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Posts Tagged: Ricardo Vela
UC ANR celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15-Oct. 15
Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct.15 and Ricardo Vela, manager of UC ANR News & Information Outreach in Spanish, has planned educational activities for colleagues and friends to attend throughout the month.
Each year, UC ANR celebrates the culture and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Latinos comprise 40% of California's population and a growing portion of UC ANR's clientele. Our Latinx colleagues help to customize UC ANR's outreach for the Latino community, from immigrants to native-born citizens.
To start the celebration, the newly formed Latinx & Friends Affinity Group will meet for the first time on Sept. 21. To register, visit https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=38886.
“UC ANR is giving us this fantastic opportunity to share our stories of struggle, success and dreams within a safe space,” Vela said. “This space is open to all of us who are Latinx/Hispanic or of Latinx/Hispanic descent, allies and friends to discuss the many cultural identities.”
The September events will be held via Zoom for UC ANR colleagues:
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 12-1 p.m. Jose Pablo Ortiz-Partida will discuss the results of an environmental justice study he conducted in the San Joaquin Valley. Ortiz-Partida is a senior water and climate scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Events scheduled for October will be conducted in Spanish and open to the public on Facebook Live:
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1-2 p.m. – Susana Matias, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology at Berkeley, will discuss healthy living, obesity and breastfeeding.
Names in the News
Hicks named executive assistant to Bunn
Savannah Hicks has been promoted to the role of executive assistant, supporting Vice Provost David Bunn and UC ANR Second Street Building Operations.
As executive assistant, Hicks will be assisting with calendaring, meeting and events management and purchasing, as well as many other essential duties in support of the research and extension centers, county offices and statewide programs and institute leaders.
She will also be supporting the Second Street Space and Operations Committee and helping to coordinate projects and meetings, including monthly networking events and current space moves.
Hicks, who earned a bachelor's degree in communications at CSU Sacramento, joined UC ANR's Statewide Program and Research Operations Unit a few months ago and was selected to fill this new role following an open search.
Before joining ANR, she was an office manager at Evolve BioSystems, a startup that specializes in a probiotic for babies to help them get the benefits of mother's breast milk.
Hicks is based at the UC ANR Second Street Building and can be reached at (530) 285-3249 and slhicks@ucanr.edu.
Shellabarger, Zabronsky join water institute
Rachel Shellabarger and Hope Zabronsky have joined the California Institute for Water Resources, both as academic coordinator II.
Shellabarger will be responsible for coordinating CIWR's work with the National Institutes for Water Resources, as well as work on a new nitrogen and irrigation management program. She comes to us from UC Santa Cruz, where her recent Ph.D. research sought to better understand how California dairy producers engage with environmental initiatives.
An environmental scientist who grew up farming, Shellabarger is drawn to interdisciplinary work that crosses traditional boundaries. She previously researched conflict among conservation and human rights groups on the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as wetland mitigation efforts in Midwest agricultural landscapes. She also taught undergraduate Natural Sciences coursework for six years and worked with refugee resettlement agencies.
She earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Wartburg College, a master's degree in natural resources from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. in environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz.
Hope Zabronsky will be responsible for coordinating CIWR's Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and working with the team of technical assistance providers.
Zabronsky comes to UC ANR from Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center in San Diego, where she directed the center's educational and research programs focused on sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, community-based leadership, and career-technical education.
Previously, she managed statewide climate resilience projects at Strategic Energy Innovations, supported agricultural and climate adaptation research in Southern Africa at the International Food Policy Research Institute, and studied climate-smart agriculture practices in California and Malawi as part of the Research Group on Agricultural Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis.
She earned her bachelor's degree in environmental studies, sustainability and political science from the University of Vermont and master of science in international agricultural development from UC Davis.
Zabronsky can be reached at hzabronsky@ucanr.edu.
Holtz documentary wins Golden ARC Award
Brent Holtz, director and pomology farm advisor for San Joaquin County, and members of the Almond Board of California won the Golden Agricultural Relations Council Award for Digital & Social Media: Video for "RESILIENCE: The Whole Orchard Recycling Origin Story."
