Posts Tagged: Randi Black

Names in the News

Schohr named livestock and natural resources advisor

Tracy Schohr joined UCCE on Oct. 16, 2017, as an area livestock and natural resources advisor in Plumas, Sierra and Butte counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, Schohr worked for the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis (2012-2014), where she co-led research projects on working rangelands focused on irrigated pasture, mountain meadows, livestock predation, annual rangelands and invasive species. She is a managing partner for Schohr Ranch (rice, cattle, walnuts and wetland management) where she is engaged in all facets of the operation from livestock production, financial accounting, equipment operation, human resources and marketing. From 2015 to 2017, Schohr also worked as a farmer outreach specialist for K-COE Isom, a national agricultural accounting and consulting firm, where she was a scientific and agricultural advisor on conservation initiatives. From 2006 to 2012, Schohr was the director of rangeland conservation for the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. From 2004 to 2006, she served as director of industry affairs for the California Cattlemen's Association.

She completed an M.S. in horticulture and agronomy (rangeland focus) from UC Davis and a B.S. in agricultural business from CSU Chico.

Based in Quincy, Schohr can be reached at (530) 283-6262, cell (916) 716-2643 and tkschohr@ucanr.edu. Follow her on Twitter @BeefnSushi.

Bonaparte-Saller joins UCCE as 4-H advisor in Orange County

Mary Bonaparte-Saller joined UCCE on Oct. 9 as a 4-H youth development advisor in Orange County.

Prior to joining UCCE, Bonaparte-Saller taught third- to fifth-grade classroom and field lessons at Sierra Nevada Journeys, a science and environmental education nonprofit. From 2011 to 2016, Bonaparte-Saller was a graduate student researcher at UC Davis, where she studied the social behavior and welfare of zoo elephants and mentored and supervised undergraduate research volunteers. During this time, she also engaged in youth education and outreach activities as a volunteer for the Kids into Discovering Science (KiDS) Program at UCD, Sacramento's Powerhouse Science Center, and the Sacramento Zoo.

She earned a Ph.D. in animal behavior at UC Davis and a B.S. biological sciences at UC Irvine.

Bonaparte-Saller is based in Irvine and can be reached at (949) 653-1814 and kmbonaparte@ucanr.edu. 

Black joins UCCE as dairy advisor

Randi Black joined UCCE on Oct. 2 as an area dairy systems advisor in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, Black was a graduate research assistant at University of Tennessee (2013-2016) and University of Kentucky (2010-2012), leading and supervising dairy cow behavior research projects.

Born and raised in Versailles, Ky., Black ventured into agriculture working with thoroughbred race horses, but realized her passion for the dairy industry as an undergraduate.

She earned a B.S. and an M.S. in animal science at the University of Kentucky. Her thesis focused on the management of compost bedded pack barns within Kentucky dairy farms. She earned a Ph.D. in animal science from University of Tennessee. Her dissertation focused on the use of exercise during late gestation to improve postpartum health in dairy cows. 

Black is based in Santa Rosa and can be reached at (707) 565-2648 and rablack@ucanr.edu.

Latack joins UCCE as desert livestock advisor

Brooke Latack joined UCCE on Oct. 2 as an area desert livestock advisor in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, Latack worked in multiple positions at the Michigan State University Animal Air Quality Research Facility. As an undergraduate research assistant, professional aid, and graduate research assistant, Latack worked with beef, swine and poultry evaluating and addressing the environmental impact of management decisions in animal agriculture. Her primary research integrated systems dynamics feedback into understanding the environmental sustainability of animal protein production.

She earned a B.S. and an M.S. in animal science from Michigan State University.

Latack is based in Holtville and can be reached at (442) 265-7700 and bclatack@ucanr.edu.

Shapero named livestock and range advisor

Matthew Shapero joined UC ANR as a UCCE livestock and range advisor serving Ventura and Santa Barbara counties on Sept. 5. Prior to starting as an advisor, Matthew worked for the Rangeland Planning & Policy and the Rangeland Ecology labs at UC Berkeley and worked as a graduate student researcher at Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center. Shapero also has experience in small-scale, grass-fed meat production, working as rancher in the Sierra Nevada foothills between 2010 and 2016.

As one of ANR's Global Food Initiative fellows and Graduate Students in Extension in 2015-16, Shapero led a group of UC Berkeley graduate students in organizing seminars and workshops about careers with Cooperative Extension, including the Cooperative Extension Showcase, which brings UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists to the Berkeley campus to discuss their work and to network with graduate students.

