In addition to his responsibilities as Citrus Research Board President, he also serves as:
Vice President of the National Exotic Fruit Fly Coalition,
Co-Chairman of the National Citrus Research Coalition,
Member of Chancellors Ag Advisory Committee – UC Riverside
Chairman of the UC/USDA/LANL Plant Disease Coalition,
Member of UC IPM Exotic Pest and Disease Committee,
Past Board Member (1989-1993) and current member of the Counselors Club of United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.

Eduardo Blumwald
Eduardo Blumwald is Professor of Cell Biology and Will W. Lester Chair, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis. He attended Hebrew University, Jerusalem,, for his B.Sc. Soil Sciences, M.Sc. Plant Physiology and Hebrew University and UC Berkeley for his Ph.D. Bioenergetics. Additional experience includes Professor, Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of Toronto and Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, University of Toronto

Honors and awards:
1987-1992: University Research Fellow, National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada; 1996: Victor Bendelow Memorial Lecturer, University of Manitoba, Canada; 1995-96: Steacie Memorial Fellow, National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Can-ada; 1994-96: Chair, Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, Canada; 1997-98: Panel Member, Fund for Improvement of Scientific Education, International Monetary Fund; 1996: Vice-Chair, Gordon Conference on Salt and Drought Stress in Plants; 1998: Organizing Committee, 11th In-ternational Workshop on Plant Membrane Biology, Cambridge, UK; 2001: Chair and Organizer, Juan March Symposium on Plant Salt Tolerance, Madrid, Spain; 2001: Organizing Committee, 12th International Workshop on Plant Membrane Biology, Madison, WI, USA; 2002: Vice-Chair Gordon Conference on Salt and Drought Stress in Plants; 2000-present: Member of Editorial Board, Trends in Plant Sciences; 1996-2000: Member of Executive Committee, Protein Produc-tion Facility, Ontario Cancer Institute, Canada; 2002-2003: Member of NSF Review Panel; 2003: Organizer, ASPB Western Regional Meeting, Northern California, USA; 2003: Alexander von Humboldt Prize; 2003-present: Member of the Molecular Structure Facility Advisory Committee (UC Davis); 2004: Member of USDA-NRI Review Panel; 2004-2005: Member BARD USA-Israel panel review; 2004: Organizing Committee, 13th International Workshop on Plant Mem-brane Biology, Montpellier, France; 2004: Chair and organizer, Gordon Conference on Salt and Drought Stress in Plants; 2005: Organizing Committee, 14th International Workshop on Plant Membrane Biology, Sevilla, Spain.

Michael Boland
Michael Boland is University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, professor of agricultural econom-ics, and associate director of the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center at Kansas State University. He has research, and continuing education responsibilities in strategy and agribusiness manage-ment. The majority of his work involves food and agribusiness firms especially cooperatives and value added enterprises. Mike recently served as co-chair of the USDA National Food and Agri-business Management Education Commission. He took his PhD in agricultural economics from Purdue University and also has a Master’s in agricultural economics from Purdue, a Master's in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota and a BA degree from the University of St. Thomas in St Paul, Minnesota.

Devry Boughner
Devry Boughner joined Cargill’s Public Affairs office, Washington, D.C., in September 2004 as Director, International Business Relations. At Cargill, Boughner is responsible for Asia Affairs and International Trade Policy. Prior to joining Cargill, Boughner worked at the U.S. Interna-tional Trade Commission as an agricultural economist in the Office of Industries from 1999-2002 and as Economic Advisor to the Chairman/Vice Chairman of the Commission from 2003-2004. Boughner served as Senior Economist in the Office of Agricultural Affairs at the Office of the United States Trade Representative between 2002 and 2003. Boughner holds a Bachelor of Sci-ence both in Agricultural Economics and Managerial Economics from the University of Califor-nia, Davis and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics, with a specialization in Public Pol-icy and International Trade, from Cornell University.

Kent J. Bradford
Kent J. Bradford is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Califor-nia, Davis. He earned his B.S. degree in Biochemistry and M.S. degree in Horticulture from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. degree in Plant Physiology from the University of Cali-fornia, Davis. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Australian National University, he joined the faculty at UC Davis in 1982 and served as the Chair of the Department of Vegetable Crops from 1993 to 1998. In 1999 he founded the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and continues to serve as its director. He was awarded the career Seed Science Award from the Crop Science So-ciety of America in 2002 and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Ad-vancement of Science in 2003. Dr. Bradford’s research has spanned diverse areas of seed science from seed enhancement and stand establishment to mathematical modeling and molecular biol-ogy. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed research and extension articles and book chapters and co-edited two books on seed biology. His current interests are in applying mathematical models to describe and explain seed germination and dormancy behavior, in identifying the ge-netic and molecular mechanisms regulating seed germination, and in mechanisms of seed deterio-ration and methods to extend seed longevity.

