UCCE Sutter-Yuba Office Update

By Whitney Brim-DeForest, County Director

e have had an exciting year, with many new faces, and many new programs launching. We hired a Forestry Advisor, 4-H Advisor, and IPM Advisor, as well as two new Community Education Specialists, for the 4-H Program and the Master Gardener/Master Food Preserver Programs. We established the first Master Food Preserver Program to serve Sutter, Yuba and Colusa Counties, and our inaugural class graduated in July 2022. Our biggest ever in- and after-school programming initiative launched in the fall with a grant from The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation, and it will provide Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curricula to 22 schools in Sutter County in 2022-2023.

Ricky Satomi, Forestry Advisor (serving Sutter-Yuba, Butte, and Nevada Counties). Ricky specializes in forest management with an emphasis on ecosystem services, new technologies and wood products. Satomi holds a Master of Forestry and has worked as a field forester with various inventory and timber management programs throughout California. Most recently, he served as the Forestry Advisor in Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties.

Matthew Rodriguez, 4-H Advisor (serving Sutter-Yuba, Placer and Nevada Counties) Matt earned his PhD from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health in the Department of Family Science. As a family scientist, Matt specializes in father-child involvement in underrepresented families. He also provides expertise in 4-H positive youth development and volunteer engagement. In his doctoral studies, Matt supported two USDA NIFA-funded research initiatives to support positive youth development in Latinx communities.

A quick introduction to our new staff (for more information and to find out about programming, newsletters, and events, please visit our website at cesutter.ucanr.edu):

Matt’s dissertation is entitled, “Influence of Latinx Fathers’ Behaviors, Cognitions, Affect, and Family Congruence on Youth Energy Balance-Related Health Outcomes,” and investigated three domains of father involvement (i.e. affect, behaviors, and cognitions) in the context of healthy eating and physical activity among Latinx youth (ages 10-14).

Johnny Yang, Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver Community Education Specialist (serving Sutter and Yuba Counties) Johnny is a Yuba county local and specializes in education with an emphasis on teaching and working with individuals of all ages. He previously held the position of a curriculum coordinator with a school in Japan and has recently returned home. He completed his Master of Arts degree from CSU Chico in 2017 in Teaching International Languages, focusing on approaches to teaching and how people learn. Before that, during his undergraduate studies, Yang served in the armed forces.

Rayna Barden, 4-H Community Education Specialist (serving Sutter and Yuba Counties) Rayna has a long-standing background as a 4-H member along with being a 4-H project leader over the years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business with a minor in Animal Science. Barden is also currently working on finishing her Master’s in Agricultural Education through CSU, Chico. Along with being a student at CSU, Chico Barden is also finishing a second Master’s degree in Business Administration through Western Governors University, Utah.

Sudan Gyawaly, Area IPM Advisor (serving Sutter-Yuba, Butte, Colusa, Tehama and Glenn Counties) Sudan holds a Ph.D. and an MS degree, in entomology, from Virginia Tech and West Virginia University, respectively. Most recently, Gyawaly worked as an Associate Specialist at UCCE Stanislaus County, where he conducted research and outreach activities on the major tree nut and other orchard crops pests. Before that, he was a post-doc at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC.