UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) awards were presented to Maria Alfaro and Petr Kosina to acknowledge their exceptional performance and significant contributions.
Alfaro received the award because she requested the opportunity to take on a higher level of responsibility in the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) by being more involved in education and outreach, and in the Office of Pesticide Information and Coordination (OPIC) by leading more data collection activities. Alfaro worked to accommodate a greater number of trainings this year, as well as helped the training team develop and deliver in-person training programs in English and Spanish. The content that she delivers includes: interactive training methods; acute and chronic pesticide toxicity; routine decontamination after working in pesticide treated fields; first aid for pesticide exposures; and personal protective equipment. These are very technical topics, combining aspects of adult education, occupational health and safety, and regulatory compliance. Her work was integral to completing deliverables for a contract with the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), which included seeking approval for the training program from both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DPR. Alfaro’s help in the approval process, her coaching of a colleague in her Spanish delivery of training topics, and having her fill in the role of a trainer were immeasurable.
Kosina received the award because he produces work that exceeds the client's expectations. He treats everyone with mutual respect and professionalism and works to encourage that atmosphere within his team, throughout UC IPM, and ANR. Kosina’s projects help Californians use integrated pest management to solve their pest problems. Projects such as the evaluation of outreach trainings and materials, online trainings, Pest Management Guidelines, plant problem diagnostic tool, seasonal landscape IPM checklist, videos, and bee precaution pesticide ratings contribute to our mission of healthy communities, food and environment. Technology use has changed, and online information is more important. It is critical to continue to provide science-based information to our current audience and at the same time reach new users of IPM—in the many different ways they want to receive information. Online training is one of those ways we can reach more people and new audiences. Kosina is the reason we are successful in this venture. His commitment to excellence, evaluation and online learning expertise, awareness of new trends, and out-of-the-box thinking ensures our outreach products remain accessible, valuable and useful so users are able to solve their pest problems.