Kat Turner is the Chef of Highly Likely Cafe in Los Angeles. Prior to that role, Kat worked as a private chef for numerous A-list clients all over the globe. Originally from a small town in Wisconsin, Kat is passionate about creating dishes that are both familiar and comforting, while leaving you with the sense that you’ve experienced something new. She was trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute NYC as well as the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Therefore, it should be no surprise that she places a great emphasis on product sourcing, health, and wellness in her life and in the lives of her clients and guests. Kat recently starred in and won an episode of Food Network’s “Chopped”.

Leslie Bonci is a registered dietitian in private practice with expertise in sports nutrition, digestive disorders and communication and has been a consultant to the California Prune Board since 2003. She is also the sports nutrition consultant for the 2023 Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, XFL and USFL. As an author and writer, Leslie regularly contributes to the US News and World Report Eat + Run blog, appears regularly on local TV and radio segments as a guest, and is renowned in her field for her expertise and engaging approach.

Rob is director of CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division. He leads market and industry research in the agricultural and infrastructure sectors affecting rural economies.

Prior to joining CoBank, Rob spent 13 years in food and agribusiness commercial banking. He has over 25 years of experience in a wide array of agriculture-related roles, in both private industry and the public sector. He started his career as an agricultural economist with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, and later became a farm business management specialist with the University of Wisconsin Extension Service. Rob and his wife, Jennifer, also owned and operated a 125-cow dairy farm in western Wisconsin. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis.

James Gallagher has represented California’s Third Assembly District since 2014. Before joining the Assembly, he served on the Sutter County Board of Supervisors for six years. James earned his bachelor of arts degree at UC Berkeley before completing an Assembly Fellowship in Sacramento and a law degree at UC Davis, where he graduated at the top of his class. He advocates for small businesses and farmers in his law practice and is a partner in his family’s farming operation. James is married to his high school sweetheart, Janna; the two live in Sutter County where they are raising their five young children.

George graduated from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo in 1982 with a degree in Agriculture Business Management. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard OPM Business School.

George is a 4th generation family member of Mariani Packing Company, established in 1906. Mariani is the largest independent dried fruit company in the world, primarily processing prunes, raisins, and cranberries, as well as the largest independent California prune processor. Mariani sells prunes throughout the United States and in over 40 countries worldwide. George has worked in all aspects of the business, and today holds the title of President. He serves as Chairman of the California Prune Board and CPB Executive Committee, and as a member of the Prune Marketing Committee and PMC Executive Committee.

Dane has served as Sunsweet’s President & CEO since October 2013, following 24 years of increasing responsibility at Sunsweet ranging from Director of International Marketing, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, and Chief Operating Officer.

He holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from the University of California, Berkeley as well as a bachelor’s degree in Management Science/Operations Research also from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jaswant S. Bains is a 3rd generation member of the Bains family that immigrated from Punjab, India, to the United States. He holds a master of arts degree in Economics from California State University, Sacramento, with advanced studies in Agri-Business at Harvard University and the University of California, Davis. Jaswant farms prunes, walnuts, and almonds, and currently serves as the President of both Sacramento Packing, Inc., founded in 1991, and Valley View Foods, Inc.

Donn is the Executive Director of the California Prune Board and Prune Marketing Committee, the state and federal marketing orders for California Prunes. On behalf of California’s approximately 600 premium prune growers and 28 processors, Donn and his team develop and execute strategies that support the growth of California Prune consumption and value through domestic and international marketing strategies, science-based nutrition discovery, crop and sustainability research, and trade and agricultural policy communications. Prior to joining the prune industry in 2011, Donn led programs in agricultural marketing, research, communications and government relations as President of the California Forest Products Commission and Northern California Water Association and Vice-President of the California Forestry Association. An enthusiastic advocate for California agriculture for more than 33 years, Donn has served in a variety of industry, non-profit and university leadership positions where he has helped to guide efforts and engage consumers, trade and key opinion leaders on food and agriculture’s economic and social benefits. Donn holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and a California Agribusiness Certificate from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis.

Donn’s represents the interests of the prune industry as a member of the Dean’s Council, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Vice-Chair, Board of Governors, California State University Agricultural Research Institute; Executive Committee, Buy California Marketing Agreement; Co-Executive Director, California Dried Fruit Coalition; and Executive Committee, California Department of Food and Agriculture Marketing Program CEOs.

With an avid appreciation of the natural environment and endurance, Donn has completed 72 trail ultramarathons, including sixteen 100-mile events and two double crossings of the Grand Canyon. He’s entered in this year’s Western States 100-mile Endurance Run from Olympic Valley Lake Tahoe to Auburn with a goal of finishing his seventh crossing of the Sierra Nevada. 

Donn and his wife Lisa have been married for 34 years and are the parents of three grown children. They live in Grass Valley.

Michael has worked extensively for more than 39 years in public affairs and government relations. As executive director of the Agricultural Energy Consumers Association, he is responsible for overseeing the association’s regulatory and legislative affairs before the Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission, California Air Resources Board, and the California State Legislature. Michael has been deeply engaged in California’s climate, energy, and environmental policy debates on behalf of the state’s agriculture industries. He’s also been instrumental in the development of California’s distributed-renewable energy programs related to bioenergy. He received his bachelor of arts in economics and political science from the University of California, Davis.

Christine Birdsong was appointed by Governor Newsom as Undersecretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Previously, Birdsong was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Director of People and Culture for the Sun Valley Rice Company. She has also served as General Counsel for the National Cotton Council of America, Counsel for the Committee on Agriculture for the United States House of Representatives and Federal Government Affairs Leader for CropLife America. Birdsong earned a Juris Doctor degree from the UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and is a UC Berkeley alumni.