Marita Cantwell
The objectives of Marita Cantwell's research and extension program are to identify and solve problems related to the postharvest physiology, handling and storage of fresh vegetables. As a Cooperative Extension Specialist, she conducts a research and education program for the benefit of UC Advisors, vegetable grower-shippers-freshcut processors, and handlers and distributors of these fresh products.

Roberta Cook
Roberta Cook has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University. Since 1985 she has been the Extension Marketing Economist in the Department of Agricultural and Re-source Economics at University of California Davis. She conducts an applied research and indus-try outreach program focusing on the marketing and international trade of fresh fruits and vegeta-bles. In addition to her work on the U.S. food marketing system, she has extensive international marketing expertise on issues such as: modernizing domestic food distribution systems in Latin America; identifying fruit and vegetable import/export opportunities throughout the Western Hemisphere; European fruit and vegetable marketing trends; and the structure of the Mexican horticultural industry, with special emphasis on the vegetable export industries in Sinaloa, Baja California and the Bajio. She is fluent in Spanish and regularly lectures in Spanish throughout Latin America. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Global Berry Farms and Sunkist Growers. She has also served as Public Member of the California Tomato Commission since 1993. From 1998-2003 she was a member of the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Fruits and Vegetables of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.T.R. She has served on numerous committees of the Produce Marketing Association and in 2001 was elected to the American Agricultural Economics Association Foundation Governing Board.

Dr. A. Charles Crabb
Dr. A. Charles Crabb is the dean at the California State University, Chico College of Agriculture. His career began with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from U.C. Davis in 1973. That led to an interest in agricultural systems, particularly the relationship between crop production and the environment A Master’s degree from Ohio’s Bowling Green State Uni-versity in biology and a Ph.D. from UC Davis in ecology represented opportunities to further Dr. Crabb’s interests. He began teaching in a formal setting at Cal Poly as an assistant professor of crop science in 1978. In 1988 he became the interim associate dean for the College of Agriculture at Cal Poly. Later, Dr. Crabb went to work as the associate vice president for academic resources at Cal Poly and after that the director of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources South Central Region and Kearny Agricultural Center.

Vernon M. Crowder
Vernon Crowder is a senior vice president of Bank of America and the senior client manager in the Fresno Middle Market Banking Office, a dominant provider of financial services for commer-cial, agribusiness companies and other business enterprises in the San Joaquin Valley. Prior to assuming these responsibilities in March 2000, Mr. Crowder was the agricultural economist for the bank’s Consumer and Commercial Banking Risk Management Group. Mr. Crowder came to Bank of America in 1992 from Security Pacific Bank, which became part of Bank of America that year. He had been with Security Pacific Bank for 16 years, serving as an agribusiness spe-cialist in the Middle Market Business Banking Group, and as a California agriculture industry analyst in the Economics Group. Mr. Crowder earned a master’s degree in business administra-tion from the University of California at Riverside where he also completed his undergraduate studies. In addition, he is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, and he completed a two-year fellowship in the California Agricultural Leadership Program.

R. Michael Davis
Michael Davis is Professor of Plant Pathology in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis and is also a Cooperative Extension Specialist. His area of specialization is diseases of vegetable and field crops and mushroom production. His research focus is investiga-tions into the epidemiology and control of diseases of vegetables and field crops, especially those caused by fungal and bacterial pathogens.
Cornelius L. Gallagher
Cornelius L. (Corny) Gallagher is senior vice president and agribusiness executive for Bank of America's Consumer and Commercial Banking Credit Risk Management Administration. He is a member of UC Agricultural Issues Center Advisory Board. Gallagher chairs the Risk Manage-ment Association's National Agricultural Lending Committee and is on the California Bankers Association Agricultural Lending Committee. He also chairs the Bank's California Political Ac-tion Committee. Gallagher is treasurer of the California 4-H Foundation Board, a member of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo School of Agriculture Advisory Council and the Santa Clara Univer-sity Advisory Board of the Institute of Agribusiness. He serves on the California Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee, the California Agricultural Roundtable, and is on the board of directors of The Agricultural Network, the California State Fair Agricultural Advisory Council, and the California Food and Fiber Future Advisory Board. Gallagher graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in animal science.

