Workplace Guide (UC Davis - Box folder)

Access Guide- UC Davis Box folder.
Implicit biases are the underlying attitudes and stereotypes that people unconsciously attribute to another person or group of people, that affect how they understand and engage with those individuals. If you ever find yourself making a decision based on a ‘gut feeling,' you're likely experiencing implicit bias. The best way to prevent yourself from succumbing to unconscious biases is to become aware of them and take action to prevent them in your human resources practices. Doing so will help you build a more diverse and inclusive workplace. For a deeper dive take the UC Implicit Bias Series (online course).

Aggie Enterprise Transition – an Informational Webinar (UC ANR BOC)
Sept. 7
10-11 a.m.

 

Learn dates, deadlines, and what you need to know about the transition to Aggie Enterprise: purchasing

• accounts payable
• travel & entertainment, and
• other financial processes

Presented by ANR Business Operations Center. Presenters:

• Su-Lin Shum, Director, Business Operations Center
• Tracy Roman, Associate Director, Business Partner Teams
• Aggie Enterprise Project Team Staff

Zoom - https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/99214033796

Resolution to Change – Kaiser Webcast
Sept. 12 
Noon-1 p.m.

Details & Registration
Understand the behavior change process and learn to create the habits necessary for making a change.

Towards a Healing Organization: Viewing of The Wisdom of Trauma (UC Davis Health)
Sept. 29
2-4 p.m.

Details & Registration
Advancing a healing-centered organization can best be understood through trauma-informed practices. To better understand the interactions between illness, addiction, and trauma in our society, UC Davis Health is showing the 2021 film The Wisdom of Trauma by Dr. Gabor Maté, followed by a facilitated discussion on how to move towards a healing organization. The film highlights Dr. Maté's work as a physician who fosters a clearer understanding of trauma's prevalence, symptoms, consequences, and causes so that we can heal ourselves and others. Image by John Hain from Pixabay.

UC ANR Administrative Orientation for New Employees
Nov. 9
9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
ANR Valley Rooms, 2801 2nd St., Davis, CA 95618

Registration

• Learn about ANR's Vision and Mission
• Learn about ANR structure and individual programs and units
• Interact with ANR leadership and directors
• Meet and network with new colleagues from around the state
• Get answers to burning questions about health benefits, AggieTravel... and more!

The Art of Leadership Podcast (LinkedIn Learning) 
Download to your phone and listen while you travel!

Small things that are done well make a difference in your career, particularly if you're in the role of a manager or leader. This audio-only course, adapted from The Art of Leadership by Michael Lopp, encourages all leaders—from new managers to experienced executives—to sweat the small stuff when hiring, delegating, managing meetings, handling crises, controlling rumors, and more. For your LinkedIn Learning account, contact ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.

 Fast Track to Contracts & Grants - Archived recordings

April 12, 2023 | Introduction to Contracts & Grants (video) Slide deck, with Kim Lamar
April 14, 2023 | From Concept to Submission (AKA Proposal Development and Proposal Process video), Slide deck, with Vanity Campbell, et al
April 19, 2023 | Cost Share and Academic Cost Recovery-Salary Savings (video), Slide deck
April 21, 2023 | Proposal budget preparation basics (or Budget Basics and Calculator) (Video), Slide deck (PDF) with Kendra Rose
May 3, 2023 | Using the new ANR Workflow Automation program to route C&G Forms “800“and Advance Account Request (Video), Slide deck (PDF) Form 800 Quick Guide (PDF) Advance Account Quick Guide (PDF) 
May 5, 2023 | Understanding the awards process (Video), Slide deck (PDF)
May 10, 2023 | Working with Subrecipients (Video), Slide deck (PDF)
May 12, 2023 | Post Award Process (Video), Slide deck (PDF)

 Everyone can learn something new.

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