Employee Spotlights

Through music, movies and other media, many people know about Compton, a city located in southern Los Angeles County. Keith Nathaniel knows it from firsthand experience.

When she was younger, Tamekia Wilkins believed that becoming a movie star was her calling. Then reality sank in, and I knew that wasn't going to happen, said Wilkins, an evaluation coordinator based at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources headquarters in Davis.

Yu-Chen Wang is a UC Cooperative Extension plant pathology advisor serving Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. Wang, who joined UC ANR in 2022, studies diseases on vegetable and berry crops.

When he's not swinging over pools of water or navigating past other obstacles on American Ninja Warrior, Eric Middleton, UC integrated pest management advisor for San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, can often be found examining plants for insect pests.

At a young age, Irene Padasas UC Cooperative Extension community nutrition and health advisor for Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties saw first-hand how environmental health conditions can impact a family's choices.