Posts Tagged: UCCE

Gonzalves begins as new UC Cooperative Extension director for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties

The new UCCE director in the tri-county region, David Gonzalves brings a wealth of experience working within city and county government, as well as the UC.

David Gonzalves started on Feb. 1 as director for University of California Cooperative Extension in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. UC Cooperative Extension connects communities across California with UC research and science-based solutions through agriculture, natural resources, nutrition and 4-H youth development programs.

Responsible for the overall operation of UCCE educational and applied research programs in the region, Gonzalves also will build and expand partnerships with county and city governments, public agencies and community organizations.

“David brings tremendous expertise in administration, fostering strong relationships, and building effective teams,” said Deanne Meyer, interim associate vice president for programs and strategic initiatives at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, which administers UCCE statewide. “His track record of engaging local agencies, business partners, stakeholders and community groups will be invaluable as we explore new collaborations to reach and serve more Californians.”

Gonzalves was most recently a campus building official at UC Merced. Beginning his career at the County of Merced as a fire inspector, Gonzalves worked his way up to supervising building inspector and eventually assistant development services director. Then, for the City of Merced, he filled the role of chief building official and ultimately director of development services, leading the city's Building, Planning and Engineering teams. For three years, Gonzalves served as Tuolumne County's Community Resources Agency director.

“David's past experience as an administrator in county government and at UC Merced makes him the ideal candidate for the work we do at UCCE, as he has demonstrated success in being able to successfully negotiate these two worlds,” said Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, interim director for county Cooperative Extension at UC ANR.

Gonzalves said he looks forward to meeting with county leaders, members of local boards, growers, UC Master Gardener volunteers, 4-H members and community members to learn how UC Cooperative Extension can help meet local needs.

“My big picture goal is to allow UCCE advisors, administrative teams and local county leaders to have a coordinated approach to our local challenges and successes,” Gonzalves said. “Our efforts will concentrate on freeing up our research teams' calendars to ensure they can continue producing cutting-edge accomplishments here in the tri-county area.” 

Based at the UCCE Monterey County office in Salinas, Gonzalves can be reached at dgonzalves@ucanr.edu or (831) 392-5916.

UC ANR releases 6 UCCE advisor positions for recruitment

UCCE advisor Rachael Long, left, talks with a Yolo County grower about hedgerows. UCCE advisors serve Californians in one or more counties.

Six University of California Cooperative Extension advisor positions have been released for recruitment by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, is thrilled to resume strengthening the UC ANR network to address California's current and emerging needs. Due to UC ANR's budget constraints, recruitment for positions identified in the 2018 Position Call had been on hold since July.

The new positions include:

• production horticulture advisor, San Diego County
• agronomy area advisor, Merced County
• livestock and natural resources advisor, Siskiyou County
• nutrition, family and consumer sciences area advisor, San Mateo-San Francisco counties
• vegetable crops and small farms advisor, Riverside County
• pomology and water/soils area advisor, Kings County

“These were difficult decisions to make because while we need the above positions, there are many more needs for both UC Cooperative Extension specialist and advisor positions that continue to wait for additional funding,” Humiston said. “Additionally, while we have grown the UCCE specialist numbers over the last several years, the number of UCCE advisors in the field has steadily declined. For this reason, we are focusing on recruitment of UCCE advisors at this time.”

The farming community lauded adding more county-based UCCE advisors to conduct research and work with farms of all sizes to improve water efficiency, soil health and many other issues. 

“Farm advisors represent a vital link from University of California research sites to the state's fields and pastures,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said, “and filling these positions will help address a statewide shortage of advisors.

“Knowledge shared by farm advisors through the decades has helped California reach and retain its position as the nation's top producer of high-quality food and agricultural products, and we need to keep that resource alive.”

In January, UC ANR's Human Resources unit will begin recruitment planning for the newly released UCCE advisor positions, which will be posted at https://ucanr.edu/About/Jobs.

Currently they are working on recruitment for the following positions from previous calls:

• viticulture advisor for Kern County
• climate & agriculture project scientist
• human-wildlife conflict advisor for the San Mateo/San Francisco Bay Area
• 4-H STEM academic coordinator
• small farms and specialty crops assistant specialist for Fresno County

“I hope to release five or six more UCCE positions in the spring/summer,” Humiston said. “This is possible, in part, due to the advance notice provided by individuals planning to retire June 2020. In addition, we will complete recruitment of other academic positions currently advertised, including those that are funded through partnerships.”

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