He completed an M.S. in range management from UC Berkeley and a B.A. in religion and pre-med from Columbia University.

Shapero is based in Ventura and can be reached at (805) 645-1475 and mwkshapero@ucanr.edu.

Taylor joins UCCE as community economic development specialist

Keith Taylor joined UCCE as a community economic development specialist in the Department of Human Ecology at UC Davis on July 1, 2017.

Taylor earned a Ph.D. in human and community development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.S. in public sdministration from the University of Illinois, and a B.A. in political science from Eastern Illinois University.

Prior to joining UC, Taylor worked as a research associate and visiting scholar with the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University Bloomington, where his research focused on the community economic development spillovers from renewable energy and food systems development. Taylor has worked extensively with co-operative businesses and marginalized communities to identify sustainable community economic development strategies that enhance the well-being of the local population. His forthcoming book, “Governing the Wind Energy Commons,” analyzes the community economic differentials of community and investor-owned wind energy, a culmination of three years of research in rural North Dakota and Illinois. Taylor has served in governance capacities for Common Ground Food Cooperative and as chair of the board for Indiana Cooperative Development Center, and We Own It, “the national network for cooperative members' rights, education, and organizing.” He also has experience in public policy, having worked as a legislative aide for former Congressman David Phelps.

Taylor is based at UC Davis and can be reached at keitaylor@ucdavis.edu. 

Brayton and Scott named major gifts officers

Scott Brayton and Kelly Scott have joined Development Services as major gifts officers, raising philanthropic support and building relationships that serve to advance ANR's programs.

Brayton has been with the UC system for 27 years primarily with UC Davis Athletics as the assistant athletics director responsible for marketing and corporate relations. Most recently he has served as a contract negotiation consultant with UC Davis accounting and financial services. In his roles, Brayton has raised over $25 million in funds for UC Davis programs, facilities and students. 

Brayton earned his B.S in agricultural and managerial economics and MBA from UC Davis and was once a member of the Aggie cross country team. As a staff member, he was part of the athletics leadership team that brought UC Davis Athletics from Division II to Division I competition and secured the funds to build numerous campus facilities, including Aggie Stadium. He was instrumental in forming the largest student spirit organization in the country, the Aggie Pack, as well as directing the largest university auction of its kind for 15 years. 

A 2001 graduate of California State University, Chico, Scott has a degree in business administration, with an emphasis in marketing. He has worked in higher education at UC Davis for more than 14 years. He has held previous fundraising positions at UC Davis with the COSMOS program (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science), the College of Engineering, and the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.

Brayton and Scott are based in the UCANR building in Davis. Scott Brayton can be reached at (530) 750-1210 and sabrayton@ucanr.edu. Kelly Scott can be reached at (530) 750-1307 and kdscott@ucanr.edu.

Ritchie wins publication award

Lorrene D. Ritchie, Nutrition Policy Institute director, received the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation's 34th annual Huddleson Award for the article “School Breakfast Policy Is Associated with Dietary Intake of Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Students” published in the March 2016 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2016;116(3):449-457).

The coauthors for the article include Lauren E. Au, PhD, RD, assistant researcher; Lauren H. Goldstein, PhD, director of operations, Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California; Nila J. Rosen, MPH, senior associate, Informing Change, Berkeley, CA; at the time of the study, she was a research associate, Atkins Center for Weight and Health, University of California, Berkeley; Keenan Fenton, MA, biostatistician, Seattle Genetics, Bothell, WA; at the time of the study, he was a research data analyst, Atkins Center for Weight and Health, University of California, Berkeley; and Tia Shimada, MPH, managing director nutrition policy advocate, California Food Policy Advocates, Oakland, CA.

The prestigious Huddleson Award honors a registered dietitian nutritionist who was the lead author of a peer-reviewed article that made an important contribution to the dietetics profession and that was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics during the previous calendar year.

The award, named for Mary Pascoe Huddleson, editor of the Journal from 1927 to 1946, carries a $1,000 honorarium, and the winner is invited to attend the foundation dinner at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo.

ANR reaches out to donors on #GivingTuesday

This year ANR will participate in #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season. 

Last year, the 4-H Youth Development Program and UC Master Gardener Program successfully participated in #GivingTuesday campaigns.