Mark Gaskell
Mark Gaskell is a farm advisor with University of California Cooperative Extension responsible for Small Farms and Specialty Crops in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Mark is a member of the statewide Small Farm Program and the U.C. Specialty Crops Workgroup and he cooperates with other UC specialists and farm advisors on research and development devoted to diverse specialty crops. Prior to joining UC in 1995, Mark spent 12 years in Central America and the Caribbean, working in research and development with alternative new crops.

Bill Gerlach
Bill Gerlach is Research and Development Director at Melissa’s World Variety Produce, Inc, Los Angeles, California. Melissa’s is the largest specialty produce wholesaler in the US. It services all major retail chains coast to coast with over 1,200 items of specialty produce. To diversify the American diet, Bill searches the world for new plant germplasm, edible species and finished va-rieties. Much of his work in Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia involves in-teracting with native local growers, national agricultural authorities, and USDA/APHIS to iden-tify and develop plant species for plant quarantine clearance and importation. Bill has a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of California-Davis. He served in the Peace Corps in the 1970’s in Ivory Coast, West Africa.

Hank Giclas
Hank Giclas is Vice President of Science and Technology, Strategic Planning, Western Growers Association.

W. R. Gomes
As Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), W. R. (Reg) Gomes is the chief administrative officer for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Cali-fornia.

Sonya Varea Hammond
Sonya Hammond has been the administrative director for Cooperative Extension in Monterey County since 1990. She oversees the research and educational programs conducted by the Farm Advisors, the Youth Development Advisor and the nutrition program staff. Hammond holds a B.A. and M.A from UC Santa Barbara, and an M.B.A. in International Marketing from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. International marketing was her area of specialization. Her most recent work studies the challenges and strate-gies in implementing agricultural/urban edge buffers.

Jasper Hempel
Jasper Hempel serves Western Growers as Executive Vice-President, General Counsel. Jasper assists the President and CEO in managing and implementing various operational activities, man-ages and directs the association’s state legislative, regulatory and political activities and programs in Arizona and California, assists with federal government affairs activities, manages Western Growers Law Group and advises and represents WGA, its Board, affiliates and association mem-bers in all legal matters, manages Western Growers human resource functions and activities, and manages Western Growers Charitable Foundation functions and activities. While Jasper has worked for Western Growers in one capacity or another for over 25 years, Jasper has also been a partner in Kahn, Soares & Conway, an agricultural legal and lobbying firm and had earlier prac-ticed agricultural and real estate law with his wife Amey. Beginning his career in 1973, Jasper first served in various agricultural management positions with Hunt-Wesson Foods, Inc., Davis, California before joining Western Growers in January, 1979. Jasper earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Berkeley (1970) and his Juris Doctor from the Univer-sity of California, Davis School of Law (1973). He was admitted to the California Bar in 1973. Jasper serves on several industry boards.

Mark S. Hoddle
Mark Hoddle is an Urban Biological Control Specialist in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside. His specialties include biological control of ornamental and agricultural pests, pest and natural enemy biology and behavior, assessing impact of natural enemies on pest population growth.

Richard E. Howitt
Richard Howitt is currently a Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California at Davis. He has been a faculty member at U.C Davis for three decades. Originally from Britain, he spent several years in Australia before coming to do his Ph.D. at U.C. Davis. His teaching covers both graduate and undergraduate courses in resource economics, economic theory and operations research. Howitt’s current research interests can be summarized under three head-ings: disaggregated economic modeling methods, using market mechanisms to allocate water re-sources, and empirical dynamic stochastic methods.

Elizabeth Hund
Elizabeth Hund is the Managing Director of Rabobank's Western Region San Francisco Office and is responsible for the bank's Western marketing efforts. In addition to geographic responsibil-ity for all food and agribusiness clients, the Region sector has responsibility for wine and fresh produce. Hund joined Rabobank in 1995 as Vice President and Team Leader, responsible for managing and developing relationships with food and agribusiness clients in the bank's Chicago office. From 1988 until 1995, she worked with CoBank and the National Bank for Cooperatives, based in Denver, where her positions included Senior Relationship Manager in both the Corporate Group and the Capital Markets Group. Prior to joining CoBank, Hund was Chief Financial Offi-cer for Coleman Natural Meats, Inc., a privately held specialty meats company. She began her career with the Colorado National Bank of Denver, where she held various positions in Credit and Agribusiness/Correspondent Lending. Hund holds a B.S. degree in agriculture from Kansas State University and an M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Colorado.

