Secretary Ross visiting the Division of Measurement Standards
By Karen Ross, Secretary California Department of Food and Agriculture
Everywhere you look during this holiday season, you see the work of our California agricultural community. From the Christmas trees and poinsettias, to the resplendent holiday tables full of California-grown specialties, to the office breakroom table brimming with goodies handmade by friends and colleagues – all of it is made tastier, more beautiful and more enjoyable because it’s grown right here in California.
Our California Agricultural Community
The food and the festivity of this season give us all a great opportunity to reflect on what it takes – what it really takes – to assemble a holiday dinner table, a catered event at a company’s holiday party, or even a grocery bag or box full of donated goods passed out by our fantastic food banks. It takes farmers and ranchers, of course – but they’d be the first to tell you that’s just the beginning. Our farmworkers, food processors, truckers, farmers’ market managers, all the way from the field to the agri-business CEO, there are people who embrace what it is to be Californian, and who instill that pride and productivity into every workday.
Our CDFA Family
The same goes for the wonderful people I’m blessed to work alongside here at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been able to make the rounds to several of our local offices and laboratories to reconnect with my CDFA family. I’ve done this almost every year I’ve worked here (COVID notwithstanding), and there really is nothing quite like taking an unhurried moment to trade recipes and catch up with some of the finest public servants I’ve ever known.
We chatted about family and pets and holiday projects. We laughed together a lot, and we snacked, and we looked back over the year that was 2022. But, as Californians are wont to do, we usually ended up looking forward, to 2023 and the projects and promise it holds, for CDFA and for the larger agricultural community.
My thanks go to my CDFA family for another year of accomplishments and advancement of so many important projects. And my sincere appreciation and fondest holiday wishes go to our farmers, our ranchers, our farmworkers and everyone throughout the food chain who plays a part in making California such a special place to live, work, play and eat.
Visiting with Administrative Services Division employees in “the bistro” at CDFA Headquarters.Visiting with Administrative Services employees at CDFA Headquarters.Secretary Ross with Joelle Panugaling (proudly sporting Harry Potter attire) in the Human Resources office.CDFA Undersecretary Christine Birdsong (R) with Administrative Services staff.Secretary Ross with Tiffany Tu at CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry. Tu is retiring at the end of this year after 33 years of public service. We asked Santa if we can have her back.Undersecretary Birdsong with Chief Elf Barzin Moradi at CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry.Selfie! Secretary Ross with Dinesh Chand at CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry. At CDFA’s Center for Analytical Chemistry. (You have to zoom in on the tree – it’s chemistry-set chic.)Secretary Ross (R) with Len Banzhof, Ag Biotech Technician with the Plant Lab’s Asian Citrus Psyllid team.Filling up the lobby with holiday spirit at CDFA’s Plant Lab.CDFA’s Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention crew.CDFA’s Marketing DivisionCDFA’s Marketing DivisionVisiting CDFA’s Animal Health office. From left: Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch Chief Stephen Beam, Undersecretary Birdsong, Deputy Secretary Jameson, Secretary Ross, and Animal Health Branch Chief Anita EdmondsonCDFA’s Animal Health officeSecretary Ross (L) and Deputy Secretary Virginia Jameson (R) with Lauren Schwertfeger in CDFA’s Animal Health office, holding copies of the Avian Health Calendar created by the staff.Yes, we still have real cowboys on staff! That’s Livestock ID Branch Chief John Suther in the hat.Secretary Ross with Elizabeth Cox (R) in the Animal Health office, and State Veterinarian Annette Jones in the background.Secretary Ross In the IT office with Jarrett Heather and Sharon Buenafe.Secretary Ross with Tony Paiz in the IT office.Secretary Ross greets Jerry Sami in the IT office, with Karthikeyan Ganesan in the background.Squeeze in! CDFA’s Pierce’s Disease Control ProgramA visit from recently retired Pierce’s Disease Control Program Statewide Coordinator Craig Hanes (red shirt), welcoming Secretary Ross and incoming Statewide Coordinator Joe Damiano (dark shirt), along with Environmental Program Managers Matt Kaiser (L) and Michelle Pham.Undersecretary Birdsong with the Pierce’s Disease Control Program’s Myrna Villegas (L) and Stacie Oswalt (R).Plant Health Director Mark McLoughlin welcomes Secretary Ross. With Deputy Secretary and Chief Counsel Haig Baghdassarian (R) and Environmental Scientist Edward Southwick.Secretary Ross with Judy Leon and her super-sweet “candy sled” in the Plant Health office (and Jason Leathers with the snack-grabbing photobomb).Undersecretary Birdsong with Plant Health Assistant Director Andy Kline (Santa hat, but maybe not quite enough beard this year) and Branch Chief Joshua Kress. Yep. That’s a yellow sticky trap for a tree-topper. Secretary Ross with Victoria Hornbaker, director of the citrus program.
