Amanda McVay - Scientist, Communicator
"It's easy to lose the connection between the farmer, and the food on our plate." Amanda McVay has found her voice through the McClintock Letters Initiative, which encourages scientists to submit opinion pieces to their hometown media outlets.
Galvin Alonzo Ortiz - Strawberry Defender
Galvin Alonzo Ortiz works to protect strawberries, one of the most important fruit crops in the state of Florida, from neopestalotiopsis, a fungal pathogen that can cause pestalotia leaf spot and root rot.
Katy Deitz - Neighborwood Watch
Katy Deitz is one of the founders of Neighborwood Watch, a campaign promoting the conservation of deadwood in urban landscapes “After a tree dies...the tree is no longer living, but that wood doesn't get broken down immediately,” said Deitz. That wood is still useful to the environment. Insects and fungi can feed on it. Cavities can form for birds to nest in. “So there's a lot of animals and organisms that benefit from that now dead tree still existing in the landscape.
Mariana Herrera Corzo - Protecting the Future of Chocolate
Mariana Herrera Corzo is part of a team of researchers working to protect cacao - the source of chocolate - from black pod rot, a potentially devestating disease caused by Phytophthora pathogens.