The six-minute documentary produced by the Almond Board of California features the inspiring story of Holtz's journey to help his family, his industry and his community by finding an alternative to burning trees removed from orchards.
The documentary was produced by the Almond Board's Jenny Nicolau, Daren Williams, Ross Thomas and David Gomar.
The Golden ARC Awards honor the stellar work created by professionals in the agricultural industry. They are judged by members of the Public Relations Society of America and are heavily weighted on measurable results achieved against the objectives.
Read more about the documentary project at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=51471&.
UC ANR communicators win ACE awards
UC ANR communicators received recognition from their peers in the Association for Communication Excellence, or ACE, international awards program.
Doralicia Garay won a Bronze Award for her wildfire preparedness social media campaign in the “organic” (unpaid) social media campaign category. During summer 2021, she created the Wildfire Preparedness social media campaign amid the active wildfire season in California. The campaign focused on delivering content that directed UC ANR's online audience on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to essential information on preparing homes and business structures for wildfire, also known as structure hardening. Given the high fire activity at the time, she also incorporated the Fire Locator map tool as a resource for wildfire evacuations. The campaign culminated with a Facebook Live session featuring UCCE forestry advisors Susie Kocher and Yana Valachovic and emeritus UCCE advisor Steve Quarles.
Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won two awards. She earned a Gold Award in the “writing for newspapers” category, for a feature story on Rebecca Jean “RJ” Millena, published in March 2021, a few months before Millena graduated with a bachelor's degree in entomology. “An Amazing Doctoral Opportunity Few Receive” centered on Millena's four-year, full-ride doctoral fellowship from the American Museum of Natural History.
Garvey earned a Silver Award for her photo story titled “The Flight of the Bumble Bee,” posted June 14, 2021, on her daily (Monday-Friday) Bug Squad blog on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
ANR celebrates STAR award winners
Winners of the 2020-21 ANR Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) program were announced June 17.
The outstanding contributions of 18 individual UC ANR staff members and six teams were recognized and celebrated at an online town hall. The honored staff members will receive plaques and cash awards for their exceptional performance, creativity, organizational abilities, work success and teamwork.
The STAR winners are named below, followed by a quote from their nominator.
Valerie Borel, horticulture and Master Gardener Program coordinator, UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County
“With recommendations from the task force, Valerie significantly overhauled our process for selecting Master Gardeners. This included significantly updating the application and including a diverse committee of Master Gardeners in the review and selection process. This process, while time consuming for Valerie as our Master Gardener coordinator, led to recruitment and selection of Master Gardener trainees that are more diverse than in prior years.”
“She has shown exceptional creativity and success this year during the COVID-19 stay at home order. She was the first EFNEP educator across our two-county team to recruit and deliver a completely virtual nutrition class series. Guadalupe also identified needs in the community and creatively addressed them by making her own recipe and food safety videos. To make her online classes engaging, she has conducted live online cooking demonstrations and incorporated activities to include youth who are learning at home with their parents.”
Vanity Campbell, proposal development coordinator
“Vanity developed an innovative two-day format for the 2020 Grant Essentials Summit that capitalized on academic engagement with state agencies to facilitate building relationships with programs while increasing grant- seeking capacity to identify and successfully apply for funding. In 2021, Vanity is expanding the program in collaboration with UC Merced to promote research and extension collaborations across the two institutions through presentation of agency grant programs and faculty research interests and needs.”
“Kim quickly established expectations and guidelines to transition staff for the remote work environment in order to successfully continue to process proposals, award and subawards without interruption of service and workflow.”
Katie Churchill, administrative officer and financial manager, UCCE Capitol Corridor
“Her work this year was transformative with guiding our office through challenging times and ensuring our programs were having high impact on making our communities great places to live and work.”
“Darrin successfully managed 30 demanding research projects. Under a normal year this a huge accomplishment, but Darrin was forced to find innovative ways of completing the fieldwork in a manner that fit COVID-19 safety guidelines and frequent staff absences due to family and childcare needs. Even more impressive was that IREC staff completed the projects under budget and on schedule… The 2020 growing season at IREC was particularly challenging due to a water shortage and wildfire smoke.”
