The UC Environmental Stewards Program Advisory Committee (PAC) is appointed by the UC ANR Vice President to advise UC Environmental Stewards leaders and enhance our statewide impact. The PAC members contribute to strategic and implementation planning. Specifically, the Committee helps evaluate progress toward goals, align priorities to better meet clientele needs, and identify strategic partnership and funding opportunities. The members of the PAC are selected based on their unique knowledge and experience within UCANR and the broader UC System.
UC Environmental Stewards Program Advisory Committee 2018-2019
Cameron Barrows is an Associate Research Ecologist with UC Riverside coordinating the Center for Conservation Biology's Desert Studies Initiative. The initiative develops risk assessments and implements regional conservation programs for desert flora, fauna and natural communities and enhances secondary level science education in surrounding schools.
Claudia P. Diaz Carrasco is an Area 4-H Youth Development Advisor with UC ANR. Her primary focus is to develop, implement, evaluate, strengthen and expand local 4-H programming to better serve currently under-represented populations and places, including Latino and/or low-income youth in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. She was the instructor for the first bi-lingual California Naturalist certification course.
Jairo Diaz is the Director of UC ANR Desert Research & Extension Center where he oversees 30 research projects and specializes in water resources and desert agriculture. The Desert Research & Extension Center is committed to agricultural research and education in the Imperial Valley desert and specialize in vegetable crops, alfalfa, desert cattle feeding, irrigation and drainage management, and pest management.
Andrew Gordon is the Manager of Corpsmember Development Programs at California Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC, a department within the California Natural Resources Agency, program provides people 18–25 years old a year of paid service to the State of California. During their year of service, Corpsmembers work on environmental projects and respond to natural and man-made disasters.
Heather Holm is the Interpretive Planning and Program Section Manager for California Department of Parks and Recreation. The California Department of Parks and Recreation provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.
Erin Marnocha is the Director of Research and Education, University of California Natural Reserve System. She blends her interests in science, conservation, and experiential education with her experience in program development and project management to foster partnerships, create opportunities, and connect dots for public good. The UC Natural Reserve System offers outdoor laboratories to field scientists, classrooms without walls for students, and nature's inspiration to all.
Keith Nathaniel is the County Director and 4-H Youth Development Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension, Los Angeles County. His academic expertise is in after-school programs, adolescent development and youth science literacy. The University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County develops and implements community-based educational programs that address the critical needs of the county's diverse and multiethnic population.
Tapan Pathak is a UC ANR Specialist in Climate Adaptation in Agriculture at UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute. He chairs the UC ANR Climate Change Adaptation Working Group and has expertise in diverse and interdisciplinary sciences, including crop modeling and social science needs assessments. His work focuses, in part, on quantifying the impacts of climate change on agriculture.
Samuel Sandoval Solis is an Assistant Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources - UC Davis. His expertise is in water resources planning and management. During decision making process, Samuel is the person working between the scientists, engineers, environmentalists, system operators and decision makers; he integrates ideas into policies and quantifies benefits and drawbacks.
Mark Schwartz is a Professor with UC Davis Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the Associate Director of Education for the UC Davis John Muir Institute of the Environment. His interests include conservation decision support, assessing climate change vulnerability for natural resources, establishing policy for emerging conservation strategies, fire management in the western US, and building social capital for conservation.
