"Avocado growers are a delight to be around. The industry welcomed me with open arms even though I did not have a background in avocado. They were all very willing to teach me about this special fruit.

"When I was young, I grew up in Humboldt county, and my family worked in forests. Later I became interested in how fire shaped California ecosystems, and it has become the focus of my work.

"This work allows me to provide practical solutions to critical issues California growers face. My program is essentially focused on endemic and invasive diseases of tree crops.

"This year, we are looking at how recently developed cultivars of strawberry respond to a variable density of soil-borne pathogens this can show what cultivars growers can use depending on their pathogen species and levels in soil, and what to expect.

"Looking back, I think that the summertime I spent at my grandparents' farm as a kid was critical to get in contact with nature, farming, and learning about the intricate operations to deliver great products to consumers.

"This career was a great fit to conduct research and work with the public two things Im very passionate about.

"Having access to a location such as the Sierra Foothill REC where we can test vaccines under conditions that closely mimic typical California foothills environments and where pinkeye occurs naturally in animals is, in my opinion, priceless.

"I was one of those stereotypical 'interested in bugs since a kid' entomologists, but I became interested in agriculture and extension as I started grad school.

"I was first inspired by plants as a very young child in my grandmothers vegetable garden.

"We are experimentally testing how these global-scale changes are altering native diversity, species invasions, disease, and important ecosystem processes like carbon sequestration in soils.