Maru Fernandez, UCCE business partner team supervisor
“One year ago, the two Business Operation Center Locations were consolidated. Maru has been instrumental in building the team of 9 new members since last July, many of whom have never met each other. She has taken on additional responsibilities of the vacant Budget Analyst position, and has demonstrated a commitment above and beyond what would be expected of her as Supervisor of Business Partner Teams 1-4.”
“Without Laurie's diligence and support the move could have been disastrous! Laurie was a key point of contact over the course of three county directors with Madera County and she helped with design, layout and setup of the new office.”
Elaine Lander, urban & community IPM educator, Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program
“In the last year, she has continuously put effort into making ANR a more equitable and inclusive organization. She has served on the DEI advisory committee, is a founding member of the DEI council, contributed to the establishment of Employee Resource Groups, and served on the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month planning committee. She has participated in multiple trainings through ANR and is now pursuing training on the Intercultural Development Inventory to build intercultural competence within her IPM program and our larger organization.”
“Julie not only rapidly transitioned to providing nutrition education online, she also found ways to move our policy systems and environmental change work forward, despite the fact that many of our settings effectively did not exist during the pandemic. Her cafe´ promo videos, which encourage children to try new fruits and vegetables, have been recognized statewide.”
Brian Oatman, Risk & Safety Services director
“Throughout his career with ANR this candidate has sought to find creative solutions for complex problems… Early in the pandemic when cleaning and disinfecting supplies were low, he worked with his staff to sort out what material county offices needed. He acquired these materials from a variety of sources and shipped them directly to county offices, so staff had cleaning supplies in a time when they were not available locally.”
Carmela Padilla
“She immediately recognized the need to support staff capacity to facilitate virtual education, and she has provided training on dozens of topics and new tools. Carmela also led the development of educational videos by the whole team, including an entire nutrition curriculum. She developed a YouTube channel that now hosts over 50 educational videos, which have been viewed more than 1,250 times in all. Carmela was involved in determining the content, reviewing, and sharing each of these videos, although they also represent the collective efforts of the entire talented team”.
Rita Palmer, community education supervisor 2, CalFresh Healthy Living, UC, UCCE Butte County
“Rita's proactive approach to continue programming as stay at home orders were issued resulted in new program partnerships, the hosting of a large virtual Student Agricultural Field Day event and CFHL, UC staff with new communication skillsets and abilities to engage others in their work. The day after stay-at-home orders were issued, Rita was delivering a Zoom presentation to food service staff in one of the largest school districts in the Butte Cluster region.”
“We have nominated Stephanie for a STAR award because of her work during the past year to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront within UC IPM and ANR on top of her current role and duties. In ANR, she has been the voice for people who felt their voices weren't being heard. For UC IPM, Stephanie is instrumental in operationalizing our diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives, and getting us closer to achieving our overall goal to be an equitable organization.”
Jodi Rosenbaum, ER business consultant
“Jodi is the primary person to receive reports when an employee is diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19. Jodi's work to track cases, employee leave, and return to work has been outstanding and is vital to keeping ANR operational. Jodi developed new processes to receive private medical information, store it securely, and track employee status. This often requires urgent response at all hours and on off days.”
“Vince is being recognized for his leadership and contributions that underpinned the formation of the Bay Area Rancher Cooperative, known as BAR-C. He has been the primary coordinator and facilitator, resourceful in recruiting allies and partners like the California Center for Cooperative Development and Conservation Works, and organized the business plan development, including a confidential peer review process.”
Ricardo Vela, News & Outreach in Spanish (NOS) manager
“During the pandemic, he conceived of and spearheaded three events for ANR employees that had never been done before. Ricardo and his NOS team put together a series of well-attended educational online events for Hispanic Heritage Month September-October. Ricardo produced a video of ANR colleagues and 4-H members sharing how they were affected by COVID-19. On Cesar Chavez's birthday, Ricardo hosted a webinar about the life of the civil rights icon.”