Robert Hutmacher
Robert Hutmacher is a UC Extension Agronomist/Cotton Specialist located at the UC Shafter Research and Extension Center. Previously, he worked for USDA-ARS in the Water Manage-ment Research Lab in Fresno for about 15 years.
He received his Bachelor's degree from UC Davis and attended Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University for Masters and PhD.

Timothy E. Josling
Tim Josling was born in England and moved to California in 1978 to take a position as a Profes-sor in the Food Research Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California. He previously taught at the London School of Economics and the University of Reading, England. His aca-demic background includes a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of London, a M.Sc. in Ag-ricultural Economics from the University of Guelph, Canada, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Eco-nomics from Michigan State University. Dr. Josling's research interests center on industrial coun-try agricultural policies, international trade in agricultural products, and the process of economic integration. He is currently involved in studies of the regulation of biotechnology in the US and the EU; trade conflicts over food safety and animal health regulations; reform of the agricultural trading system in the WTO, including the progress in the current round of negotiations; the treat-ment of agriculture in free trade areas such as NAFTA and MERCOSUR; and the changes in the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (EU). Dr. Josling is a member of the Inter-national Policy Council on Food and Agricultural Trade and Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium and is a Fellow of the American Agri-cultural Economics Association. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the Food Research Insti-tute, Stanford University, and a Senior Fellow in the Stanford Institute for International Studies.

Jonathan Kaplan
Jonathan Kaplan is currently a project specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and contributes to NRDC's efforts to protect public health and the environment from toxic materials. Prior to joining NRDC, Jonathan was the program director for WaterKeepers Northern California where he coordinated a variety of efforts, including the direct enforcement of clean water laws, policy advocacy, water quality monitoring, and on-the-water citizen patrols. Jonathan also directed the Toxics Program for the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) where he coordinated research, policy development, media outreach, coalition build-ing and policy advocacy efforts addressing a variety of toxics issues in California. Prior to his work at CALPIRG, Kaplan worked on several environmental campaigns in California, including three countywide open space initiatives and the State Parks and Wildlife Initiative of 1994, where he was the San Francisco regional coordinator. He has also worked at the Sierra Club National Headquarters and INFORM, Inc. He received a BA from Cornell University and MS degree in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Kaplan serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Estuary Institute.

A.G. Kawamura
Governor Schwarzenegger appointed A.G. Kawamura as secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in November 2003. Secretary Kawamura is a produce grower and ship-per from Orange County, where his family grows strawberries, green beans and other specialty crops. He is a founding partner, along with his brother, in Orange County Produce, LLC. As an urban agriculturist, he has a lifetime of experience working along and within the expanding urban boundaries of Southern California.

Secretary Kawamura is widely known for his passion for education and his commitment to the issues of hunger and nutrition. As president of Orange County Harvest, a nonprofit promoting agricultural partnerships with organizations combating hunger, he arranged for thousands of vol-unteers to harvest and glean more than a million pounds of produce for area food banks. His na-tionally recognized urban projects, such as the 7-acre Common Ground project in San Juan Ca-pistrano and 4-acre Incredible Edible Park in Irvine, are agricultural paradigms linking nutritional education and interaction with local schools and food banks.

Carl L. Keen
Carl Keen has been Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis since 1993 and a Professor of Nutrition since 1981. Prior to that, he was a National Insti-tute of Dental Research postdoctoral fellow (1979-81) and a Proctor and Gamble postdoctoral fellow (1978-79) at the University of California, Davis. Carl Keen was awarded the American Institute of Nutrition Graduate Student Research Award (1978), the American Institute of Nutri-tion Bio-Serv Award in Experimental Animal Nutrition (1985), Outstanding Undergraduate Ad-visor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (1985), and the American Insti-tute of Nutrition Research Award (Bordon Award, 1995). Keen was recently recognized as a highly cited researcher in the Agricultural Sciences (2002), and he was the 2004 recipient of the Teratology Society’s Warkany Award for research accomplishments in developmental biology.

