Gregg Avilla
Avilla Ranch, Red Bluff
Mr. Avilla's family has been involved in Northern California agriculture since the 1880's. Currently he farms 300 acres of orchard crops and is the owner of a custom farming business. Gregg recently retired from a career in public education and is presently involved in various community service organizations as well as business and political advisory boards including the Rotary Club and the Red Bluff Downtown Improvement Association. He was recently appointed to the City of Red Bluff City Council.

Back to Top

Marin Baiz
Madera County Library, North Fork
Marin lives in North Fork in eastern Madera County. He is employed by the Madera County Library where he is working to develop the Spanish language book collection. As the Acting Chairperson for the Madera Coalition for Community Justice, he is active in food, clothing, education, recycling and community garden projects. Marin recently engaged in starting up a local chapter of Veterans for Peace to support people in Chiapas, Mexico. He enjoys gardening, travel and supporting many progressive interests here and abroad.

Back to Top

Becky Campo
City Council, Patterson
Ms. Campo is a second term City Council member for the City of Patterson. She is also a former City Planning Commissioner and a current member of the Latino Community Round Table and the League of Women Voters. Becky is a native of Zacatecas, Mexico and has lived in the Central Valley since the age of ten. She and her husband and their son currently live in Patterson. Her community interests include land-use planning policy and promoting diverse citizen participation in local government.

Back to Top

Linda Crase
Tulare District HealthCare System, Tulare
Linda is a third generation Tularean, raised on a farm and cattle ranch. She has a degree in Business Administration and currently is the Director of Community Relations and Development at Tulare District HealthCare System. Linda retired from the Tulare City Council after serving 8 years. She currently serves on the boards for the Tulare Chamber of Commerce, the Tulare City Historical Society, and the San Joaquin Valley Civic Leadership Program. Linda also chairs the Tulare Community Collaborative. Linda is married to Dewane, and they have two grown children.

Back to Top

Lisa Dillabo
California Farm Bureau Federation, Sacramento
Lisa Dillabo is currently the Program Director of International Trade, Ag Chemicals, and Food Safety for the California Farm Bureau Federation, National Affairs and Research Division. She has also served as a District Representative for Assemblyman Sam Aanestad and as the Executive Director of the Butte County Farm Bureau. Currently Lisa is serving as the State Biotechnology Director for California Women for Agriculture. Lisa grew up in Gridley where her family raised purebred cattle and sheep. She pursued her interest in agriculture while attending Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo where she earned a degree in Agricultural Science with a concentration in Marketing. Lisa is a member of the California Farm Bureau Political Action Team, Chico Lions Club, Young Farmers & Ranchers, and served as the legislative chair for the Butte County Cattle Women.

Back to Top

Troy Elliott
Davis
Troy is a native of the Central Valley, born in Coalinga, in 1972. His family moved to Bakersfield in 1980. He graduated from Bakersfield High School in 1991, moving on to Bakersfield College and the University of Oregon before graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in Soil Science. Troy has worked for the J. G. Boswell Company and for BackyardLandscapes.com. His hobbies are numerous, ranging from cooking to skiing.

Back to Top

Marta Frausto
CA State Department of Transportation, Fresno
Ms. Frausto is a transportation planner with the CA Department of Transportation where she manages state planning and research funded projects such as the San Joaquin Valley growth response and farmworker transportation studies. Her expertise lies in integration of the land use and transportation elements of general plans. She assisted in establishing policy for public participation in transportation planning processes, in particular the inclusion of minority and other under-or-unrepresented communities. Work has resulted in establishing Caltrans' Native American Advisory Committee and the publication of "Latinos and a Sustainable California: Building a Foundation for the Future," (Latino Issues Forum, 1/97) and "Planning Theories and Concepts, Implementation Strategies, and Integrated Transportation Network Elements in Curitiba," (Trans. Qtrly, Winter '99).

Back to Top

Mary Lou Gonzalez
Proteus Inc., Terra Bella
Ms. Gonzalez is currently the Manager of Corporate Relations for Proteus, Inc., responsible for designing and implementing the corporate Marketing and Communications plan. She is also in a unique position since she works on educational and outreach projects that help enhance the communities Proteus currently serves. Projects such as Census 2000 and forums to address transportation barriers currently facing farmworkers. She has a Master's Degree in Organizational Behavior. Mary Lou and her husband have strong ties with agriculture since they operate a vineyard in Terra Bella and are directly involved with everything that comes with owning a farm.

Back to Top

Dirk Helder
Rancher, Marysville
Mr. Helder is currently in his second term as a member of the Marysville City Council and is the current mayor. His interests include land use planing, historical preservation and farming. Dirk's wife, Karen, is an elementary school teacher in Marysville.

Back to Top

Lue Her
Minnesota Higher Education Services, Minneapolis
Lue is the former Acting Director of Hmong American Community, Inc. (HAC), a non-profit community based organization committed to the economic development of the Hmong community. He is dedicated to the younger generation and is currently working with the Minnesota Higher Education Services Offices as the Director of its AmeriCorps program and is initiating a first-ever English Language Teaching Assistance Program with the country of Laos for the University of Minnesota, Morris. Lue's hobbies include writing, traveling and creating new ideas and concepts. Lue w ill be starting his MA in Public Administration at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In September he will receive the University of Minnesota's Morris' Distinguished Alumni Award. He was also recently married this past July!

