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Posts Tagged: Randi Black
Names in the News
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
