BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gail Martinez (Chair)
Gail Martinez is Assistant Vice Provost Emerita - Undergraduate Education at the University of California, Davis. She holds a B.S. degree in Child Development, and Ph.D. in Education - both degrees from UC Davis, and M.S. in Counselor Education from California State University, Sacramento. She provided leadership and advocacy for campus-wide issues related to the enhancement of undergraduate education and assisted the Vice Provost in oversight of campuswide compliance for accreditation. During her tenure she oversaw the Undergraduate Research Center, the Center for Leadership Learning, the Washington Program, and assisted in the oversight of several other campus units and initiatives including the University Honors Program, Summer Sessions, and the Center for Educational Effectiveness.
James Grieshop
James Grieshop, retired from the University of California, Davis (UCD) in 2008 after a 33 year career as a Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Human and Community Development. He earned a B.S. in biology from Marquette University, a M.S. in Anthropology from SUNY Binghamton, and Ph.D. in Foundations of Education from University of New Mexico. At UCD, Grieshop was responsible for conducting applied research and outreach education throughout California, as well as for teaching undergraduate and graduate students. He is fluent in Spanish and has conducted research and education efforts in Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, Cuba and the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
James Hill
James (Jim) Hill is Associate Dean Emeritus and Extension Specialist Emeritus of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. He earned B.S. degrees in crop science and biochemistry at CSU, San Luis Obispo and a Ph.D. at UC Davis in plant physiology. At UC Davis, he led an applied research and extension education team in rice agronomy. He is a past Chair of the Department of Agronomy and Range Science and Acting Program Leader for Agronomy and Vegetable Crops Extension at UC Davis. He served as Program Leader for Irrigated Rice and Head of the Division of Crop, Soil and Water Sciences in the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) from 1999-2002 where he led programs across most Asian rice countries. He is a past Chair of the USA Rice Technical Working Group and the International Temperate Rice Conference.
Michael Lazzara
Michael Lazzara is Associate Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Partnerships in Global Affairs and Professor of Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UC Davis. He earned his B.A. in Spanish and Government and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish from Princeton University. He is one of the founding faculty of the UC Davis Program in Human Rights Studies, the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Chile, and has published widely on human rights and cultural memory in Latin America.
Steve Temple
Steve Temple is a retired UC Extension Specialist with 40 years of national and international experience in grain legume production and varietal development, and currently active in assistance projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds an M.S. from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from UC Davi. Steve worked for the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical in Colombia for 11 years before his return to UC Davis, where he led the Sustainable Ag Farming Systems research and extension program for 14 years, and chaired the UC International Ag Development graduate group for 4 years.
Gaelle Chanlot Delarue (Executive Director)
Originally from France, Gaëlle Chanlot Delarue arrived in Feb. 2021 at Davis and in the United States. She holds a PhD in Food and Consumer Science from AgroParisTech. She has more than 15 years of experience as a Food Scientist/Business developer/Consumer&Market Insight manager/Educator. She works in the Food Science and Technology Department at UCD as a Researcher. She also provides support to company by helping them to include sensory and consumer inputs in their research and business strategy. Communication and Fundraising are two domains that she likes to work in as volunteer since more than 10 years in different types of non-profit organisation. She actively supports the Board since November 2021 to bring in more visibility for AWB USA in terms of communication and fundraising. Since September 2023, she is our new Executive Director
