Hiring Many New Agricultural Extension Advisors, California Bucks National Trend

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) has ramped up its hiring of scientists and staff, bringing expertise in nutrition, crop production, water management, agricultural land acquisition, and community development.

Recently 48 more UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Advisor positions were released for recruitment over the next 12 months thanks to increased 2021-22 state funding. This brings the total to 89 new UCCE Advisor positions added since July 2021, when Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature provided a historic budget boost for UC ANR. The full list of UCCE positions is posted at https://bit.ly/CEpositions2021-22.

Over the past few months, the following 10 UCCE personnel have begun working at locations across the state. A dozen more scientists have been hired and will be joining soon.

• Christopher Chen joined UC Cooperative Extension as an integrated vineyard systems advisor for Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties. Chen has researched the efficacy of shade nets as heat-damage reduction tools for wine grapes at the UC Oakville Research Station in Napa Valley. He also tested the salinity tolerance of wild and cultivated grapevine rootstocks stored at the UC Davis germplasm collection. Chen is based at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center and can be reached at [email protected].
• Philip Waisen joined UC Cooperative Extension as a vegetable crops and small farms advisor in Riverside and Imperial counties. He is developing research and extension programs focused on pest and disease management and plant nutrient management in vegetable agroecosystems. Prior to joining UCCE, Waisen was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he worked on Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education-funded research projects on nematode and soil health management in tomatoes, peppers, cucurbits, asparagus, banana and brassicas. Waisen is based in Indio and can be reached at [email protected].
• Hung Doan joined UCCE as a small farms and specialty crops advisor serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties. His research interests include integrated pest management, vegetable and mushroom production, nutrient management, food safety, and vegetables and specialty crops pathology. Before joining UC ANR, Doan was an instructor for a U.S. AID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program in Guyana. He has experience working on small-scale farms in California and abroad in Kenya and Vietnam. Doan is headquartered in Moreno Valley and can be reached at [email protected].
• Cristina Murillo-Barrick joined UC Cooperative Extension as an agricultural land acquisitions academic coordinator II serving Fresno, Merced, and Tulare counties. In her role with UCCE, Murillo-Barrick supports the mission of California’s Sustainable Agricultural Land Conservation Program (SALC) to fight climate change by protecting productive farmland. Collaborating with the Strategic Growth Council and the Department of Conservation, she provides input on critical land-use issues, strategies and opportunities to local and regional planning agencies, land trusts, nonprofits, landowners, and other stakeholders. Murillo-Barrick is headquartered in Fresno and can be reached at [email protected].
• Sandipa Gautam joined UC Cooperative Extension as an area citrus integrated pest management advisor serving Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kern counties. Prior to accepting the UCCE advisor position, Gautam was an assistant research entomologist in the UC Riverside Department of Entomology. Since 2016, she had worked with UCCE specialist Beth Grafton-Cardwell at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center leading a research group that works on integrated pest management in citrus. She has studied fungal feeding mites Lorryia formosa and Tarsonemus bakers, California red scale, Asian citrus psyllid and the efficacy of treatments against arthropod pests of export concern. Gautam is headquartered at Lindcove Research and Extension Center and can be reached at [email protected].
• Curt Pierce joined UC Cooperative Extension as the area irrigation and water resources advisor for Glenn, Tehama, Colusa, and Shasta counties. Pierce works with other local UCCE orchard advisors and community stakeholders on agricultural irrigation issues, such as improving efficiencies, scheduling, and system maintenance, as well as groundwater recharge, flow measurements, and water diversions. His past research has focused on deficit irrigation and partial root-zone drying in field-grown pecans. Pierce is based at the UCCE Glenn County office in Orland and can be reached at [email protected].
• Natalie Levy joined UC Cooperative Extension as an associate specialist for water resources serving Orange County. Levy is designing and conducting water-related research and extension activities focused on the needs of both urban and agriculture systems. At the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center, she assists with the Climate Ready Landscape Plant irrigation trials, a collaborative Specialty Crops Multistate research project being conducted at several Western academic institutions. The data collected from the deficit irrigation trials are used to assess vigor and overall performance of landscape plants to identify low-water use plants that can be successfully grown in each climate and soil type. Levy is based at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine and can be reached at [email protected].
• Julie Morris joined UCCE in Santa Clara County as agricultural liaison, a new UCCE position supported by the county Agricultural Division and UC ANR. Morris will facilitate and expedite agricultural projects in Santa Clara County. Morris will help agricultural producers navigate the complex regulations and coordinate efforts for policy change and regulatory simplification. By working closely with a variety of partners, including farms and ranches, landowners, policy advocates, decisionmakers, community stakeholders, and others, she will be instrumental in developing and administering new systems, policies, processes, and programs supporting healthy food systems. Morris is based in San Jose and can be reached at (408) 201-0674 and [email protected].
• Rita Clemons joined UC ANR as UCCE director in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. With Clemons assuming administrative responsibilities for the three counties, UCCE advisors Darren Haver, Janet Hartin and Chris McDonald and 4-H Community Education Supervisor Stephanie Barrett will be able to focus on their research and community outreach. Prior to joining UC ANR, Clemons was the regional center director for Cambridge College-Southern California, creating visibility for the college by developing strong partnerships and relationships with local community organizations. Clemons is based in Moreno Valley and can be reached at [email protected].