Meet the speakers

These are the experts who will present at the 2024 Washington-Oregon Potato Conference. To see the dates and times of their presentations, see the schedule here.

Rui Liu

Rui Liu is an assistant professor and extension weed specialist at Washington State University. She has been employed at WSU since November 2022, working at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center. 

Potatoes are one of her areas of focus; she also studies weed species that threaten tree fruit, onions and other vegetables, wine grapes and alfalfa. She has done extensive research in herbicide resistance, focusing on weedy rice. 

She is a graduate of Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China, where she also received her master's degree. She earned her Ph.D. in weed science from Texas A&M University. 

Mark Pavek   Mark Pavek

Mark Pavek is a professor and potato specialist at Washington State University, and has been on the faculty since 2004. 

Pavek’s area of focus is potato agronomy and variety development. Pavek and his collaborators work on applied research in what he called key areas of concern for potato farmers and the potato industry.

“Research drives and funds my extension program which focuses on sustainable production, competitiveness, and profitability for NW potato and vegetable industries,” he wrote. “Research priorities include developing new, economically superior potato cultivars and variety-specific best management practices.”

Pavek worked as a field research manager and assistant farm manager, and said his experience as in agribusiness and as a farmer provides motivation to give farmers products, tools and education that will help them address the complex issues that come with farming and succeed in today’s business environment. 

Pavek earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Idaho, and his Ph.D. from WSU.

Nick Bond    Nick Bond

State Climatologist Nick Bond is a senior research scientist with the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies of the University of Washington as well as an affiliate associate professor with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UW. 

His research is on a broad range of topics with a focus on the weather and climate of the Pacific Northwest, and the linkages between the climate and marine ecosystems of the North Pacific. He has a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from UW.

Mike Thornton    Mike Thornton

Mike Thornton is a professor of plant sciences at the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center in Parma, Idaho. 

Thornton focuses on applied research to help potato and onion farmers and processors address issues in crop production. His potato research focuses on cultural management of new cultivars, with an emphasis on the appearance of specialty cultivars. 

He also is involved in onion research, focusing on thrips control and reducing decay in storage.

Thornton, a graduate of Washington State University, earned his master's degree at the University of Colorado and his Ph.D. at U of I.

Ken Frost

Ken Frost is an associate professor at Oregon State University, working as a plant pathologist at OSU’s Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

    Ken Frost“My research focuses on the ecology, epidemiology, and management of pathogens that cause diseases of irrigated vegetable crops. The primary goal of my research program is to develop practical and economically and environmentally compatible disease management strategies to minimize disease outbreaks and enhance the efficiency of vegetable crop production in Oregon,” he wrote. “The research I conduct seeks to learn how variability in the environment affects pathogen growth, survival and dispersal, and influences disease intensity and pattern. Some of my recent studies have examined how different crop management practices impact the soil microbiome and may be associated with varying disease outcomes.”

Frost received his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Inga Zasada    Inga Zasada

Inga Zasada works for the US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, and conducts her research at Oregon State University. 

“My lab's primary goal is to develop nematode management strategies for Pacific Northwest small fruit industries,” she wrote. “Plant-parasitic nematodes can cause considerable yield loss in perennial fruit production systems if left unmanaged. Current research includes identification of nematode resistance in red raspberry; elucidation of the population biology of virus-transmitting nematodes and; evaluation of cover crops, nematicides and amendments in small fruit production systems for nematode control.”

She earned her Ph.D. at the University of California-Davis.

Marcus Kleber    Markus Kleber

Marcus Kleber is an Oregon State University professor focusing on crop and soil science. His research looks at “the processes at the interface between organic matter and mineral surfaces,” he wrote.

His current projects include determining which cover crop varieties can improve soil health in Central Oregon, strengthening soil health to combat verticillium wilt in potatoes and working on the Oregon Soil Health Assessment.

Kleber received his doctorate from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany, and has been a professor at OSU since 2006.