Back to Top

Amber Lopez
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation, South Dakota
Hailing from the Valley's Westside town of Newman, Ms. Lopez graduated from the UOP's School of International Studies. Amber states that it took studying the world to discover the importance of the Central Valley and its potential. Amber is currently serving as the Cheyenne River Entrepreneurial Training, Assistance and Education (C.R.E.A.T.E.) Coordinator on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in the heart of South Dakota--Lakota country. She developed an entrepreneurial curriculum and instructed a 10-week course. Amber is also active in the United Native Nations, an international organization of indigenous nations and Project Faces, an international human rights awareness building initiative.

Back to Top

Linda Lopez
Firebaugh Computer Learning Center, Merced
Born in New Mexico, Ms. Lopez moved to California's Central Valley in 1955 where she attended public school in Madera and college at Stanford University. It was then that Linda became involved in community organizing and development. She is an alumni of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality; a member of the Merced Latino Leadership Task Force; and the past president of Central Valley Opportunity Center, a community-based farmworker employment and training agency. She also worked with the Great Valley Center's Central Valley Digital Network. Linda was named 1998-99 Hispanic Woman of the Year by Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and also serves on the CA State Advisory Board for Transportation Planning & Environmental Justice. She now serves on the City of Merced Planning Commission as chairperson. She was also accepted in to the Zero Divide Fellows program, a three-year fellowship dealing with community technology advancement. She is currently the Executive Director for the Firebaugh Computer Learning Center. Linda recently announced her candidacy for Merced County Board of Supervisors.

Back to Top

Graciela Martinez
Committee-Proyecto Campesino, Woodlake
Graciela's professional and volunteer activities are focused on fostering civic participation and representing the needs of farmworkers and other low-income groups. She currently works with Proyecto Campesino and the American Friends Service Committee. Graciela is formerly a member of the Board of Directors for the Goshen Community Services District and is the founder of the community group Concerned Citizens of Goshen. Graciela is actively learning to be a radio broadcaster on GRITO 900 AM, KBIF www.kbif900am.com (Thursdays and Fridays 1-3 PM).

Back to Top

Nellie McGarry
Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce, Merced
Nellie is a life-long resident of Merced County. She attended CSU Chico and Stanislaus majoring in counseling. Nellie and her husband, Russ McGarry, are the owners of Western Motors and Aide Rent-A-Car. She is a former employee of the Merced Private Industry Training Department and for the past three years, has dedicated her time to volunteerism. She was the past president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is the current Vice-President for the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce. Nellie is also a Council member for the City of Merced and the California State Youth Council. She also recently announced her candidacy for the 17th State Assembly District.

Back to Top

Renee Donato Nelson
Kern Recreation Camp, Bakersfield
Ms. Donato Nelson is currently Project Manager for the Kern Recreation Camp. This project involves taking a 15-acre unreclaimed sand and gravel borrow pit on the Kern River in Kern County, and creating a summer camp for children. Included in this project is enhancement and restoration of the wetland (4.65 acres), preserving open space and teaching children the value of conservation as well as how to fish. Renee served as Recorder for the Bakersfield Vision 2020 Inc. Process in Bakersfield and in the public hearing process to update the County-wide General Plan in the evaluation of Agricultural Policies and Programs. She enjoys train travel, dancing, photography and eating food someone else has prepared.

Back to Top

Anne (Schlosser) Sharman
Boston
Anne Schlosser recently moved to Boston to accomodate her husband's medical residency. She is currently working at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. She formerly worked for the California Rice Commission and Deen & Black Public Relations. Anne is an avid reader and enjoys swimming, skiing and traveling.

Back to Top

Evelyn Tolbert
City Council, Tracy
Evelyn Tolbert is a Tracy City Councilmember, a Trustee of the Sutter Tracy Memorial Hospital, and a Directors of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce. She is active in the League of California Cities, the Tracy African-American Association, and the Tracy Republican Women's Club. She is a member of the San Joaquin County Water Advisory Commission, and the Deuel (prison) Institute Advisory committee. Evelyn is an active member of the West Side Pioneers that seek to preserve Tracy's history and operates the Tracy Historical Museum. She is a member of the Tracy Anti-Gang Task Force and was a principal figure in the formation of the Tracy Youth Advisory Commission. She has a Masters in Public Administration and spent over 21 years as a middle manager with the City of San Jose. She is an attorney who received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Santa Clara. Learn more about Evelyn at www.tolbertfortracy.com

Back to Top

Ryan Waterman
Office of Federal District Judge Jeanne E. Scott, Illinois
Ryan grew up in Davis, California and went to college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. After graduating with majors in Finance and History, he moved back to the San Joaquin Valley, where he worked at Visalia-based Self-Help Enterprises--a nonprofit housing corporation dedicated to improving the living conditions of low-income families--for two years. In Fall 1999, Ryan began work in a joint program in law and land use planning at UC Berkeley. He is currently an articles editor of The Ecology Law Quarterly - Boalt School of Law's environmental law journal. He was married on August 25th to Julia Roller. Ryan recently moved to Illinois, where he is a law clerk for Federal District Judge Jeanne E. Scott. He will assist the Judge by doing research and writing draft orders, as well as helping with case management.

Back to Top