People

Houston Wilson, Ph.D.

Director

Asst. Cooperative Extension Specialist

Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center 

Dept. Entomology, UC Riverside

hwilson@ucanr.edu | 559-646-6519 | http://treecrops.ucr.edu/

Krista Marshall, M.S.

Policy & Partnerships Coordinator

knmarshall@ucanr.edu | 952-200-6219

Krista is passionate about building agricultural models that center human livelihoods, advance food sovereignty, promote regional food systems, and enable farmers to be ecological stewards of working lands. Prior to joining UC ANR, Krista worked on-farm to study the relationships between Agroecological design and management principles, soil health, and soil ecosystem functional outcomes during graduate school at UC Davis. Outside of school, Krista spent two and half years in the Sacramento urban farming community, building relationships with community members while running seasonal farm stands and learning how to operate small-scale productions. Through that work, she participated in city-level policy, coalition building, and small-scale farm design. She is excited to continue working and broadening her knowledge as part of the UC ANR and Organic Agriculture Institute team!

Rob Straser, Ph.D.

Extension & Outreach Coordinator

rkstraser@ucanr.edu | 805-645-1482

Rob is interested in identifying and promoting management practices that improve the sustainability of agriculture and the well-being of people and the environment. Rob received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside, where he studied how diversified crop systems can be used to enhance beneficial insect communities and promote ecosystem services.  Rob is also passionate about enhancing food security and access to healthy foods in both urban and rural communities, and recently served as an Ambassador to the UC Global Food Initiative to work towards this goal. His research has been presented at national and international conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals, blogs, factsheets, and shared through on-farm workshops and field days. Rob is excited to continue working closely with growers, researchers, non-profit, and industry professionals to develop programs that enhance the productivity, economic viability, and sustainability of organic agriculture.