At Bockius-Orr House
Fall brings graduation to the locally based national award-winning Focus Agriculture program. A ceremony and reception was held at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association’s Bockius-Orr house on Beach Street in Watsonville for Class 30 of the Focus Agriculture program. John Laird, Secretary (Ret.), California Natural Resources Agency, and graduate of Focus Agriculture, was the featured speaker.
Top: Jess Brown, Claire Kehn, Jessica Parr, Lynne Petrovic, Nicole Coburn, Howard Feldstein, Ava Reinhold, Katharine Minott, Kayla Kumar, Stephanie Raugust, and Francisco Estrada. Bottom: Otto Kramm, Matthew Wetstein, Dan Brumbaugh, Khaled Mabrouk, Adam Weiss, Dori Rose Inda, Anne Hayes, Marliese Ward McWherter, Casey Muesel, and Matt Bloom.
Focus Agriculture, a program of the organization Agri-Culture is a “first-in-the-nation” program that allows community leaders to learn firsthand about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley. The nine-session program covers topics such as ethnic groups in agriculture, labor, new technology, land use, politics, the environment and health care.
The graduation ceremony included a graduation certificate for all participants. President Bontadelli stated, “This was an excellent class. We are appreciative of the speakers and participants for giving their time during the year.”
If anyone is interested in applying for the next class, which will begin in March 2020, please contact the Agri-Culture office at (831) 722-6622 or you can email your request for an applicationtoagri-culture@sbcglobal.net. Your name will be placed on a mailing list for applications that will be released in early December. www.agri-culture.us
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The members of the graduating class for 2019 were:
- Matt Bloom: Sales/Food Service Manager, Clover Dairy (Retired)
- Dan Brumbaugh: Director, Coastal Training Program, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
- Nicole Coburn: Assistant County Administrative Officer, County of Santa Cruz
- Francisco Estrada: Mayor, City of Watsonville
- Howard Feldstein: Program Director, KSQD Radio 90.7 FM
- Anne Hayes: Director of Development, Western Region, Climate Central, Inc.
- Dori Rose Inda: CEO, Salud Para La Gente
- Claire Kehn: Staff Accountant, UCSC
- Otto Kramm: Relationship Manager, Rabobank AgriFinance
- Kayla Kumar: Development Director, Food, What?!
- Khaled Mabrouk: Operational Engineering Leader, Sustainable Productivity Solutions
- Katharine Minott: Master of Urban & Regional Planning, San Jose State University
- Casey Meusel: Associate Hydrologist, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency
- Jessica Beckett Parr: Foundation Director, CCOF
- Lynne Petrovic: Executive Director, CASA of Santa Cruz
- Stephanie Raugust: Part Owner/ Safety Officer, Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill/ New Davenport Corporation
- Ava Reinhold: Retail Store Manager/Buyer/Craftbar Manager, Annieglass
- Marliese Ward: Creative Marketing Manager, Lakeside Organic Gardens
- Adam Weiss: Vice President/Relationship Manager, Santa Cruz County Bank
- Matthew Wetstein: President, Cabrillo College
