Names in the News

Lonergan named VP's executive assistant

Patricia Lonergan joined UC ANR as executive assistant to Vice President Glenda Humiston on Dec. 9.

Lonergan joined the UC Office of the President in 2014 to support Sandra Kim, UC associate vice president for Finance, in the Capital Asset department. Prior to working at UC, Lonergan acquired over 20 years of experience as an executive assistant. She is also a former small business owner and a trained chef.

Lonergan is located on the 10th floor of the Franklin Building in Oakland and can be reached at (510) 987-0616 and Patricia.Lonergan@ucop.edu.

Donis joins UCCE as postharvest specialist

Irwin Donis-González has joined UC ANR as a UC Cooperative Extension postharvest systems engineering specialist in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis.

He will focus on postharvest engineering, handling (storage, drying, etc.), traceability, and processing of agricultural commodities with a goal of reducing energy consumption while ensuring food quality and safety, critical issues for the fresh market fruit and vegetable, dried fruit, tree nut and rice industries in California. 

Prior to joining UC, Donis was a postdoctoral associate at Michigan State University addressing challenges for agro-based industries in Michigan. His passion for agriculture and postharvest technologies began 10 years ago in his native Guatemala, while working as an independent agricultural consultant after earning his bachelor's and licentiate degree in agricultural engineering from the Del Valle University of Guatemala. He pursued advanced training in postharvest management at Michigan State as a Fulbright Scholar. Using chestnuts as a model, he was instrumental in reducing the microbial contamination in fresh and processed foods by directly overseeing the postharvest management and storage of chestnuts throughout the state of Michigan. He earned his Ph.D. in biosystems and agricultural engineering at MSU to further the use of non-destructive sensing technologies to assess the internal attributes of fruits, chestnuts and vegetables.  

Donis can be reached at (530) 752-8986 and irdonisgon@ucdavis.edu.

Pelham named environmental horticulture advisor

Jennifer Pelham joined UCCE on Dec. 1, 2015, as an area environmental horticulture advisor for in San Diego and Orange counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, Pelham was an extension faculty member in horticulture at the University of Florida/IFAS Extension for 14 years. She planned, developed, promoted and conducted educational programs in horticulture for Florida homeowners, professional landscapers and youth. She also maintained educational posts to Garden Florida social media sites, managed 75 Master Gardener volunteers and managed the “Plant Clinic,” a plant problem diagnostic clinic. She also wrote articles for local newspapers and newsletters and created presentations, marketing brochures, educational fact sheets and community exhibits.

Pelham earned an M.S. in pest management and a Master of Agribusiness from the University of Florida and a B.S. in agricultural business from Pennsylvania State University.

Based in San Diego, Pelham can be reached at (858) 822-7839 and jlpelham@ucanr.edu.

Saucedo named YFC advisor in Imperial County

Araceli Saucedo joined UCCE on Dec. 7, 2015, as a youth, families and communities advisor for Imperial County.

Prior to joining UCCE, Saucedo was the executive director for the Calexico New River Committee in partnership with the City of Calexico. On behalf of the nonprofit, Saucedo implemented education, awareness and advocacy campaigns to help provide the necessary tools for finding a solution to removing the hazardous threat of an open sewer line, the New River, in the Imperial Valley. She increased public awareness, support and participation in local, state, national and bi-national efforts to reduce adverse environmental and human health impacts from New River pollution. She also coordinated management of the New River projects.  

In addition to her day job, Saucedo teaches upper-division economic courses for San Diego State University in Imperial Valley.

From UC San Diego, Saucedo earned a B.A. in urban studies and planning and a B.A. in economics. She earned an M.A. in Adult Education and Training from the University of Phoenix. A recipient of the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship, Saucedo plans to pursue a Doctor of Education in Education Leadership. She is also a Gates Millennium Scholar Ambassador who reaches out to local schools to motivate first-generation college students to achieve scholastically and become leaders within their communities.

Saucedo is based at the Desert Research and Extension Center and can be reached at (760) 352-9474 and asaucedo@ucanr.edu.

Steinmann joins IPM as editor

Kimberly Steinmann is UC IPM's new editor as of Oct. 12. Steinmann will develop new extension products and evaluate existing extension publications and products such as the Pest Management Guidelines, online tutorials, videos, identification cards and other training materials. She will also assist UC IPM's urban team by developing curriculum and conducting trainings on the principles of integrated pest management for UC Master Gardeners and other extenders of pest management information.

Prior to joining ANR, Steinmann worked at the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, where she was a senior environmental specialist and managed grants for several projects. She also has practical experience, having worked on farms for nine years, which will help her shape our outreach materials to benefit one of IPM's key audiences – growers.

“We are excited about Kimberly's programming, statistical and database management skills that will be helpful for several projects that are in the pipeline and as we move toward a database to manage our website content,” said Tunyalee Martin, UC IPM associate director for communications. 

Steinmann earned two master's degrees, in agricultural and resource economics and international agricultural development, and a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis.

Steinmann is located at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1391 and kpsteinmann@ucanr.edu. 

Paine receives national teaching award

Timothy Paine, UC Riverside professor of entomology, received an award for innovative teaching methods and service to students from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Paine accepted the Excellence in College and University Teaching Awards for Food and Agricultural Sciences at the 128th APLU Annual Meeting, in Indianapolis. As part of the award, he received $2,000 to improve teaching. He was one of nine recipients of awards in that category.

During his 28-year career at UC Riverside, Paine has taught lecture classes ranging from five students in specialized graduate courses to 527 students in core introductory classes.

Paine has served as Department of Entomology chair, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences divisional dean, and program leader for agricultural policy and pest management in the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Additionally, Paine maintains an active and internationally recognized research program. He studies the ecosystems in which insects, plants and climate conditions interact and he develops bio-control agents to manage accelerating rates of invading pests to reduce detrimental impacts on crops and native plants.

To view the UCR press release about Paine's award, visit: http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/33261.

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