“Early into the shutdown, Nancy brought forth various opportunities and ideas to expand our program reach by leveraging relationships so that we could continue to serve our community… Additionally, Nancy volunteered to participate in state-level workgroups. She chaired one of the workgroups and made valuable suggestions on the equity and access challenges faced by the population we serve.”
COVID-19 Hands-on Operational Support Team: David Alamillo, Barbara Bellieu, Alan Chavez, Tammie Erhard, Melissa Figueroa, Veronica Geiger, David Hatter, Brian Oatman, Bart Sapeta, Kathryn Stein, Ron Walker, Rhett Woerly and Michael Zwahlen
When most UC ANR employees transitioned to working remotely, the COVID-19 Hands-on Operational Support Team ensured that employees had necessary equipment and that ANR business operations continued to function.
Alameda/Contra Costa Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program Team: Nelly Camacho, Jennifer Ferreira, Eli Figueroa, Santo Lopez, Carla Moore, Jesus Osoria, Molica Sim and Leah Sourbeer
“Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, they collectively exhibited resilience, creativity, teamwork, and exceptional performance to execute the mission of EFNEP through virtual programming.”
Financial System Implementation at UCOP: Connie Tadesse and Jin Yu
“This past year, UCOP partnered with UCSD and UCM to undertake a major high risk business systems implementation replacing their legacy business systems and infrastructure with Oracle Cloud Financials. UCOP and the two campuses were the first, systemwide, at UC to take on something this broad in scope and magnitude for a business system transformation. Working with the Huron consultants, and the UCOP project team, their efforts ensured that UC ANR requirements were met.”
CalNat CES Team: Sarah Angulo, Eliot Freutel and Brook Gamble
“The California Naturalist Program's three Community Education Specialists not only adjusted to the changing conditions, but made structural changes to the program that actually put it in a stronger position moving forward. Specifically, they made investments in online delivery, shared the best practices throughout our diverse network, diversified our delivery model to include direct delivery, and remained focused on maintaining a strong service orientation and building community among our clientele.”
UC West Side REC Team: Merf Solorio and Mark Strole
“We acknowledge the exceptional service, teamwork, and creativity of Rafael “Merf” Solorio, Superintendent, and Mark Strole, Chief Mechanic, of the ANR's West Side Research and Extension Center. Time and time again, they both go well beyond the routine demands and expectations of their respective job classifications in ways that are uncommon and greatly appreciated by all who work at the West Side. On behalf of the many ANR researchers who work at the West Side REC, register our sincere thanks to both Merf and Mark for their forward vision, skills, and attention to detail in getting things done in support of our efforts.”
Office of Contracts and Grants Team: Kim Lamar, Vanity Campbell, Andrea Davis, Heidi von Geldern, Kendra Rose and Suzanne Burton.
“This team processed a record-breaking FY2020 award total of over $46 million, an increase of almost $11 million, or 30% from the prior year. This was possible because this team is a solid and cohesive group of extremely remarkable research administration professionals.”
UC ANR learns about Latino struggles and achievements during Hispanic Heritage Month
UC ANR is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Each Friday during the celebration, Ricardo Vela, manager of News & Information Outreach in Spanish, is hosting online forums.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity for all of us at UCANR to educate ourselves about ethnic groups,” Vela said. “Learning about the struggles of the Latino community is to learn about the history of our country. The knowledge becomes critical for serving all Californians since Latinos are part of every layer of our society.”
Oct. 2, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Vela will discuss the Chicano Moratorium of 1970 with Isidro D. Ortiz, Ph.D., professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at San Diego State University, and Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition and human rights director of Alliance San Diego
Oct. 9, from 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., two journalists from Univision and a farm worker's human rights activist share their experiences with the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 in the Hispanic community, and why they think Latinos have been hit hard by the disease.
During the first group activity, participants discussed the Mexican American deportation that occurred between 1929 and 1936 with San Diego State professor Ortiz. They also discussed the terms Latinx, Hispanic and Chicano.
During the second session, participants met UC ANR Hispanic Heritage Month honorees Claudia Diaz, 4-H youth development advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties; Sonia Ríos, subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties; and Javier Miramontes, nutrition program supervisor for Fresno County.
