FARMERS in UC Merced Grad Slam

Former USDA FARMERS Fellow soon-to-be Dr. Vicky Espinoza participated in UC Merced Grad Slam and earned 3rd place honors and a $1000 prize while sharing the message of agricultural land use practices and disadvantaged communities.

Vicky Espinoza, Environmental Systems

Title: “Bringing the voice of rural communities to California Water and Land Use”

Advisor: Joshua Viers

Research: Vicky aims to develop strategies for potential agricultural land-use transitions under California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act to address groundwater overdraft while minimizing impacts to already vulnerable groups. She simultaneously addresses the knowledge and decision-making equity gap among marginalized communities and farmers in California through her trilingual CaliWaterAg YouTube channel.