“Our goal for 4-H was to raise $10,000 and we exceeded our goal with donations totaling over $13,000,” said Andrea Ambrose, acting director of Development Services. 4-H programs in 17 counties participated. In Placer County, the robotics team got their friends and family involved to promote #4HGivingConfidence on social media, leading Placer County to collect the largest amount for the 4-H Youth Development Program.

Although not as widely recognized as the shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday appeals to people swept up in the spirit of giving at the end of the year.

“#GivingTuesday is a wonderful opportunity for all ANR programs to augment their funding with private donations,” said Ambrose.

A website is being created with links to all of ANR's programs, Research and Extension Centers and extension offices. Donors will be invited to designate the program or location to which they wish to donate. The URL for the #GivingTuesday website will be announced in ANR Update soon. 

ANR will provide a toolkit for county offices and programs to participate. It will include:

• A customizable letter to send to stakeholders
• Templates for “unselfies.” Donors may take photos of themselves holding an unselfie sign and share on social media how they are giving.
• Sample tweets and social media posts
• Sample thank you note

UC Research to Policy Conference puts science into action

“We focused on fostering a good dialogue and facilitating co-learning among attendees,” said event co-chair Leslie Roche, assistant UC Cooperative Extension specialist in rangeland management. “We hosted university faculty, statewide CE specialists and academics, and county-based CE advisors—as well as local policymakers and leaders from non-governmental organizations and statewide programs.”

UC researchers who have successfully engaged in the public policy arena provided numerous models of linking research and policy. There were five key take-aways for scientists:

-          Honest broker role – Present policymakers with various policy options, based on sound research. Have a clear understanding of the science behind your messaging. Use qualitative data to tell the story of the hard quantitative data.

-          Active engagement – Be part of informational and oversight hearings. Empower communities to take action and foster community engagement.

-          Build coalitions – Collaboration is imperative. Develop unexpected allies and foster long-term relationships, realizing it may take some time to bear fruit.

-          Disseminate information – Share your data in user-friendly formats. Target local community, Legislature and state agencies to inform policies. Get your science into trainings and continuing education programs. Leverage your coalition to expand the circulation of your research results.

-          Target messages – Develop a strong, concise message to deliver your research. Use an emotional connection – “Old-growth oak woodlands” versus “oak woodland.”

Throughout the conference, speakers highlighted the multiple levels of engagement for researchers in the policy arena, with different roles matching different needs – some take a center stage, while others play imperative behind-the-scenes roles.

Keynote speaker Jason Delborne, associate professor of science, policy and society at North Carolina State University, encouraged engaging the public. “Science is a social process,” he said, noting that community and public engagement is often key to successfully applying research to policy. Delborne also touched on the tension between expertise and democracy, commenting that we can't always resolve it and often we have to learn to live with this tension.

A diverse set of researchers shared their perspectives from experiences in engaging in policy. The panel included Thomas Harter, Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair in Water Management and Policy and UCCE specialist in the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at UC Davis; Lorrene Ritchie, director of the UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute; Mindy Romero, founder and director of California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis Center for Regional Change; and Yana Valachovic, UCCE forest advisor and county director in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. They discussed the importance of building strong science-based programs, actively engaging local communities and building coalitions of support.

Guests from both government and non-government organizations who use research to shape policy shared their perspectives on translating science to decision-making.

“Science is the foundation for developing programs,” said Amrith Gunasekara, science advisor for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Tina Cannon Leahy, attorney with the State Water Resources Control Board, noted that policymakers and decision-makers are often looking for a clear, “black-and-white” answer, while for scientists, there is “no answer,” but rather information.

Anne Megaro, consultant to the California Senate Committee on Agriculture, and Rebecca Newhouse, consultant to the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee, both emphasized the importance of making sure science is accessible and digestible.

Juliet Sims of the Prevention Institute explained how her organization uses both published scholarly literature and community stories to effectively inform its advocacy platform.

Keynote speaker Rachel Morello-Frosch, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, introduced the concept of moving from “translational research” to “transformational research,” a shift that requires deep community engagement in meaningful ways to effect policy change.

In the afternoon, four breakout sessions were offered: “Policy structures and opportunities for engagement” with Robert Waste, “Relational approaches to science communication and engagement” with Faith Kearns, “Putting it into practice–UC ANR case studies” with Dave Campbell, Clare Gupta and Lucas Frerichs, and “Navigating policy engagement: Education vs advocacy,” with Adrian Lopez and Kit Batten. These training modules helped participants build technical skills and analytical frameworks for successful policy engagement.

