Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.
S. Patricia Stock, of Chico, has been reappointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, where she has served since 2022. Stock has been Dean of the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico since 2021. She was Director of the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences from 2019 to 2021, where she was a Professor in the Department of Entomology and the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences from 2001 to 2021. Stock was an Assistant Curator and Senior Museum Scientist for the Nematode Collection at the University of California, Davis from 1999 to 2001. She is a member at the Society of Nematologists, the International Symbiosis Society and the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America. Stock is the Vice President at the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Natural Sciences from Universidad Nacional de la Plata. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Stock is a Democrat.
Christopher Valadez, of Salinas, has been reappointed to the State Board of Food and Agriculture, where he has served since 2019. Valadez has been President of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California since 2019. He was Director of Environmental, Governmental and Regulatory Affairs at the California Fresh Fruit Association from 2008 to 2019. Valadez was a Deputy District Director in the Office of Congressman George Radanovich from 2004 to 2008. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Valadez is registered without party preference.