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Neil McRoberts, Associate Professor, UC Davis & Director, Western Plant Diagnostic Network
Neil McRoberts was born and educated in Scotland, UK. He worked for 20 years as a researcher and educator in Scottish agriculture before moving to UC Davis in 2010. Neil is a professor in the Plant Pathology Department in Davis and works mainly on vector-borne diseases of grape, citrus, and other specialty crops. He is the western region director of the National Plant Diagnostic Network and collaborates extensively with commodity groups and state and federal regulatory agencies on problems impacting biosecurity and agricultural profitability. |
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Malcolm Hobbs, Research Associate, UC Cooperative Extension, Napa County
Malcolm gained a PhD in Experimental Psychology in 2004 from the University of Southampton (UK). After working as a researcher on various topics, in 2015 he landed at the University of Calfornia Cooperative Extension (UCCE), Napa. Since then, he has worked with Dr. Monica Cooper at UCCE on a variety of projects related to vineyard pests, disease, and farm labor issues. Since 2018 these have included projects to improve communication and collaboration for red blotch management. |
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Carrie Hays, The Halle Group
Carrie Hays is an expert in organizational development with over 15 years of corporate management experience in the hospitality industry, where she focused on organizational change. She holds degrees from Colgate University, The Culinary Institute of America, and a Master of Arts in Management. As the founder of The Halle Group, a consulting firm in Napa Valley, she specializes in leadership and team effectiveness coaching. Carrie is also a certified Master Practitioner of 6 Team Conditions and a Senior Consultant with Roger Schwarz & Associates, where she helps clients navigate organizational challenges. |
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Arran Rumbaugh, Crops Pathology and Genetics Researcher, USDA
Dr. Rumbaugh obtained her Bachelors in Chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2017. She then received her PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry in 2022 at the University of California, Davis where she studied the impacts of Red Blotch Disease on grape and wine composition. She began working with ARS in 2022 as a Research Chemist where her research mainly focuses on the impact of wildfire smoke in vineyards. |
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Ashley Egelhoff, Winemaker, Honig Vineyard & Winery
After graduating from UC Davis with a BS in Viticulture and Enology, Ashley spent her first harvest as an intern at Joseph Phelps Vineyards, learning the hands-on basics of cellar and laboratory work. She then travelled to Mendoza, Argentina for a second harvest and then returned to Phelps for a third internship. She joined the Honig team in 2012 as enologist, and was promoted into the role of Assistant Winemaker in 2017. In January 2023, Ashley moved into her current role of Winemaker. |
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Richie Allen, Winemaker, Rombauer Vineyards
Richie Allen graduated with a degree in molecular biology before pursuing winemaking at the University of Adelaide. Gaining experience with renowned producers such as Penfolds and Vavasour, he joined Rombauer Vineyards in 2004. He was hired as a full-time Oenologist in 2006 and became Assistant Winemaker the following year. In 2008 he was promoted to Head Winemaker, and later Director of Viticulture and Winemaking. Richie has led the winery to numerous accolades, including consistent rankings for the Carneros Chardonnay in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of the World and Wine & Spirits' Top 10 Chardonnays over 17 years. |
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Laura Oskwarek, Winemaker, Silver Oak
Since her start at the Silver Oak Napa Valley Winery in 2009, Laura has played a critical role in improving analytical protocols, creating quality control methodologies and streamlining operations. Now, as winemaker of the Napa Valley bottling, Laura oversees all winemaking details—from crush to bottling and even how the Cabernet is shipped around the world to arrive in perfect condition. Originally from Connecticut, Laura performed her undergraduate studies at Simmons College in Boston where she earned degrees in Biology and Chemistry. While continuing her medical education in Denmark, Laura fell in love with “the warmth and bonding that happened at home and the dinner table over a bottle of wine.” Immediately upon her return, Laura enrolled in the Enology and Viticulture program at the University of California at Davis, and the rest is history. |
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Sarah MacDonald, Research Analyst, UC Cooperative Extension, Napa County
Sarah MacDonald PhD is a data scientist with UC Cooperative Extension in Napa County and the owner of the geospatial firm Envision Geo. She studied spatial data science at UCLA and UC Berkeley, gaining valuable experience in remote sensing, geographic information systems, and viticulture. Since 2014, Sarah has worked alongside Monica Cooper and the UCCE viticulture team on diverse research projects related to vine disease and pest management, with a recent focus on Red Blotch. She is grateful to be part of a family with a long history of grape growing in Napa Valley, which inspires her work and strengthens her belief in the resilience of the local grape-growing community. |
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Jake Maus, Viticulturist, Colinas Farming Company
Jake is a dedicated vineyard manager with a Master of Science degree from the University of Adelaide. With a strong foundation in both viticulture and enology, Jake has been actively involved in the wine industry since 2009 and has been with Colinas Farming since 2015. Passionate about sustainable and innovative farming practices, Jake is committed to exploring and implementing new technologies to optimize vineyard health, productivity, and environmental impact. His interests lie in advancing vineyard management strategies through the integration of cutting-edge tools for pest and disease control, precision agriculture, and data-driven decision-making. |
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Ashton Leutner, Director of Viticulture, Continuum Estate
Ashton is responsible for directing Continuum Estate’s viticultural practices and has worked hard in her tenure of six years to improve upon them. She oversees all pest management, vine fertility, and irrigation programs. For the past four years she has spearheaded projects on soil fertility and cultivation. Additionally, she implemented an in house Red Blotch testing program using the LAMP assay beginning in 2021. Ashton has a Master of Science in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis, and is a certified Pest Control Adviser and Certified Crop Advisor. |
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Kia Behnia, Proprietor, Neotempo Wines / Kiatra Vineyards
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Sarah Ferguson, Owner, Ruetd
Sarah co-founded Ruetd in December 2022 to assist winemakers & vineyard managers with deciphering critical vineyard information. Ruetd builds interactive dashboards for grape growers, wine makers and C-level decision makers to communicate financial trends, vineyard activities, pesticide applications, and vineyard maps with interactive geospatial layers. From 2017 to 2022 Sarah served as the Research Manager and Viticulturist at Silverado Farming Company where she established their first research winery. She has worked alongside the teams at Napa Valley Grapegrowers, Dana Estates, Opus One, Benovia, Sterling Vineyards & Roederer Estates after earning her Masters in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis in 2015. |
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Marc Fuchs, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section Cornell AgriTech
Marc Fuchs received his Master’s and PhD degrees from University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology at Cornell University with research and extension responsibilities on viruses of fruit and vegetable crops. Marc is leading multidisciplinary team efforts on major grapevine virus diseases such as red blotch, leafroll and fanleaf. Today, he is happy to present a brief synopsis of recent research progress on red blotch disease. |
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Monica Cooper, Director & ANR Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, Napa County
In April 2009, Monica Cooper joined University of California Cooperative Extension in Napa County as viticulture farm advisor. Educated as a "plant doctor" at the University of Florida, Cooper has multidisciplinary training in plant pathology, entomology, soils, and plant science that she draws on to help growers diagnose vineyard problems. Her applied research and outreach programs provide data-driven technical information to the vineyard industry. Cooper's research interests include disease epidemiology, pest management, rootstock evaluation, labor issues affecting farmworkers, and improvement of extension delivery. She directs the Napa Valley Vineyard Technical Group, a local forum for technical information and collaborative learning. Fluent in Spanish, she also offers educational programming to farmworkers. |
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Visit the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation Website
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