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Posts Tagged: Cindy Kron
Names in the News
Kron named area IPM advisor for North Coast
Cindy Kron has joined UC Cooperative Extension as areawide IPM advisor for Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties.
Before joining UCCE, Kron studied the three-cornered alfalfa hopper as a research entomologist for USDA in their Crop Disease, Pests and Genetics research unit. She tested cover crop species as feeding and reproductive hosts of the three-cornered alfalfa hopper in addition to testing commercially available biocontrol agents against the different life stages of the treehopper. She collaborated with a UC Davis colleague to create a degree day model that predicts the ideal timing to implement cultural control measures with the greatest impact on treehopper populations.
Kron has conducted research on a variety of insects including two-year vineyard study on the population dynamics of Virginia creeper leafhopper, western grape leafhopper, and variegated leafhopper. For her dissertation, she investigated the biology and behavior of the three-cornered alfalfa hopper and their relationship with vineyards. She also studied the effects of temperature on the developmental rate of the invasive European grapevine moth and reared brown marmorated stink bugs for USDA fumigation studies.
“My experiences have motivated me to help growers, stakeholders and the industry solve agricultural pest management problems through applied research by identifying IPM strategies and tactics that are economically feasible and implementable while having the lowest environmental impact,” Kron said.
Kron earned her bachelor's degree in viticulture and enology, with a minor in agricultural pest management, and her doctorate in entomology at UC Davis.
She is based in Santa Rosa and can be reached at ckron@ucanr.edu.
Glass takes on new HR role
Patricia Glass began a new position as human resources business systems analyst starting in August. In her new role, Patricia coordinates the management of ANR's HR information systems, including UCPath, Talent Acquisition Management (TAM), ePerformance, and the UC Learning Center. She is also responsible for process improvement, user training, and the development of reports and analytics for the HR systems.
Glass brings more than 15 years of UC experience to the position, including time as a finance manager on the Davis campus and, most recently, team lead responsible for staff recruitment and compensation with ANR Human Resources.
Glass continues to be based at the ANR building in Davis as part of the ANR HR team and reachable at (530) 750-1324 and pglass@ucanr.edu.
Montano assisting Tran
Barbara Montano will be temporarily covering executive assistant Cheryl Hyland's duties assisting Tu Tran, AVP business operations starting Sept. 25 and will be available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or as needed.
Montano is a Bay Area native who graduated from UC Berkeley last year with a bachelor's degree in English and legal studies. As a student, she worked on campus and interned for Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, a philanthropy supporting organization, and the law offices of Aiman-Smith & Marcy. After graduating, she worked as temporary development associate at GCIR, managing its grant work.
Montano is located at UCOP in Cubicle #10134F and can be reached at (510) 987-0183 and Barbara.Montano@ucop.edu.
Bailey appointed to USDA Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
John Bailey, director of Hopland Research and Extension Center, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. His two-year term expires on Sept. 17, 2021.
The purpose of the committee is to advise the USDA Secretary on strategies, policies and programs that enhance opportunities for new farmers and ranchers.
“As a member of the Committee, you will advise me on matters impacting beginning farmers and ranchers, including access to land and capital, recruitment and retention of farmers and ranchers, and more. Your role is vital as I strive to obtain the public and industry perspectives on National and State strategies, policies, and programs impacting beginning farmers and ranchers,” Perdue wrote in Bailey's appointment letter.
Before joining UC, Bailey was the Mendo-Lake Food Hub project manager for North Coast Opportunities, where he coordinated local growers to dramatically increase sales of their crops.
For 12 years, he worked at McEvoy of Marin, first as a gardener in their orchards, then director of operations overseeing product development, sales and marketing. He also owned Middle Mountain Farm, which grew and marketed row crops.
Bailey earned an MBA in sustainable enterprise at New College of California and a B.A. in biology and Certificate in Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz.
Gaudin and Light to serve on Western Cover Crop Council
Sarah Light, UC Cooperative Extension agronomy advisor for Sutter County, and Amelie Gaudin, UC Davis assistant professor of agroecology in the Department of Plant Sciences, will serve as California representatives on the new Western Cover Crops Council, a group from the 18 western states that aims to gear up information development and exchange activities throughout the broad region.