Emily Rooney is the President of the Agricultural Council of California (Ag Council). Founded in 1919, Ag Council is a member-support organization advocating for 15,000 farmers across California, ranging from small, farmer-owned businesses to the world’s best-known brands. 

In her role at the Ag Council, Emily engages with public officials on several issues impacting California agriculture, such as water, climate, energy and fiscal matters. Her work has led to several initiatives surrounding climate and energy, including the creation of the Food Production Investment Program (FPIP), a statewide program incentivizing the food processing sector to transition to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, she engages with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to support programs that reduce emissions throughout agriculture. 

Emily has previous legislative experience from public service in Washington, D.C. where she worked for two Members of Congress. In this capacity, she advised the Congressmen on issues including agriculture, budget and judiciary matters. 

Emily serves on the California Agricultural Leadership Board of Directors and as Chair of the California FFA Foundation.  Emily is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, and Class 39 of the California Agricultural Leadership Program.

Trudi Hughes is the CEO/President of the California League of Food Producers (CLFP). CLFP is a statewide non-profit trade association that represents food processors with production facilities in California. The membership includes firms involved with canning, freezing, and dehydrating/drying a wide array of fruit and vegetable products as well as nut processors, cheese manufactures and olive oil producers.

Trudi has 30 years of experience in public affairs, government relations and legislative advocacy. She was the Director of Government Affairs for CLFP for 12 years before becoming the new CEO/President in 2022. Prior to joining CLFP in 2010, Trudi was the Senior Manager of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Walmart’s interests in California. She was also a Legislative Advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce and worked for almost 10 years as legislative and committee staff at the State Capitol.

She has a bachelor of science degree in Agriculture Business Management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and an MBA from the University of California, Davis.

Matt Bozzo is a 4th generation prune farmer from Gridley, California who grew up on a family farm with prunes, kiwis, and a prune dehydrator. He graduated from CSU, Chico in 2000 with a B.S. in Agriculture Business, double- majoring in Farm Management and Ag Marketing.  

Matt’s experience after college is diverse. He took a job as farm manager for a seed company in Woodland, California to oversee and produce watermelon and melon seed, and run the research breeding program fields. In this role, he also learned how to process, dehydrate, and mill watermelon, melon, pumpkin, and squash seed. After working on the seed research facility, Matt worked as a farm manager for Golden Gate Hop Ranch in Yuba City, California for 10 years where they grow prunes and walnuts. In 2021, Matt took a position as an Ag/Weights and Measures Specialist for the Yuba County Ag Commissioner’s office based in Marysville, California. There he helps farmers navigate pesticide use safety regulations, and performs work under CDFA performing plant and commodity inspections to keep pests out of California. In the agriculture “off-season”, he tests gasoline pump stations and grocery store scales. 

Matt serves as a grower member on the Crop Management & Sustainability Research Committee and Audit Committee for the California Prune Board Board. He’s also the Chair of the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau’s Spray Safe Committee.

Born and raised in Fresno California, Nick comes from a deep rooted farming family. The family farm started in the 1920s growing grapes. Over the years various different crops have been grown including grapes for raisin, wine, and table, fresh and freezer peaches, plums and prunes, almonds, and even now some forage crops. After attending Reedley College, Nick joined his dad working on the ranch where he has also expanded into commercial beekeeping and wine grape harvesting. Nick is an active member of the Central Valley Beekeepers Association and a member of the California Prune Board.

David is a farmer of walnuts, prunes and almonds. He also custom farms/manages for multiple absentee landowners and owns/operates a custom walnut dehydrator. Ten years ago, he started LMG Ag Products which is an independent chemical dealership that sells ag inputs to growers who use independent PCA’s. David’s been married for over 22 years to Lisa and they have 3 children: Luke (at Cal Poly, SLO), Maya (at Grand Canyon Univ) and Grace (at Central Valley Christian High School). They enjoy visiting the kids that are out of town, being involved with church and being effective and efficient food producers so the family operations can be continued by the next generation. Recently, his wife Lisa and he have started Valley Grown Produce to sell some of their “value added” products directly to consumers through e-commerce.

Natalie Mariani Kling, CCN, is Marketing Manager and a fourth-generation family member of the Mariani Packing Company, global leaders of premium dried fruit. A certified clinical nutritionist for over 15 years, she is committed to communicating the simple and accessible ways real food can support healthy children and families – a commitment and passion stemming from her own son who was born with neurological challenges. Personally driven to bring her family’s vision of “Inspiring Healthy Living” to life, Natalie has recently instituted a companywide wellness program and co-leads the Leadership Development team at Mariani. Host of the family business podcast, “A Seat at the Table,” Natalie is honored to speak with families who are navigating the trials and triumphs of taking their family businesses into the next generation.

Joe farms prunes, walnuts & olives in Winters, California. As past chairman of the California Prune Board, he now serves on the Executive Committee as well as Nutrition Research & Crop Sustainability & Management Committee. With a passion for field research, his farm has served as a location for many collaborative research projects for UC Cooperative Extension. Joe has a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, SLO in Ag Business Management. He’s a long-standing board director of Sunsweet Growers and was chairman of the board of Sunsweet Dryers Cooperative prior to its merger with Sunsweet Growers. He’s been involved with many ag organizations over the years, serving in various leadership roles with the CA Kiwifruit Growers, Yolo County Farm Bureau & Yolo Farmland Trust. He’s also a former fellow of the CA Ag Leadership Program.