The three spoke candidly about their experiences growing up in Mexico and in the U.S., family support as they pursued higher education and the communities they serve on behalf of UC ANR. Ríos, whose parents were farmworkers, said field workers know agriculture. “We need to listen to them,” she said.
During the uplifting forum, friends and family members of Diaz, Ríos and Miramontes spoke proudly of their accomplishments. A representative of the Mexican consulate congratulated all three honorees.
For more information about upcoming events and to register, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Hispanic_Heritage_Month/Hispanic_Heritage_Month_2020/Zoom_Forums_Calendar.
Join Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Sept. 15-Oct. 15
Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, is a celebration is to recognize Hispanics' contributions and vital presence in the United States.
President Lyndon Johnson first approved Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 and it was expanded to a full month by President Ronald Reagan. Hispanic Heritage Month was officially enacted as a law on August 17, 1988.
As part of this celebration, we are recognizing three Latino professionals who serve their communities while always upholding UC ANR's values of academic excellence, honesty, integrity and community service.
This year UC ANR recognizes
Claudia Diaz Carrasco, 4-H youth development advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Diaz has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work with underprivileged youths in urban areas. She has worked with UC ANR for five years.
Sonia Ríos, UC Cooperative Extensionsubtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties. Since an early age, Ríos knew her future was in agriculture. Her grandfather and her father worked in agriculture and nurtured her love for nature and the fields. She has worked with UC ANR for almost nine years.
Javier Miramontes, UCCE nutrition program supervisor for Fresno County. Miramontes enjoys the opportunity his work gives him to serve the community where he grew up. He finds it very rewarding to teach parents, senior citizens and high school students about the importance of a healthy diet and how to create a sustainable environment. He has worked with UC ANR for over five years.
We have several events planned for Hispanic Heritage Month and invite you to participate. See below and the calendar of events at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Hispanic_Heritage_Month/Hispanic_Heritage_Month_2020/Zoom_Forums_Calendar.
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Documentary: The Mexican Repatriation |
The Mexican Repatriation
There was a mass deportation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the United States between 1929 and 1936. Estimates of how many people were repatriated range from 400,000 to 2 million. An estimated 60% of those deported were birthright citizens of the United States.
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Meet the HHM 2020 Honorees |
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources joins the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration by recognizing three Latino academics or educators who serve their communities while upholding UC ANR's values of academic excellence, honesty, integrity and community service.
This year UC ANR recognizes
- Claudia Diaz - UCCE 4-H Youth Development advisor for Riverside and San Bernardino counties
- Sonia Ríos - UCCE subtropical horticulture advisor for Riverside and San Diego counties
- Javier Miramontes - Nutrition program supervisor for Fresno County
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Documentaries: The Chicano Moratorium & the Zoot Suit Riots |
On August 29, 1970, a "Chicano Moratorium" against the Vietnam War was held in East Los Angeles Loyola-Marymount film student Tom Myrdahl shot this documentary, capturing the events that unfolded as law enforcement and protesters clashed in and around Laguna Park. This documentary was kept hidden from public view for almost 40 years. Myrdahl offers this historical film on the web as a tribute to the brave citizens of East L.A. who came together 50 years ago to voice their dissent against the Vietnam War.
The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of conflicts on June 3–8, 1943, in Los Angeles, which pitted American service members stationed in Southern California against Mexican American youths who were residents of the city. The Zoot Suit Riots were related to fears and hostilities aroused by the coverage of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, following the killing of a young Latino man in what was then an unincorporated commercial area near Los Angeles. The riot appeared to trigger similar attacks that year against Latinos in Chicago, San Diego, Oakland, Evansville, Philadelphia, and New York City. The defiance of zoot suiters became inspirational for Chicanos during the Chicano Movement.
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Covid-19 and Hispanics |
Join a discussion with two journalists from Univision and a farmworker human rights activist. They will share their experiences with the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 in the Hispanic community, and why they think Latinos have been the ethnic groups hit hardest in the southern United States.