The mission of the WCCC is to facilitate and enhance communication and collaboration among farmers/growers, agents, researchers and other agricultural professionals to transfer information and technology that promotes the successful adoption and integration of cover cropping into Western U.S. agricultural systems. The WCCC Planning Team currently consists of about 16 members representing several western states. They are in the process of creating goal statements and means for better linking educational activities about cover crops throughout the region.
Krause accepts job with Driscoll's Berries
After nearly 14 years with UC ANR's Information Technology unit, Dave Krause has accepted a new role with Driscoll's Berries to help improve the technology in their research environment. This opportunity will take Krause to some of Driscoll's global locations yet allow him to stay connected to many of us at ANR and at UC.
Krause started his UC career as a programmer with ANR Communication Services in 2006. Initially hired to build a new version of Site Builder and Collaborative Tools, Krause has since architected and implemented dozens of applications to support the work of UC ANR staff and academics. In recent years, Krause became the IT manager and interim chief information officer for the Division.
“Please join me in thanking Dave for his many contributions to the arduous work of the Division in supporting the communities and the people of this state,” wrote Tu Tran, associate vice president for business operations.
Krause's last day with UC ANR is Oct. 11. Leadership will work immediately on selecting a successor to lead the IT unit.
UC ANR goes to Washington
“We visited offices of 26 of California's 55-member congressional delegation in two days!” said Lucas Frerichs, government and community relations manager.
On March 6-9, a UC ANR delegation attended the 35th Annual Council on Agriculture Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) meetings in Washington D.C. CARET is part of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). They also made congressional visits to explain the importance of science and research to California.
Vice President Glenda Humiston was joined by AVP Wendy Powers, UCB College of Natural Resources Dean Keith Gilless, UCR College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Dean Kathryn Uhrich, Nutrition Policy Institute Director Lorrene Ritchie, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist Clare Gupta, Chief Innovation Officer Gabe Youtsey, and Frerichs. Industry partners Bill Frost, former UC ANR AVP; Cher Watte, executive director of the California Asparagus Commission; Mike Mellano, fresh cut flower grower; Dina Moore, Humboldt County rancher; and Jean-Mari Peltier, managing partner of Environmental Solutions Group, served as CARET delegates from California.
The group split up into teams to visit the offices of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, agriculture committee members, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and other California representatives.
Although no U.S. secretary of agriculture had been confirmed at the time of their visit, members expressed their support for agriculture.
“One thing that members of Congress – Republicans and Democrats – can certainly agree on is that the support for agriculture and the University of California is strong,” Frerichs said.
Read more about the CARET visits in Powers' ANR Adventures blog.
Names in the News
Mark Bell will join UC ANR on May 1 as Vice Provost–Statewide Programs/Strategic Initiatives position. Bell is director of the UC Davis International Learning Center, a position he has held since 2007.
In this newly created position, Bell will provide leadership for a unified UC ANR program with strong statewide, campus and local presences. He will oversee the California Institute for Water Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute, the five UC ANR Strategic Initiatives and the nine UC ANR Statewide Programs. In addition, he will coordinate the Division's participation in the UC Presidential Initiatives, including the Global Food, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UC-Mexico and Carbon Neutrality initiatives.
“Mark's record of success working with international extension systems in the combined roles of manager and field researcher makes him the ideal choice to serve as Vice Provost–Statewide Programs/Strategic Initiatives,” said VP Humiston in announcing his hiring.
“UC ANR can benefit from his skills and experience in leveraging research-extension linkages, adult education and information technology for agricultural development,” she said. Prior to joining UC Davis, Bell, who speaks Spanish, worked for nine years at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico and 11 years at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines.
At IRRI, he led development of the Rice Knowledge Bank – the world's major repository for rice-oriented training and extension materials aimed to help developing countries. He is currently leading development of Ag Extension, eAfghan Ag and e-China Apple at UC Davis International Learning Center.
As vice provost, he will serve on the UC ANR Program Council and collaborate closely with the Vice Provost of Cooperative Extension and the Director of the Research and Extension Center System. He will be located in the offices at 2801 Second Street in Davis.
