Greater Vision
Ag Jobs: Bringing A Greater Vision
Ag Jobs: Bringing A Greater Vision is a discussion forum and ag jobs career and internship fair for students and professionals. It's produced in partnership between CSU Monterey Bay and the Grower-Shipper Foundation. This exciting event focuses on innovation in the agriculture industry, job opportunities, and the skills needed for careers in agriculture.
The most recent event, held on Monday, October 2, 2023, was subtitled, "Innovation in Ag: The Future is Now!"
Read about the 2023 event here:
CSUMB’s “Greater Vision” forum shows students a path to the skilled ag tech jobs of the future.
– Published in the Monterey County Weekly by Rey Mashayekhi on Oct 3, 2023.
Dean’s Message of Appreciation
by Interim Dean Marylou Shockley
Hello Everyone,
Ag Jobs: Bringing A Greater Vision on Oct 2nd, 2023, was an outstanding event. It was held in the Otter Student Union with a record-setting attendance of over 400, with 335 in-person attendees and 77 on the live stream. The career fair was held outside on the patio afterward, with 164 students visiting with 20 employers.
The 17th annual event is a collaboration between the College of Business, the College of Science, and the Grower-Shipper Foundation. Western Growers covered the cost of the food, which was a bountiful spread of green salad, deli-style sandwiches, and fresh fruit.
I’d like to thank the many people who made this event a success. Lisa Dobbins, Executive Director of the Grower-Shipper Association Foundation, led the event committee and did a wonderful job facilitating planning meetings, confirming speakers, and promoting the event. College of Business staff Morgan Steele did a fantastic job coordinating and overseeing the event, as did our marketing coordinator, Jennifer Andrew, with promoting the event. CSUMB Professor Sumadhur Shakya and Hartnell’s Shannon Bliss, Director of Agriculture Innovation and Technology, helped with event planning. Shannon and her colleague, Belen Gonzales Director of CTE-Workforce Development, provided transportation to the event for Hartnell students to introduce them to CSUMB and to get them excited for the next phase of their academic journey.
Dennis Donohue, Director of the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology, did a great job as Master of Ceremonies and Panel 1 moderator. The speakers on the first panel on Ag Tech / AI contributed thoughtful and insightful discussions and inspired students by casting a vision for technological innovations and the many career paths available now and in the future in the ag industry. Thank you to Panel 1 speakers Claire Delaunay, COO of Farm-ng; Romain Thibaux, Director of Machine Learning at Verdant Robotics; and Lee Vetsch, Analyst at Ospraie Ag Science.
The second panel on Ag Skills, moderated by yours truly, had four excellent speakers who encouraged students with stories of how their academic and professional journeys led them to their current positions in human resources, recruiting, and upper management in Ag companies. Much appreciation goes to our Panel 2 speakers: Juana O. Gomez, Executive Vice President of Human Capital for Frutura; Angie Martinez, Early Career and University Recruiter at Driscoll's; Laura Penera, Human Resources Director at Braga Fresh Family Farms; and Kevin Piffero, Director of Technology Development at Mantis Ag Technology. Two of the four panelists, Juana Gomez and Angie Martinez, were CSUMB alumni!
We are extremely grateful for the support of our CSUMB administration for Greater Vision. Andrew Lawson, CSUMB Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs provided an excellent introduction to the event with an overview of grant funding received by the university from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s NextGen program that will help launch a new mechatronics engineering program in fall 2024 and an ag business supply chain management degree in fall 2025. CSUMB President Vanya Quiñones wrapped up the event by expressing appreciation to the event organizers and speakers.
Lorri Koster, President of the Grower-Shipper Foundation, provided closing remarks, followed by the Ag Jobs Career & Internship Fair. Thank you to Rhonda Mercadal-Evans and her team for organizing the fair and for the many employers who participated!
With Appreciation,
Dr. Marylou Shockley, Ph.D.