William "Bill" Lyons
Bill Lyons, past California Department of Food and Agriculture secretary, comes from a family with a long history in California production agriculture. Lyons graduated from CSU, Chico with a B.S. in history in 1973 and received his secondary teaching credential in 1974. Governor Gray Davis appointed Lyons to secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in 1999.

Joseph MacIlvaine
Joe MacIlvaine has held the position of President of Paramount Farming Company since May 1987. He is responsible for general management of the company’s operations, including the man-agement of 120,000 acres of agricultural properties. The company’s primary crops are almonds, pistachios and pomegranates. In each of these products, Paramount is the largest grower in the country. Prior to his employment at Paramount, Joe was General Manager of Tejon Farming Company, part of Tejon Ranch. He is President of two water districts, and has been at various times Treasurer and Director of Western Grower’s Association, Chairman of the Almond Board of California, Vice Chair of the California Pistachio Commission, President of the Southern Si-erra Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and President of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield. Joe is active in a number of community organizations. His education includes a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy, and a Master’s of Business Administration from UCLA.

Greg MaGill
A graduate of Fresno State University, Greg MaGill works for Joseph W. Ciatti Co. as broker in charge of fruit concentrates, natural colors, hi proof alcohols, and organic wines. Other employ-ment includes, General Mills Inc. for 13+ years, as executive territory manager; bakery flour and wheat commodity sales and Constellation Brands, national sales manager: grape juice concentrate and specialty colors division.

Denise C. Manker
Dr. Denise Manker is Vice President of Research and Development for AgraQuest. Her work en-compasses support of regulatory efforts, oversight of intellectual property activities and responsi-bility for research and development efforts. She worked previously at Novo Nordisk.

Previously, Denise carried out post-doctoral research at UC Davis in Environmental Toxicology, studying the abiotic degradation of pollutants in aqueous environments and in Entomology devel-oping an ELISA for detection of the herbicide glyphosate. She obtained her Ph.D. in 1988 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she investigated the occurrence, biosynthesis and function of secondary metabolites from marine molluscs. She was honored in 1996 with the "Outstanding Woman of the Year" award for Science by the Sacramento region YWCA. In Oc-tober 2001, she received the American Chemical Society Regional Industrial Innovation Award for the development of Serenade®, as one member of a team of six people from AgraQuest.

Philip Martin
Philip Martin studied Labor Economics and Agricultural Economics at the University of Wiscon-sin-Madison, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1975. He is Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California-Davis and chair of the University of California's 60-member Comparative Immigration and Integration Program.
Martin does research on farm labor and rural poverty, labor migration and economic develop-ment, and migration policy and guest worker issues; he has testified before Congress and state and local agencies numerous times on these issues. Martin edits the newsletters Migration News and Rural Migration News, which provide timely and nonpartisan summaries of significant mi-gration developments and is on the editorial boards of the International Migration Review and International Migration. Martin was awarded UCD's Distinguished Public Service award in 1994.

Dorcas Thille McFarlane
Owner/operator of J.K. Thille Ranches and a fourth generation farmer, Dorcas Thille grows avo-cados, lemons and vegetable/flower seeds in Ventura County. She serves as a board member of the Calavo Avocado marketing Cooperative and the Saticoy Lemon Cooperative, as president of a local water commission board, and has been on the advisory board of the Hansen Trust since its inception in 1993. She is a member of UC President Atkinson's Advisory Commission on Agriculture.

Michael J. Mendes
Michael J. Mendes has served since 1997 as president and chief executive officer of Diamond of California, the nation’s leading processor and marketer of culinary and inshell nuts. During Mr. Mendes’ tenure as president and CEO, the company has grown to 1200 full-time and seasonal employees with six production facilities in California, Illinois, and Alabama. Its worldwide reach has expanded dramatically, and today Diamond products are marketed in 100 countries, with in-ternational sales comprising approximately 35 percent of the company’s business. Before joining Diamond, Mr. Mendes managed the international marketing and sales division of the Dole Food Company. Mr. Mendes received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He serves on the President’s Advisory Council of the Grocery Manu-facturers of America (GMA) and the Executive Council of the National Council of Farmer Coop-eratives (NCFC), and was appointed in 2003 to the board of directors of the California Chamber of Commerce. He has been a member of the NorCal Young Presidents’ Organization chapter since 1998.

Jeffrey P. Mitchell
Jeff Mitchell is a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences Science at the University of California, Davis. His research and extension education programs focus on conservation tillage production systems and their potential benefits for air, water and soil resource management, soil quality assessment and interpretation, and the development and evaluation of sustainable crop production systems. He serves as Chair of the University of California’s Divi-sion of Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Tillage Workgroup which currently has over 470 UC, USDA Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, public agency, private industry and farmer members and affiliates. He received his undergradu-ate degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and his MS and PhD degrees from UC Davis. Before beginning his graduate studies, he served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, in Southern Africa. He has been involved with several long-term cropping systems projects includ-ing the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems program in the Central San Joaquin Valley and the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems Project in the Sacramento Valley, and has pub-lished over 45 peer-reviewed articles based on these studies.

Jay E. Noel
Jay Noel is a professor in Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo's Agribusiness Department and director, California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops/College of Agriculture. Noel earned his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of California at Davis. Prior to joining the agribusiness faculty he was the chief operating officer for the California Rice Growers Association. He teaches courses in agricultural marketing, agricultural policy, international trade, and quantitative methods. His research activities are focused in areas of performance and feasibil-ity of agricultural cooperatives, industrial organization of agricultural markets, agricultural pol-icy, and trade.

Tom O'Brien
A member of Thelen Reid's Government Affairs Department, O'Brien concentrates his practice on achieving legislative, funding, policy and regulatory results for clients through lobbying, the administrative process and judicial review, as well as through litigation. O'Brien brings extensive experience in government affairs and public policy, with an emphasis on agriculture and trade issues. He was most recently deputy director for agriculture and trade in the Washington office of California Governor Gray Davis, where he represented the State of California before Congress and federal departments. Prior to his work for the State of California, O'Brien served in a variety of positions at the Agricultural Marketing Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he advised Agency officials on public policy and served as spokesperson for the Agency on major programs, including organic and dairy regulations. O'Brien also served as an attorney in the Of-fice of White House Counsel. A member of the California State Bar, O'Brien is a 1984 graduate of the University of California at Davis and a 1988 graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law.

Mechel S. Paggi
Dr. Paggi received his B.B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.S. in Economics from the University of North Texas and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University. Prior to accepting the position at Cal State Fresno, Dr. Paggi was a Principal Analyst for Agriculture with the Congressional Budget Office. Before coming to CBO Dr. Paggi served as the Executive Director of the congressionally mandated Commission on 21st Century Agriculture that provided recommendations to Congress and the Administration for the 2002 farm bill. Dr. Paggi has also served as Senior Economist at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy, Senior Economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation and Assistant Professor for Research and Extension at Texas A&M University. Dr. Paggi is the author of numerous journal articles and professional papers on agricultural trade and policy and has received awards from the American Agricultural Economics Association for quality of com-munication in public policy education and group extension programming in the area of farm pol-icy.

Bill Pauli
Bill Pauli is a 3rd generation Mendocino County farmer and businessman, farming diversified crops including wine grapes, pears and timber in Potter Valley and Redwood Valley, California. He is the owner/operator of Pauli Ranch and Braren-Pauli Winery and president of Redwood Val-ley Cellars. In addition, to serving as president of California Farm Bureau Federation, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation; board member of the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy (CFEE); a member of CalFed’s Bay Delta Public Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Board, California Foundation for Agricul-ture in the Classroom. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree, University of Nevada, Reno.

Karen Ross
Karen Ross is President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers, a trade association that represents the interests of California wine grape producers.

Richard T. Roush
Rick Roush’s career spans research, teaching, regulatory, and administrative appointments in both the US and Australia. After working the 8 years in Australia at the University of Adelaide, Rick returned to California in March 2003 to become Director of the Statewide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program of the University of California, based in Davis. Roush has been in-ternationally recognized for his research on pest management since the 1980s, and has published widely on biological control, genetics, toxicology, and the ecology of insects, nematodes, mites and weeds. A particular emphasis for the last 20 years has been to develop integrated solutions for slowing or preventing the evolution of pesticide resistance. In the 1990’s, Roush was a prin-cipal architect of the resistance management strategies for insect tolerant transgenic crops, includ-ing cotton, potatoes and corn. Before joining the University of Adelaide in 1995, Roush was an associate professor at Cornell University (1987-1995) and Mississippi State University (1981-1986), and a Rockefeller Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Texas A&M University (1980-1981). Roush earned his BS and Ph.D. in entomology from UC Davis in 1976 and UC Berkeley in 1979, respectively.