The Research to Policy Conference was a forum to exchange ideas and share perspectives, continuing to bridge the gap between science and policy communities. It challenged attendees to be open to new ways of thinking, shared innovative outreach methods and showcased how research can have an impact in the policy arena.

“The event brought cross-fertilization and co-learning between disciplines – nutrition, forest management, water quality – and there were common themes that resonated for all participants,” said event co-chair Gupta, assistant UCCE specialist in public policy and translational research.

VP Glenda Humiston wrapped up the policy conference by saying, "Good science is vital for good policy. It's great to see UC folks enhancing these skills to bring science together with policy."

For more information on applying research to policy, contact Frerichs, UC ANR government and community relations manager, at (530) 750-1218 or lfrerichs@ucanr.edu, or Research to Policy Program Team contacts Gupta at cgupta@ucdavis.edu and Roche at lmroche@ucdavis.edu. 

Names in the News

Ozeran named UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor

Rebecca Ozeran joined UCCE on Sept. 12 as the area livestock and natural resources advisor in Fresno and Madera counties.

Raised in Yuba City with a passion for animals and the land that supports them, Ozeran plans to focus her research, outreach and extension education efforts on current issues impacting livestock producers and land managers in both counties.

Prior to joining UCCE, Ozeran was a range management intern for the Bureau of Land Management in the Salt Lake City field office. Her duties included collecting inventory, utilization and rangeland trend data, checking livestock compliance on BLM allotments and collaborating with local archaeologists to ensure compliance with archaeology requirements before grazing permit renewal. From July 2014 to May 2016, Ozeran was a graduate research and teaching assistant for the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at Montana State University.

She earned a B.S. in animal science with a minor in Spanish from Cal Poly, and an M.S. in animal and range sciences with a certificate in applied statistics from Montana State University. Her thesis studied patterns and risk factors of cheatgrass invasion in Montana foothills rangelands.

Ozeran is based in Fresno and be reached at (530) 415-2555 and rkozeran@ucanr.edu.

Axelson joins UCCE as forest health specialist

Jodi Axelson joined UCCE on June 1 as a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in forest health in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM) at UC Berkeley.

Axelson's broad research interests include forest resilience, adaptive management and forest disturbance; specifically, she is focused on forest dynamics and response to insect disturbances from outbreaks of bark beetles and conifer defoliators using a range of methods including dendrochronology. Learn more about her research at http://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu.

Prior to joining UCCE, Axelson was employed by the British Columbia government as a forest entomologist with Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. In this position, she was responsible for forest health issues in an area covering 42,000 square miles comprised of distinct wet- and dry-belt ecosystems. She gained considerable experience in taking into consideration timber, wildlife and land stewardship objectives when performing insect monitoring, treatment and risk-mitigation.

She earned her B.S. in geography from the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), an M.S. in geography from the University of Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Victoria.

Axelson is based at the UC Berkeley campus and can be reached at (510) 642-8459 and jodi.axelson@berkeley.edu. Follow her on Twitter @DisturbedDendro.

Haghverdi joins UCCE as urban water specialist

Amir Haghverdi joined UCCE on July 1 as a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at UC Riverside. His research focuses on integrated urban water management.

Prior to joining UCCE, Haghverdi had been an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, performing research and extension on irrigation and water management, since July 2015.

Haghverdi earned his B.S. in irrigation engineering from University of Tehran, Iran, an M.S. in agricultural engineering - irrigation and drainage from Bu-Ali Sina University, Iran, a Ph.D. in irrigation and drainage engineering from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, and a Ph.D. in biosystems engineering from University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Haghverdi can be reached at (951) 827-4774 and amir.haghverdi@ucr.edu.

Saitone named ag economics specialist

Tina Saitone joined UCCE on June 1 as a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) at UC Davis, where she is focused on livestock and rangeland economics. Saitone conducts research on a broad range of topics in agricultural economics including food quality and safety, agricultural cooperatives, industry competition, generic commodity promotion, and federal and state marketing orders.

Prior to joining UCCE, Saitone had been a project scientist for ARE since July 2015. Before returning to UC Davis, she worked for OnPoint Analytics, an economic consulting firm in the Bay Area, where she conducted research on a wide variety of agricultural industries including meatpacking, dairy, eggs, broilers and sugar beets.

Saitone earned her B.A. in economics at Sonoma State University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis.

Saitone can be reached at (530) 752-1870 and saitone@primal.ucdavis.edu.

Bautista named 4-H STEM coordinator

Jessica Bautista joined ANR on July 5 as the 4-H Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) academic coordinator.

Prior to joining ANR, Bautista was a graduate research assistant in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences at UC Riverside. Bautista's area of research interest focused on molecular biology and genetics in plant developmental biology.

As a native Californian and a first-generation student born to Mexican migrant parents, Bautista speaks Spanish and has fostered various methods to make her research accessible and advocate for STEM career paths for underrepresented communities. In 2012, Bautista co-founded UCR's Plant Discovery Day in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences. This annual outreach event is filled with interactive science demonstrations for elementary school students in the community. She has also presented her research and discussed her career path annually since 2013 at workshops geared towards teaching and empowering young Latina women to pursue higher education and various career options.

Bautista completed a B.S. in biotechnology (chemistry minor) from California State University Northridge and a Ph.D. in plant biology from UC Riverside.

Bautista is based at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1341 and jbautista@ucanr.edu.

Pourreza wins international prize for HLB detection

Newly appointed UC Cooperative Extension agricultural engineering advisor Alireza Pourreza has been awarded the 2016 Giuseppe Pellizzi Prize by the Club of Bologna, an honor presented every other year to the best doctoral dissertations focused on agricultural machinery and mechanization. The Club of Bologna is a world taskforce on strategies for the development of agricultural mechanization.

Pourreza, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida in 2014, worked on early detection of Huanglongbing disease of citrus. Huanglongbing, an incurable disease that is spread by Asian citrus psyllid, has seriously impacted citrus production in Florida. The disease has been found in commercial and residential sites in all counties with commercial citrus.

Early detection allows growers to remove infected trees before the disease can spread to healthy trees. Currently HLB infection is confirmed when leaves with yellowing blotches are submitted for PCR testing, which is expensive and time-consuming. However, the yellowing can be also symptomatic of other conditions, such as nutrient deficiency.

"We discovered we could see the symptoms of Huanglongbing using a camera, a set of cross-polarizers and narrowband lighting before it is visible to the human eye," said Pourreza, who is based at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier.

He said the yellow blotches on HLB-infected leaves are caused by starch accumulation.

"If we could detect abnormal levels of starch in the leaf, we could tell it is affected with HLB," Pourreza said. "Starch showed the ability to rotate the polarization plane of light. We used this optical characteristic to develop the sensing methodology."

Pourreza said the team has patented the technique and is working on developing a commercial product. He is seeking funding to continue the research in California, where, to date, HLB has only been detected in isolated Los Angeles neighborhoods. Asian citrus psyllid is found in important California commercial citrus production regions from the Mexican border to as far north as Placer County.

4-H Youth Development team wins national diversity award

4-H Youth Development advisors Dorina Espinoza, Russell Hill, Fe Moncloa and Keith Nathaniel and 4-H associate director Shannon Horrillo have won the National Extension Diversity Award for systematically enhancing the intercultural competency of 4-H personnel and others in California.

The award, given by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Cooperative Extension System and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), honors the team for creating and using Intercultural Development Inventory© to shift organizational culture. This shift includes mutual respect, acceptance, teamwork and productivity among diverse people.

To meet the needs of a culturally and ethnically diverse youth population in California, they created a professional-development intervention for 4-H academics and staff. The Intercultural Development Inventory© is a cross-culturally generalizable, valid and reliable assessment of intercultural competence. Calling themselves the Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrators, they applied the strategy over three years, providing 176 hours of intercultural communication feedback sessions, learning communities and regional conferences to enhance the intercultural competence of 65 4-H personnel.

Evaluations demonstrated that after the intervention UC 4-H Youth Development Program personnel had acquired skills and characteristics to become more culturally competent. The program has moved from focusing on similarities across diverse people that can mask deeper recognition of cultural differences to recognizing the complexity of dimensions of diversity.

The action plan and resulting positive change provides the potential to improve hiring and professional development nationwide by replication in other states. A summary of California's IDI professional development activities can be found in the National 4-H Latino Youth Outreach: Best Practices Toolkit, Professional Development.

The National Extension Diversity Award will be presented on Nov. 13 at the 129^th APLU Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. 

UC students assist ANR’s Global Food Initiative efforts

For the 2016-17 year, ANR has selected five UC students as Global Food Initiative fellows: UC Berkeley graduate students Gemma DiMatteo, Reid Johnsen, Alana Siegner and Laura Ward and UC Davis graduate student Mingxuan (Elaine) Liu. The GFI fellows will work with ANR academics and staff to address the issue of how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a world population expected to reach 8 billion by 2025.