Gary Roth    Gary Roth

Gary Roth is the executive director of the Oregon Potato Commission and has served in that capacity since May 2019. He has worked in both the public and private sectors and holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Oregon State University. 

Chris Voigt    Chris Voigt

Chris Voigt has been in the potato business for a very long time. A graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in Agricultural Economics, He has served more than five years on the U.S. Potato Board, three years on the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee and as the Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission for more than 18 years. 

Carrie Wohleb    Carrie Wohleb

Carrie Wohleb is a regional vegetable crops specialist with Grant/Adams County-WSU Extension in Moses Lake. 

Wohleb focuses on potato production, regional potato insect pest surveys and pest and disease management in vegetable crops. 

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington; she earned her master's degree and Ph.D. from Washington State University. She has been a member of the WSU faculty since 2008.

Abigail Moore

Abigail Moore is a graduate student researcher at Oregon State University who focuses her studies on the impact soil-borne diseases have on potato crops, particularly powdery scab. With the importance of potatoes as a staple crop to feed the hungry and the risk such pathogens provide to food sources, Moore’s research and desire to further the knowledge of managing powdery scab is likely to be of use in protecting the staple crop.

Hanu R. Pappu

    Hanu R. Pappu

Hanu R. Pappu is a professor of plant pathology at Washington State University. He’s interested in viral diseases that affect vegetables, legumes and nursery, landscape and ornamental plants. 

He focuses on biotechnological and molecular approaches for finding and combating viral diseases, as well as ways to identify viruses, new emerging viruses affecting the nursery and landscape industry and how the viruses and hosts that carry them interact.

Bonnie Johnson

Bonnie Johnson is the director of Potatoes USA’s Nutrition & Industry Relations department. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in Human Nutrition and a master's from Colorado State University. 

Jonathan Whitworth

Jonathan Whitworth is a research plant pathologist with the US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, based in Aberdeen, Idaho. 

Whitworth’s area of expertise is small grains and potato germplasm research, looking at, among other things, potato genetics to improve sustainable production. He’s also studied ways to control nematodes in potatoes, implementing techniques to diagnose and manage potato disease and ways to manage potato diseases.

Matt Harris

Matt Harris is the director of government affairs at the Washington State Potato Commission. A graduate of Washington State University, he holds a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics. 

Kiwamu Tanaka

    Kiwamu Tanaka

Kiwamu Tanaka is an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Washington State University. 

Tanaka’s research focuses on ways that plants detect changes in the environment around them and the threat from predators and disease. Plants detect damage at the molecular level, whether it comes from outside or inside, and use that information to help repair themselves. 

“Our research focuses on the function of this (damage-associated molecular pattern) signal for in-depth understanding of plant defense mechanisms against pathogen and insect attacks,” Tanaka wrote. “Based on our research, we would like to determine how we can improve plant growth and vigor and therefore increase crop yields.”

Tanaka earned his undergraduate and master's degrees and his Ph.D. at Kagoshima University in Japan.

Jacob Blauer

    Jacob Blauer  

Jacob Blauer is an assistant professor at Washington State University, has hands-on experience on the family farm and in the potato processing industry.

Blauer is interested in potato plant physiology, both in the field and after harvest, and the impact and interaction of molecular biology and biochemistry on crop yield as well as postharvest quality. 

Blauer received his Ph.D. from WSU.

Femi Omilani

Femi Omilani is a graduate research assistant at Oregon State University. He is working toward a doctorate in Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding, in which he holds a degree from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He also holds a bachelor's in Crop Production and Soil Management from Bownen University, Iwo. 

Josephine Antwi

Josephine Antwi is an assistant professor at Oregon State University, serving in the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Her specialty is the identification of lygus bugs on potatoes in the Pacific Northwest. 

Amber Moore

    Amber Moore

Amber Moore is an associate professor and associate department head at Oregon State University’s Corvallis Campus in the College of Agricultural Sciences Crop and Soil Science group. The focus of her position is to conduct applied research and develop nutrient and lime recommendations to improve nutrient use efficiency by large acreage crops. Her primary focuses are potatoes, grass grown for seed and cereals and a secondary focus on minor crops such as peppermint, vegetables and berries, among others. Learn more about her work at https://bit.ly/AMOOREOSU. 