CSUMB College of Business Dean (Interim)
Forum Program
Forum
12:00 PM – Welcome and Introduction
Panel #1 – Ag Tech / AI
12:35 PM – Panel #2 – Ag Skills
1:10 PM – Keynote: You are the future of the Ag Industry
1:55 PM – Closing Remarks
Ag Jobs Career & Internship Fair
2:30 PM – In-person at Otter Student Union courtyard
Keynote Speaker
Karen Ross
Secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture
Secretary Ross is passionate about improving access for all California citizens to healthy, nutritious California-grown agricultural products, celebrated for their diversity and abundance in serving local, national and global markets. Karen Ross full bio
Panel Discussion #1: Ag Tech / AI
Moderator
Dennis Donohue
Director, Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology
Panelists
Claire Delaunay
COO of Farm-ng
Claire Delaunay is a distinguished technologist in the robotics domain celebrated for her expertise in translating technological advancements into real-world applications. Her journey started with Botiful, a groundbreaking telepresence robot. Subsequently, she spearheaded robotics R&D initiatives at Google. Claire co-founded and led the technology at Otto, a self-driving truck startup that Uber later acquired. As the Vice President of Engineering at NVIDIA, she directed the robotics platform, Isaac. Currently, in her role as COO of Farm-ng, Claire aims to revolutionize ag tech by democratizing automation in agriculture, emphasizing the "right to repair," low cost and open technology access.
Romain Thibaux
Director of Machine Learning at Verdant Robotics
Dr. Thibaux got his Master's and PhD in machine learning from Stanford and U.C. Berkeley and spent his career first at Meta, where he helped design and scale the ranking algorithm behind the Facebook newsfeed, and later at Waymo where he developed neural networks for autonomous driving using images and laser data, and led the employee sustainability group. Outside of work, he volunteers for Climate Fresk, a Climate Change education nonprofit.
Lee Vetsch
Analyst at Ospraie Ag Science
As an analyst at Ospraie Ag Science, Lee focuses on sustainable crop inputs, diagnostics, intelligent automation, and controlled environment agriculture. Lee is also active at the farm gate, remaining involved with his family row-crop farm operation in South Central North Dakota, in addition to co-founding a vertical farming company in Fargo, North Dakota. Lee received his MS in Agribusiness & Applied Economics from North Dakota State University in 2020 and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Panel #2: Ag Skills
Moderator
Marylou Shockley
Interim Dean, College of Business, CSUMB
Panelists
Juana O. Gomez
Executive Vice President of Human Capital for Frutura
Juana Gomez has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Human Resources from San Jose State University and a Master of Business Administration from California State University, Monterey Bay. She was with Earthbound Farm for 22 years and most recently led the HR team at Monterey Mushrooms. As Executive Vice President of Human Capital for Frutura, she focuses on creating and monitoring policies and procedures and driving collaboration and knowledge sharing to improve business objectives through common core values around people.
Angie Martinez
Early Career and University Recruiter at Driscoll's
In her role as Early Career and University Recruiter at Driscoll's, Angie works with students and early career professionals who are passionate about the fresh berry industry. She has over 13 years of experience at Driscoll's, including 12 years as Executive Assistant to the Chief Accounting Officer, supporting the finance team and led the adoption of change initiatives.
Laura Penera
Human Resources Director at Braga Fresh Family Farms
Laura Penera, HRPA, is a seasoned human resource professional with a passion for cultivating thriving workplace environments. She is a leader in her profession, having served as past president of the Agricultural Personnel Management Association (APMA), and is a regular speaker at human resources workshops and conferences. As the Director of Human Resources at Braga Fresh Family Farms, home of Josie’s Organics, Laura plays a pivotal role in shaping the company's culture and ensuring that it remains a great place to work.
Kevin Piffero
Director of Technology Development at Mantis Ag Technology
At Mantis, Kevin is in charge of research and development, maintaining current machines, and planning out future machine builds. Kevin graduated from CSUMB and was a member of the CSin3 Cohort, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in computer science.
Closing Remarks
Vanya Quiñones, President, CSUMB
Lorri Koster, President, Grower-Shipper Foundation
Ag Jobs Career & Internship Fair
View the complete list of participating employers and position openings here:
Official Media Sponsor
Event Sponsors