Bell has a Ph.D. in soil science and bachelor's degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Queensland in Australia and a master's degree in soil science from the University of Reading, U.K.
Cassandra Swett joined UCCE on Jan. 2, 2017, as an assistant specialist in Cooperative Extension in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis.
Prior to joining UCCE, Swett was an assistant professor and extension specialist at the University of Maryland, College Park, studying small fruit and grape diseases. Previously, Swett worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Doug Gubler, UCCE specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis.
Swett earned her B.S. in plant science from UC Santa Cruz, an M.S. in tropical plant pathology from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis.
Swett is located at 260 Hutchison Hall and can be reached at (530) 752-3377 and clswett@ucdavis.edu.
Stephanie Parreira joined UC IPM as a writer/editor on Feb. 13. Parreira will develop new and evaluate existing publications and products such as the "Pest Management Guidelines," year-round IPM programs, online tutorials, videos, identification cards, and other training materials. She will also assist UC IPM's urban and community IPM team with training courses about the principles of integrated pest management for UC Master Gardeners and other extenders of pest management information.
As a graduate student, Parreira sought to fill five major research gaps in honey bee pesticide toxicology: effects on whole colonies, effects on nurse bees (the youngest adult bees in a honey bee colony, which do not leave to collect pollen and nectar), effects of long-term exposure to field-realistic concentrations of pesticides, pesticide interactions, and effects of exposure through multiple routes (such as nectar and pollen). Outside of her research, she took many opportunities to speak to the public about current problems in bee health and what people can do to help bees thrive. She became especially interested in working in extension because of these experiences.
Parreira earned a B.A. in environmental studies and planning with a minor in biology from Sonoma State University in 2013, and earned an M.S. in horticulture with a focus in entomology from Oregon State University in 2016.
Parreira is located at the ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1391 and sparreira@ucanr.edu.
Michael Purnell joined the Statewide IPM Program on Feb. 2 as a programmer. He will be working on developing tools for the web that will enhance and add to the existing UC IPM products. Some of these tools include improving and upgrading the plant problem diagnostics tool, IPM decision support tool, bee precaution pesticide ratings, and herbicide symptoms photo repository.
Before joining UC IPM, Purnell was a project manager and technical lead for Intel Corporation in Folsom, CA where he and his team developed code and designed technical diagrams to integrate Intel's administrative systems with third party on-premise and cloud solutions.
Purnell earned his B.S. and M.S. in computer science at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
Purnell is based at the ANR building in Davis, with the IPM IT/Production team, and can be reached at (530) 750-1248 and mdpurnell@ucanr.edu.
UC ANR invites legislators to Ag Day at the Capitol
Ag Day at the Capitol was held in Sacramento on March 22. On Monday, March 20, Lucas Frerichs, Tyler Ash, Pam Kan-Rice and Meredith Turner of UC State Government Relations, visited the offices of all 120 legislators and the governor and lieutenant governor to invite them to visit the UC ANR booth at Ag Day. They handed out bags of UC-developed "Tango" mandarins, explaining that the seedless, easy-to-peel citrus variety is one of many California crops developed with UC ANR research.
We'll have more coverage of Ag Day at the Capitol in the next ANR Report.
To see Twitter coverage of Ag Day at the Capitol, look for the hashtags #CalAgDay and #growCAtogether.
FAQ on possible federal immigration enforcement actions on UC property
UC Office of the President has created a website for frequently asked questions on immigration enforcement actions.
Charles F. Robinson, UC general counsel and vice president of Legal Affairs, has issued the FAQ for members of the University of California community who are concerned about immigration enforcement actions occurring across the country and have asked about the possibility of enforcement actions occurring at UC. This document, published online at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/content/frequently-asked-questions-federal-immigration-enforcement-actions, answers questions and provides information about how to respond in such a situation. Please keep in mind that Department of Homeland Security policies are in transition and this guidance will be updated as warranted.
A PDF version of the FAQ is available at https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/sites/default/files/frequently-asked-questions-federal-immigration-enforcement-uc.pdf
The FAQ on immigration is also the first link under “Resources” on UC's Immigration website https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/immigration.