Deirdre Griffin LaHue

    Deirdre Griffin LaHue

Dr. Deirdre Griffin LaHue is an assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. She holds a doctorate in Soils and Biogeochemistry from the University of California-Davis, a master's in the same and a bachelor's in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Maryland. Her work focuses on developing and improving soil management strategies to improve soil health.

Andy Jensen

Andy Jensen is a manager with the Washington, Idaho and Oregon potato commissions’ Northwest Potato Research Consortium, focused on solving problems and advancing potatoes regionally. As part of the consortium, Jensen is focused on ensuring growers receive research associated with growing potatoes. 

Raina Spence

   Raina Spence

Raina Spence is a manager with the Washington, Idaho and Oregon potato commissions’ Northwest Potato Research Consortium, focused on solving problems and advancing potatoes regionally. As part of the consortium, she is focused on ensuring growers receive research associated with growing potatoes. 

Mike Wenkel 

    Mike Wenkel
  

Mike Wenkel is the Chief Operating Officer for the National Potato Council. With an agricultural career that began in the U.S. Forest Service, Wenkel has held several positions in more than 30 years, including a 17-year stint with the Michigan Farm Bureau, six-plus years as executive director of the Michigan Potato Industry Commission and nearly five years in his current role. He holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. 

Scott Nielsen

Scott Nielsen works as a program manager for pesticide compliance with the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The department works to ensure the safe and effective use of pesticides in Washington agriculture.

Rodney Cooper

Rodney Cooper is a research leader with the Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Department with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wapato office. He and his team work to provide new knowledge and improved tools to allow researchers to advance agricultural sciences and practices. They also ensure growers have effective and sustainable tools for integrated pest and disease management and provide consumers with safe and healthy produce.

Natalie Nesburg

Natalie Nesburg is a program manager with the Potato Sustainability Alliance and collaborates with value chain partners throughout North America to evaluate production practices and track performance indicators for sustainability reporting. Her academic background includes a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. She is focused on using data to help ensure sustainability and best practices. 

Kylie Swisher Grimm

    Kylie Swisher Grimm

Kylie Swisher Grimm is a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prosser office. She holds a bachelor's degree from Whitworth University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Her focus with her work is the identification and characterization of novel pathogens found in the field, development of new methods to improve diagnostics of various pathogens in potatoes and insect vectors and use of greenhouse or field trials to explore pathogen-host-vector relationships.

Tim Paulitz

    Tim Paulitz
 Tim Paulitz is a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture based in Pullman and has held that role for more than two decades. He holds a bachelor's degree in Botany and Plant Pathology and a doctorate in Plant Pathology. His specialties are epidemiology and ecology of fungal and nematode soilborne plant pathogens; genetic diversity of fungal root pathogens on cereals, brassica and vegetable crops; cultural management of root diseases of cereals and interactions of microbial communities and natural disease suppression in soils. 

Bradley Farrar

Bradley Farrar is a statewide agricultural safety specialist with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Farrar speaks regularly about agriculture worker safety, especially as it relates to heat and ensuring workers are not negatively impacted by heat exposure.

Tim Waters

    Tim Waters 

Tim Waters is an area extension educator at Washington State University with specialties in pest management in vegetable crops; vegetable variety development; alternative cropping systems; and potato and vegetable production. He holds a bachelor's degree in Biology, a master's in Entomology and a doctorate in Entomology, all from WSU. 

Alan Schreiber

Alan Schreiber is the president of Agricultural Development Group, Inc. He has nearly thirty years of expertise in entomology, pesticide toxicology, pesticide resistance, pesticide registration and consulting. He has worked extensively with agrichemical companies and agricultural commodity groups during his career.

Biographical information was not available for Connor Buckley.