Nonfumigant Strawberry Production Working Group Members

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Greg Browne, Research Plant Pathologist and Director, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Western Areawide Program for Methyl Bromide Alternatives, Davis.
Greg's research includes examining the etiology of Prunus replant disease and other soilborne diseases of deciduous fruit and nut crops and improving integrated pest management strategies for these diseases. His work emphasizes development of almond and walnut rootstock germplasm with improved resistance to soilborne pathogens. He has a bachelor's in plant science and a master's and a doctorate in plant pathology from UC Davis.

Steve Fennimore, Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Department of Plant Sciences, U.S. Agricultural Research Station, Salinas, University of California, Davis.
Steve specializes in weed management in vegetable crops and small fruits as well as weed seed physiology and seed bank ecology. His research and extension interests are in the development of integrated strategies for weed management in cut flower, vegetable crops, and strawberries. The management of weeds in most of these crops is complicated by the limited number of herbicide and fumigant options. Steve's research program is divided into soil disinfestation with steam, mechanical weed removal, and weed management with herbicides. His outreach activities focus on providing educational materials on the management of weeds in California, cut flowers, vegetable crops, and strawberries. He has a bachelor's in public affairs from the University of Oregon, a master's in weed science from UC Davis and a doctorate in weed science from Purdue University.

Anne Katten, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Sacramento.
Anne is an industrial hygienist who has worked with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation for the past 20 years. Her work includes analysis of pesticide illness episode investigations, pesticide risk assessments and regulatory proposals, and advocating for improved enforcement and policy changes to reduce farmworkers' exposure to pesticides and other work hazards. Earlier in her career, she worked as a research assistant at a seed company. She has a bachelor's in plant pathology and a master's in public health, both from UC Berkeley.

Karen Klonsky, Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Davis.
Karen has been a specialist in agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis since 1981. Her research includes the economic feasibility of alternative and organic farming practices and the size and growth of organic agriculture in California. She is an associate editor for California Agriculture and the Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and an associate director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. She serves as a member of the California Organic Products Advisory Board to the Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Certified Organic Farmers Management Committee. She received her doctorate in agricultural economics from Michigan State University.

Rod Koda, Strawberry Grower, Watsonville.
Rod is a third-generation strawberry farmer. In 1985, Rod and his wife, Gwen, took over the family farm, Shinta Kawahara, that was established when his grandmother-in-law started growing strawberries in 1959. The Kodas continue to farm both organic and conventional strawberries on more than 27 acres along the Monterey Bay coast. Rod has an associate degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Dan Legard, Vice President of Research and Education, California Strawberry Commission, Watsonville.
Dan's focus is strawberry industry research production and the education needs of strawberry growers. Prior to his role at the commission, Dan led the strawberry pathology research program at the University of Florida as associate professor of plant pathology. While there he gained expertise in the epidemiology of strawberry diseases, biology and population genetics of fungal pathogens of strawberries, and integrated management of strawberry diseases through the use of chemical, biological and cultural control methods. Dan has bachelor's and master's degrees in plant pathology from Colorado State University and a doctorate in plant pathology from Cornell University in New York.

Pam Marrone, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Marrone Bio Innovations, Davis.
Pam started Marrone Bio Innovations in 2006 to discover and develop effective and environmentally responsible natural products for pest management in agriculture, water, and other markets. She has raised $60 million in venture capital to fund the company, which has commercialized three products and has several more in development across all pest categories. Pam earlier founded AgraQuest, where she served as its CEO, chair and president, raised $60 million in venture capital and commercialized seven biopesticides. Before AgraQuest, she was founding president of Entotech Inc. and led the Insect Biology group at Monsanto. She is past president of the Association of Applied IPM Ecologists and is board member-treasurer of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. She founded the Biopesticide Industry Alliance, a trade association of more than 60 biopesticide companies, and is a member of the UC Davis Ag & Environmental Sciences Dean's Advisory Council. Pam has a bachelor's in entomology from Cornell University and a doctorate in entomology from North Carolina State University.

Gary Obenauf, Agricultural Research Consultant and Chair of the Methyl Bromide Alternatives Conference, Fresno.
Gary is the owner of Agricultural Research Consulting. Areas of expertise are fruit and nut crop production and postharvest handling, including normal production and postharvest handling practices, and pesticides, food safety, regulatory and other technical issues relative to the fruit and nut industries. He has administered and coordinated research projects for the dried fruit and nut industries for almost 20 years and is responsible for the Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reductions. Gary has a bachelor's from the University of Georgia and a master's from Michigan State University.

Carol Shennan, Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Carol has been a professor in the Environmental Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz since 1997 and served as director of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems there for 10 years. She previously served on the faculty at UC Davis in the Department of Vegetable Crops. Her research focuses on questions of agricultural sustainability in contrasting contexts: high input, high capital intensive vegetable and strawberry production in California, resource-poor systems in sub-Saharan Africa, and most recently in avocado plantations in Chile. In California, her research targets the development of alternatives to soil fumigants for soilborne disease management, strategies for improved nutrient use and disease suppression strawberry and vegetable rotation systems, and the potential for landscape diversification to enhance biological control of arthropod pests. She has a doctorate in botany from the University of Cambridge, U.K.

John Steggall , California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento.
John began working for CDFA in 1998 after four years at the Department of Pesticide Regulation. At CDFA, he analyzes impacts of pesticide regulatory decisions, pesticide alternatives, and trends in pest management. John has a bachelor's in biology from Colorado College, a master's in aquatic biology from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley. His dissertation research at UC Berkeley was on resource allocation and tolerance of strawberry to herbivory.