2024 Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference Presenters
Dr. Mike Crimmins
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Steve Koike
Steve Koike is plant pathologist with and director of TriCal Diagnostics, a commercial plant pathology diagnostic and research laboratory. Prior to TriCal Diagnostics, Koike was extension plant pathologist with University of California Cooperative Extension, and was stationed in Monterey County for 28 years. He has research and diagnostic expertise with the diseases of vegetables, small fruits, horticultural crops, forest systems, and landscapes. Koike has published over 1200 articles on plant pathology, including his book Vegetable Diseases: A Color Handbook. Over his extension and industry careers he has given over 450 presentations. Koike is recipient of the national Excellence in Extension Plant Pathology award (American Phytopathological Society) and the Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award (CAPCA). Koike earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Plant science/Plant pathology at UC Davis.
Cas Laskowski
Cas Laskowski is a veteran, librarian, gamer, teacher, Latina, techie, comic book nerd, and empiricist in perpetual beta. Currently the Head of Research, Data, & Instruction at the University of Arizona, she regularly engages in AI initiatives nationally. She was a founding fellow of the University of Tennessee Library’s inaugural IDEA Institute on Artificial Intelligence, and the only librarian of any type to be selected for the 2022 Summer Conference on Applied Data Science, at North Carolina State University, where she leveraged machine learning summarization methods to design a prototype system that would aid intelligence analysts in efficiently identifying relevant audio files. She is currently part of the University’s AI Access and Integrity Working Group, co-leading the Access & Equity team and co-lead of the Making AI Generative for Higher Education UA steering committee team, a national two-year cross-institution research project with Ithaka S+R. She is also pursuing her PhD in Information at the University of Arizona, focusing on legal information infrastructures.
Teresa Miguel-Stearns
Teresa Miguel-Stearns is Associate Dean of Legal Information Innovation, Director of the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library, and Professor of Law at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. She is Affiliate Faculty at the University of Arizona School of Information and the Center for Latin American Studies. Miguel-Stearns was previously Law Librarian and Professor of Law at the Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School, from 2016-2020, where she also served as Deputy Director, Associate Director of Foreign and International Law, Latin American and Iberian bibliographer, and other positions from 2005-2016. She practiced law as a public defender for nearly a decade before pivoting to academic law librarianship. Miguel-Stearns teaches and writes in the areas of legal and library science education, with a focus on legal history and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She also works on issues of law library education and practice in Latin America, Indigenous information, and law library data collection and sharing. Miguel-Stearns has held numerous leadership positions in regional, national, and international library organizations, and is the recipient of awards in library literature, technology innovation, and service to the community and profession. Miguel-Stearns received her B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison, J.D. from the University of Richmond, and MLIS from the University of Arizona, where she was a Knowledge River Scholar. More information: https://lawlibrary.arizona.edu/special-projects/ua-land-grant-history
Dr. Larry Tranel
Dr. Larry Tranel received his BS degree in Agricultural Economics and International Studies, his MS in the Ag Industries and his doctorate in Pastoral Psychology. He was raised on a Wisconsin dairy, swine and poultry farm and spent 10 years as a Dairy Farm Management Agent with University of Wisconsin Extension and the past 25 years as Dairy Field Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Larry specializes in financial management, milking systems, facility design and grazing systems. Dr. Tranel also spends about half his time in farmer mental health.
Dr. Robert Torres
Dr. Robert “Bobby” Torres was born and raised on a sheep and cattle ranch in northern New Mexico and, as a youth, was extensively involved in 4-H and FFA. As a first generation college student, he graduated from New Mexico State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural and Extension Education. Early in his career, Bobby taught school-based agricultural education in Willcox, Arizona. He later obtained his Ph.D. in Agricultural Education at The Ohio State University to become a teacher-educator, researcher, and administrator. He continues to be involved in production agriculture as a soybean, corn, and alfalfa grower. He and his wife own 49 acres of farmland in northeast Ohio and own/manage approximately 1,800 acres of rangeland in northern New Mexico. Bobby is an accomplished educator, researcher, and agricultural producer who has made significant contributions to his field. At University of Arizona, he holds the title of Professor and the Neely Family Endowed Professorship. He is also a dedicated student advisor and faculty mentor. Bobby has received numerous teaching awards and recognitions, including the prestigious USDA Excellence in College and University Teaching Award, and the University of Missouri’s top teaching award, the William T. Kemper Fellow for Excellence in Teaching. In 2023, he earned the VIP Citation Award from the National FFA Organization for ongoing commitment and service to more than one million FFA members.