During Secretary Ross' tenure, the Department has focused on core functions to protect and promote California agriculture, investing in the Department’s employees to provide the best service to farmers, ranchers and consumers and fostering an agricultural industry that embraces its role as a global leader on everything from the most technical aspects of farming to the broadest environmental imperatives.

Secretary Ross has strengthened partnerships across government, academia and the non- profit sector in the drive to maintain and improve environmental stewardship and to develop adaptation strategies for the specific impacts of climate change. She has initiated programs to provide greater opportunities for farmers and ranchers to engage in sustainable environmental stewardship practices through water conservation, energy efficiency, nutrient management, and ecosystem services; and she has worked to provide greater access to farm-fresh foods at school cafeterias through CDFA’s Farm to Fork Program.

Kathryn Van Weerdhuizen is the Sales and Marketing Director, Fruit at Oxbo, with over 25 years of experience in specialty agricultural equipment manufacturing and an MBA from Washington State University.  She leads global commercial strategy for advanced harvesting and integrated technologies across diverse fruit markets, working closely with growers, processors, and internal engineering teams.

Kathryn’s expertise spans equipment innovation,
automation, and go‑to‑market alignment, with a strong focus on improving efficiency, quality, and sustainability through practical, field‑proven solutions.

Olivier Jerphagnon is a serial entrepreneur with a talent to bring new technology to market. He grew up around farms in Britany, France and he is an expert in applying data mining techniques to solve practical infrastructure problems. He founded AgMonitor’s AI-powered software platform to address climate risks at the nexus of food, energy, and water and reduce input costs in farming. Prior to that, Olivier was CEO of Monitoring Division Inc., which sold professional services to telecom carriers worldwide using patented data sensing and machine learning technologies from Melbourne University. He started his career in fiber optic networks at Calient where he built the first 3D-MEMS fiber switch that optimizes the load of AI data centers. He holds 8 patents and published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles. He was the Primary Investigator on two EPIC funded projects in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara, CSU Fresno and West Hills College Coalinga. Mr. Jerphagnon holds a M.S. from UC Santa Barbara and an Engineering Diploma from the Grenoble Institute of Technology, France.

Ryan Dinubilo is a technologist, builder, and venture advisor at the intersection of engineering, data, and innovation. With a background in physics and mathematics, he brings a systems-level approach to building technology and organizations that scale. 

He founded Integral Labs, a venture platform exploring applications of software, data, and automation across industries. That work led to collaborations in enterprise healthcare, where he managed electronic health records and data systems at Livingston Community Health, leading interoperability, compliance, and automation initiatives that streamlined operations.

Ryan later became a founding partner at Tesserakt Ventures, advising and investing in technology companies, including local agtech ventures across California's Central Valley. He has also served as a senior engineering advisor to ventures in robotics, AI, and cloud platforms, guiding teams in execution, architecture, and scaling strategies. 

Eric Hadden is the Executive Director of the Water, Energy and Technology (WET) Center at California State University, Fresno, where he leads one of the Central Valley’s premier business accelerators focused on agtech, water, energy, and food innovation. In this role, he works at the intersection of industry and academia to support early-stage entrepreneurs in commercializing technologies and scaling their ventures.

Under his leadership, the WET Center has supported hundreds of founders and helped accelerate dozens of companies that have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars in follow-on funding, contributing to job creation and economic growth across the region.

A Fresno native, Eric is committed to advancing solutions that address critical challenges in water, energy, and agriculture while strengthening the Central Valley’s innovation ecosystem.

Geoffrey Bogart has spent four decades building bridges with public and private sector entities around the globe. Whether as a U.S. diplomat or private businessperson, he has made a career of fostering cross-cultural communication, coordinating successful projects and initiatives, and promoting U.S. exports. 

In recent years, Geoffrey has been focused on promoting and facilitating California almond exports. He has worked with the Almond Board of California in the areas of regulatory matters and logistics, and has conducted commercial landscape studies for almonds in Brazil and Mexico.  He has also counseled small businesses in exporting as an advisor with the Central California Small Business Development Center Network at UC Merced.

Previously, Geoffrey served for 15 years as a Commercial Officer with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Foreign Commercial Service. He held diplomatic postings at the U.S. embassies in Jordan and Colombia and led the export promotion teams at the U.S. consulates in Monterrey, Mexico and Recife, Brazil.  He facilitated market access for hundreds of companies and millions of dollars in exports.

Rich has a B.A. in Management and Organizational Development from Fresno Pacific University, and an Executive MBA from California State University, Fresno.

Genelle Taylor Kumpe has devoted her career to issues that transform our community, empower others and advocate for women and children. Her background in education, entrepreneurship and community service makes her uniquely qualified to serve as CEO of the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA) and the CEO of the Fresno Business Council (FBC). 

Kumpe serves as a spokesperson for SJVMA, leveraging her extensive experience and expertise to advocate for the manufacturing sector in the region. In her role, she focuses on promoting workforce development, industry innovation, and economic growth within the San Joaquin Valley, highlighting the importance of manufacturing to the local and broader economy. Her efforts are crucial in driving collaborative initiatives that support the alliance’s mission to strengthen and expand the manufacturing industry in the area.

Alicia Ramirez is a Senior Economic Development Specialist for the City of Shafter and a strategic leader in advancing large scale economic growth, global investment, and industry transformation. She has driven billions of dollars into the Central Valley, positioning the region as a competitive destination for high impact, future focused industries.

With more than a decade of experience, Alicia leads complex economic development initiatives spanning international business attraction, domestic expansion, and small business growth. She leads initiatives across aviation, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), logistics, automation, and agricultural technology, aligning infrastructure, policy, and workforce systems to accelerate investment and long term regional competitiveness.

Alicia has a proven track record of executing high level initiatives that strengthen global and local economies. She coordinated the City’s first Virtual Trade Mission with US Commercial Services Bernadette Rojas and Andy Seeto, fostering international business relationships and expanding foreign trade opportunities. She manages foreign trade leads and cultivates strategic partnerships that support business expansion and retention, while also advising startups and established companies on funding strategies, including grants and access to capital opportunities .

Alicia is also a champion of forward looking industry development. She leads workforce and education alignment initiatives in partnership with educational partners, advancing career pathways, integrating emerging technologies, and building sustainable workforce pipelines that strengthen regional talent, support industry growth, and enhance overall quality of life.

Grounded in a background in public policy and legislative affairs, Alicia brings a disciplined, results driven approach to aligning government, industry, and community priorities to deliver measurable economic impact.

Andy joined the U.S. Commercial Service team in January 2023 supports businesses in exporting their U.S. made goods and services located in the Central Valley communities of Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Calaveras Counties.