AgKnowledge 2026 Class XVIII – Welcome Fellows
2026 AgKnowledge Class XVIII – Fellows
- Veronica Arroyo, Deputy Sealer Weights & Measures, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
- Colleen Bailey, President & CEO, Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Jonathan Bagley-Rowe, Operations Manager, Institute for Innovation & Economic Development, CSUMB
- Dylan Beal, Integrated Pest Management Advisor, University of California, Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Paige Callaghan, Energy Programs Analyst, Central Coast Community Energy
- JP Dundore-Arias, Associate Professor, California State University Monterey Bay, College of Science
- Erika Escalona-Barragan, Research Program Manager, California Strawberry Commission
- Belen Gonzales, Career Hub Director, Hartnell College
- Bazillia Gutierrez, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Salinas Valley Health Foundation
- Sandra Guzman, Vice President of Student Affairs, Hartnell College
- Emily Hickok, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Consumer & Environmental Unit, Monterey County DA’s Office
- Brooke Hoffman, Conservation Program Coordinator, Central Coast Wetland Group
- Jacob Houle, Facility Supervisor, D’Arrigo Brothers of California
- Jay Jannise, Information Security Officer, Monterey County Bank
- Nicholas Kite, Corporate Account Manager, Montage Health
- Vanessa Lopez, Educational Pathway Advisor – Mechatronics Engineering Department, CSUMB College of Science
- Jake Martinez-Parry, Project Manager, CHISPA
- Charles Mullaney, Attorney, Noland, Hamerly, Etienne & Hoss
- Lisa Murphy, Assistant City Manager, City of Salinas
- Hector Neri, Quality Assurance Supervisor, Driscoll’s
- Tina Nieto, Sheriff-Coroner, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office
- Cora Panturad, Sustainability Program Manager, County of Monterey
- James Perry, Executive Director & Curator, Monterey County Historical Society
- Wade Pyron, President & CEO, Monterey Credit Union
- Paramveer Singh, UC Cooperative Ext. Farm Advisor, University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Sapna Thottathil, Deputy Director of Sustainable Pest Management, California Department of Pesticide Regulation
- Andrea Tinajero, Program Coordinator, Hartnell College
- Gabriel Torres, Quality Systems Manager, Driscoll’s
- Taylor Van Rossum, Agriculture Water Quality Program Coordinator, California Marine Sanctuary Foundation
- Paige Viren, Executive Director Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism, California State University Monterey Bay
- Charise Walters, Management Analyst III, County of Monterey Health Department, Environmental Health Bureau
- Christina Watson, Director of Planning, Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC)
- Sarah Wikle, Principal Planner, Monterey County Housing & Community Development
- Adrian Zavala, Director, CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA)
- Suzanne Zivnuska, Dean, College of Business, California State University Monterey Bay
The Mission of AgKnowledge is to educate and enlighten the Class Fellows about the heritage, diversity, stewardship, complexity and interdependencies of Monterey County Agriculture.
AgKnowledge is presented by Grower-Shipper Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. AgKnowledge is co-sponsored by the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
The Mission of AgKnowledge is to educate and enlighten the Class Fellows about the heritage, diversity, stewardship, complexity and interdependencies of Monterey County Agriculture.
AgKnowledge is presented by Grower-Shipper Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. AgKnowledge is co-sponsored by the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
GOALS
The purpose of AgKnowledge is to provide policy makers and community leaders the opportunity to see Monterey County through the eyes of those directly involved in the many facets of agriculture and to become a more informed community member.
AgKnowledge graduates are encouraged to extend to others the knowledge and awareness gained through participation in the program. It is expected that Class Fellows will better understand those who work the land and/or otherwise contribute to the production and distribution of agricultural commodities.
The intent of the program is to provide you with a context for Monterey County Agriculture:
- Historical beginnings and current overview
- Geography and land stewardship
- Crops, technology and economics
- Generational families, cultural issues, workforce
- Complex Issues – providing different points of view
- Impact on the communities – developing common threads among each of the seminars
Emphasis on some of the following major crops of Monterey County:
- Row crops – vegetables
- Strawberries
- Wine Grapes
- Mushrooms
- Cannabis
- Nursery (landscape, floral, plantlets)
- Cattle
- History and Heritage
- Food Safety and Security
- Regulations affecting agriculture, including competing regulatory interests
- Water (supply, quality, regulations and politics; groundwater protection, salt water intrusion, overdraft)
- Immigration, labor issues, cultural influences of the workforce (past, present, projected)
- Pest prevention, detection, eradication, integrated pest management, pesticide use (synthetic, natural), conventional and organic farming methods
- Technology, research, opportunities
- Marketing (trends, value-added, industry consolidation, sustainability and public relations)
- Sustainability Practices
- Climate Change
- Urban/Ag Interfacing, Ag Buffers, Conservation Easements, Williamson Act
- Land use issues affecting agriculture
- Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) or Genetically Engineered Organism (GEO)
- Ag Tourism
The program provides the Class Fellows with educational presentations, tours, hands-on experience and panel discussions with speakers from diverse backgrounds and with different views regarding the complex issues that affect and comprise the agriculture industry.
AgKnowledge 2026 Class
XVIII Calendar
Every session is on a Friday
Friday March 20, 2026
Opening Day – Ag Overview
Friday April 24, 2026
Heritage
Friday May 15, 2026
Agricultural Workforce
Friday June 26, 2026
North County
Friday July 24, 2026
Water
Friday August 21, 2026
Food Safety, Pesticides and Plant Protection
Friday September 25, 2026
Science & Technology
Friday October 23, 2026
South County
Friday November 13, 2024
Graduation and Closing Reception
“Boots on the Ground Day” is pre-planned between you, and two other Class members and your assigned ag industry representative.
Topics subject to speaker scheduling.