Kate Scow
Kate Scow is a soil microbial ecologist with the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis. Her research interests are dynamics and diversity of soil micro-bial communities in agroecosystems, carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil, decomposition of or-ganic matter, kinetics of microbial processes, biodegradation of pesticides and organic pollutants.

Randy Segawa
Randy Segawa is a Senior Environmental Research Scientist with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. He graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in 1980. Randy began working for the Department 1981, and since 1999 he has supervised the Department’s air program. Activities of the air program include field monitor-ing, analysis of environmental data, and development of measures to mitigate health and envi-ronmental effects of pesticides. The air program is currently focusing on fumigants, other pesti-cides as toxic air contaminants, and volatile organic compound emissions from pesticides.

Richard J. Sexton
Richard Sexton is a professor with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis. His research focuses primarily on the analysis of agricultural markets, with special emphasis on the fruit, vegetable and nut industries in California. A particu-lar focus is the role that imperfect competition plays in agricultural markets.

Steve Shaffer
Steve Shaffer is director, Office of Agriculture and Environmental Stewardship, California De-partment of Food and Agriculture.

Alvin Sokolow
Political scientist Alvin Sokolow, has spent the last 12 years of his 39-year University of Califor-nia career as a UC Cooperative Extension farmland protection specialist before his recent retire-ment. He is an Associate Director for UC Agricultural Issues Center. Sokolow attended college at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1956 in journalism, a master’s degree in 1958 in political science and a Ph.D. in 1964 in political science. He joined the UC Davis faculty as a political science professor in 1965, where he focused on local and state governmental issues.

Daniel A. Sumner
Daniel A. Sumner is the director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center and the Frank H. Buck Jr. Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis where he has been since 1993. Sumner has a B.S. from Cal Poly SLO and his Ph.D. from Chicago and was on the Economics faculty of North Carolina State University for a decade before spending several years on leave in government service. He was a senior economist on the President's Council of Economic Advisers and Assistant Secretary for Economics at the US De-partment of Agriculture in 1992 and early 1993. Sumner is a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association in recognition of his career achievements and former Chair of the Interna-tional Agricultural Trade Research Consortium. Sumner is originally from a fruit ranch in Solano County, California..

Trevor Suslow
As a cooperative extension specialist, in the Department of Vegetable Crops, Trevor Suslow's research and extension program centers on studying the effects of microflora on the postharvest quality of perishable produce.

Katherine Taylor
Kathy Taylor has been with the Environmental Protection Agency for 20 years. Before moving west, she served in DC managing field activities for the Office of Pesticides Programs. In 1993, she moved to San Francisco to manage the Pesticides and Toxics programs in the EPA Regional Office there. For the last four years, she has held the position of Director of the Agriculture Pro-gram in Region 9. In this capacity, she advises the Regional Administrator on agricultural issues, is the senior manager of the pesticide program, and is responsible for assuring that the EPA Re-gional Office works in a coordinated fashion to address agricultural issues across the Agency’s air, water and pesticides programs. Working with Wayne Nastri, the EPA Regional Administra-tor in San Francisco, she is charged with helping the Agency better communicate its ag-related goals, commitments and accomplishments, improve its ability to understand the issues faced by the regulated community, and work cooperatively to address the environmental and public health issues related to agriculture. Kathy has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Public Policy from George Washington University.

Ken Trott
Ken Trott is a Staff Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Food and Agricul-ture. His areas are CALFED, working landscapes, and watersheds, fertilizers and soils.

Neal K. Van Alfen
Neal Van Alfen was raised in Modesto, California, and received a B.S. in chemistry and M.S. in botany from Brigham Young University. He received a Ph.D. in plant pathology from the Univer-sity of California, Davis. Dr. Van Alfen worked as a plant pathology research scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. He was an extension plant pathology specialist and professor of biology and molecular biology and biochemistry at Utah State Univer-sity. For nearly 10 years, he served as head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiol-ogy at Texas A&M University, College Station. In 1999, Dr. Van Alfen returned to UC Davis to become dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Van Alfen has ex-tensive experience as a consultant on effects of air pollution on environmental health. His current research interests are in using biotechnology to develop biological control strategies for forest diseases. He has served on numerous national committees and boards, including a number of Na-tional Research Council studies on biological control. He currently serves as president of the American Phytopathological Society. He is an elected fellow of the American Phytopathological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ronald E. Voss
Ronald Voss is an extension vegetable specialist and the manager of the Specialty Crops Re-search Program at the University of California, Davis. He has B.Sc. (chemistry) and M.Sc.(agronomy) degrees from the University of Nebraska, and Ph.D. (soils) from Iowa State University. He has been an extension specialist at UC since 1969. During his tenure at UC, he has also held numerous administrative positions, including Cooperative Extension Program Di-rector, Small Farm Program Director, and Director of the Vegetable Research and Information Center. He has extensive experience in international agriculture. He has held national offices in the professional societies, American Society for Horticultural Science and Potato Association of America, and is an Honorary Life Member of the latter.