DiMatteo, a UC Berkeley graduate student in the School of Public Health, is working closely with Lorrene Ritchie, Nutrition Policy Institute director. DiMatteo will help analyze data on the foods provided to young children in early care and education settings to help inform policies related to healthful eating in this age group. She will also work on the evaluation of newly developed nutrition standards being piloted in family child care homes.

Liu, a UC Davis graduate student in communications, is working with ANR's Strategic Communications unit to produce materials for nutrition outreach. For one project, she will work with Marisa Neelon, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor in Contra Costa County, to develop a series of “Money Talks” nutrition-education fact sheets for teachers.

UC Berkeley Ph.D. candidates Johnsen and Ward and UC Berkeley graduate student Siegner, are participating in the Graduate Students in Extension pilot program, sponsored by UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources and ANR. For students interested in careers in Cooperative Extension, they will organize seminars, workshops and training opportunities to improve graduate student preparedness for extension, outreach and applied research. The fellows will conduct an assessment to document best practices and lessons learned from the GSE program, which is in the last year of its three-year pilot. To share the outcomes and accomplishments of the GSE program, they will also develop a publication, policy recommendations and coordinate a complementary seminar.

The class – the third since UC President Janet Napolitano launched the Global Food Initiative Student Fellowship Program – has participants from all 10 UC campuses plus Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ANR.

In addition to their individual projects, the students are invited to participate in systemwide activities designed to enhance their leadership skills and enrich their understanding of the food system in California. In January, UCOP will provide leadership training for the GFI fellows. In April, the group will take a field trip to the Central Valley to learn about UC Cooperative Extension projects.

For more information about the UC Global Food Initiative student fellows, read the article at http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/student-fellows-help-shape-future-food.

UC World Food Day Video Challenge

To raise awareness of the depth and breadth of food-related research and outreach being performed across the UC system, the Nutrition Policy Institute partnered with the World Food Institute at UC Davis to sponsor the UC World Food Day Video Challenge. Students from all UC campuses were invited to submit videos up to three minutes long that featured UC research. UC Davis students Carlos Orozco-Gonzalez and Umayr Sufi won with a video about advancing the science behind drying and storing food to improve food safety in developing countries.

“We are wasting a lot of food, regardless of where we are in the world,” said Irwin Donis-Gonzalez, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis, who is featured in the video. “With Carlos and Umayr, we are combining biological and engineering sensing concepts that can be applied to solving world issues.”

The winning team received $1,000 and a trip to attend the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium in Des Moines.

To view the top five videos, visit http://worldfoodcenter.ucdavis.edu/nutrition/uc-davis-teams-awarded-top-prizes.html.

Higher education collaborates to fight student food insecurity

Representatives of the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems met in Fresno on Sept. 6 to discuss food access and basic needs security for students.

As part of UC's Global Food Initiative, the Nutrition Policy Institute recently published a report based on a survey of food security among UC students at all 10 campuses. The “Student Food Access and Security Study” includes the survey results and UC's plans for addressing food security issues. CSU is currently conducting a systemwide survey of its student population and CCC is planning to conduct a survey of its students. UC was represented by Ruben Canedo of UC Berkeley, Tim Galarneu of UC Santa Cruz, and NPI's Ritchie and Suzanna Martinez.

After CSU and CCC complete their surveys, the group will meet again in December to discuss best practices to ensure food security in California public higher education.

ANR cohosts food drive

In recognition of World Food Day, National Food Dayand the UC Global Food Initiative, ANR, UCOP Staff Assembly and UCOP Professional Community have partnered with the Alameda County Community Food Bank to help feed the hungry. From Oct. 17 to 31, we are collecting food items in bins located near the elevators on each floor of UCOP's Franklin building, and on UCOP floors at the Kaiser, Broadway and 20^th St. buildings in Oakland.

There are two ways you can participate:

• Donate non-perishable food items to the bin located near the elevators on the 10th floor of the Franklin building
• Donate online via the ACCFB Virtual Food Drive website set up for UCOP at
  www.vfd-accfb.org. Select “UCOP” in the dropdown menu on the right side of the page and choose "10th floor Franklin building.

Donations will be collected and counted at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31. The floor that collects the most donations will win a $100 gift basket from the Oakland Farmers Market.

For more information, contact Suzanna Martinez, Nutrition Policy Institute, at suzanna.martinez@ucop.edu

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