Roger Wasson
Roger Wasson is head of California's Strawberry Commission. Strawberry Commission activities fall into three major areas: overseeing and conducting agricultural research; promoting California strawberries through marketing programs targeted toward consumers, retailers, foodservice op-erators, export markets and industrial users; and issues management.

Susan C. Webster
Susan C. Webster received her B.S. degree in agricultural science from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, and received an Agriculture Teaching Credential from the University of Cali-fornia, Davis. Ms. Webster worked for the California Crop Improvement Association, assisting seed growers and conditioners with the certification process. While serving as their network ad-ministrator, she developed their first Web site and assisted with other program development pro-jects to strengthen the association and meet grower and industry needs.

As program representative for the Seed Biotechnology Center, Ms. Webster is responsible for coordinating public relations and outreach activities, managing the center’s Web site, and over-seeing publications and center administration. She serves as industry liaison to UC Davis, facili-tating communications and project development.

Dr. David J. Wehner
Dave Wehner was named Dean of the Cal Poly College of Agriculture in April 2002. As dean, he is responsible for the operation of one of the largest colleges of agriculture in the United States with over 3700 students. Prior to this appointment, he served as associate dean with responsibili-ties for operation of the undergraduate program, curriculum development, student progress, advis-ing and outreach. He also served as an assistant dean, coordinating the graduate program and aid-ing faculty with research and public service programs. Wehner joined the Cal Poly faculty in 1994 as head of the Environmental Horticultural Science Department and a professor of turfgrass science. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a mas-ter’s and doctorate in agronomy from Pennsylvania State University. In October 2003, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman named him to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Edu-cation, and Economics Advisory Board.

Stuart Patrick Woolf
Stuart Patrick Woolf is President and CEO of Woolf Enterprises. Woolf Enterprises is a family owned operation whose primary business is the production and processing of agricultural com-modities. The Company was named the 2004 Agribusiness of the Year in Fresno County and the Family Business of the Year (2004) by the Family Business Institute at Fresno State University. He also serves as the managing partner for two related entities; Harris Woolf California Almonds and Los Gatos Tomato Products. Harris Woolf is a processor and handler of raw almonds. Los Gatos is a state of the art bulk tomato paste facility. He received a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA at Boston College. Mr. Woolf has served as Chairman of the California League of Food Processors and the Almond Board of California. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization’s Golden Gate Chap-ter, the Boards of St Agnes Medical Center, Ruiz Food Products and Westlands Water District.

A.J. Yates
Before joining USDA as the administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, Yates worked as a senior marketing consultant and agricultural specialist based in Fresno, Calif., with Pana-graph Marketing Solutions, an agricultural marketing firm. He served as under secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, based in Sacramento, from 1996-2000, after hav-ing served as its deputy secretary from 1991-96. In those positions he managed a number of CDFA divisions, including Animal Health, Food Safety Services, Inspection Services, Marketing Services, Plant Health, Natural Resources and Environmental Planning, and Pest Prevention Ser-vices. Yates served as president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau from 1989-90 and was state director of the California Sugar Beet Growers Association for six years in the 1980s. He has been active in farming since graduating from college, and most recently farmed almonds in Kerman, Calif. Yates is a native of Gorman, Texas and grew up on a farm in Kerman, Calif. He holds a B.S. degree in agronomy from California State University in Fresno.

Joe C. Zanger
Joe C. Zanger has been a partner of Casa de Fruta Orchards. Since 1908 Casa de Fruta Orchards has grown, processed, and packaged apricots, cherries, pears, prunes, walnuts, wine grapes, let-tuce and asparagus. Along with a mail order business and a wholesale consumer pack line of dried fruit and chocolate candies, the family partnership operates the Casa de Fruta retail plaza on Highway 152. As a California bonded winery since 1972, Zanger Vineyards produces and bottles varietal wine from its vineyards and gourmet fruit wine from its orchards.