Event Details

Congressman Mike Thompson, Senator Bill Dodd, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and CDFA Secretary Karen Ross will join NVG grower representatives to discuss legislative responses to recent wildfire disasters that have greatly affected our community. 

NVG members can submit questions in advance to events@napagrowers.org or participate in Q&A via the robust town hall online forum.

Agenda:

Meet the Speakers:

	Garrett Buckland, Partner, Premiere Viticultural Services Born and raised in Napa, Garrett grew up working with his father’s Vineyard Management Company, Buckland Vineyard Management. Garrett worked for Foundation Plant Services and the Department of Plant Pathology while attending UC Davis. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, Garrett went to work with Steve Matthiasson and started Premiere Viticulture, a vineyard consulting company based in Napa. Premiere Viticulture has over 40 high end vineyard and winery clients and works with over 1500 acres in the Napa Valley.
	Andy Beckstoffer, Owner, Beckstoffer Vineyards Andy Beckstoffer is one of the early and most important leaders in the evolution of the Napa Valley to world-class grape growing region. As a Founding Director and the second President of the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association, Andy forged an early, historic agreement on grape pricing that tied the price of grapes to retail bottle price. Thus began a new era in which grape quality and land preservation were brought to the forefront of the grape grower industry.
	Pete Richmond, Owner, Silverado Farming Company In 2001, Pete Richmond founded Silverado Farming Company, which he currently owns and operates. His passion for the farming community in Napa Valley runs through all facets of his business. He currently serves on the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation board, Ag for Youth, the OLE Health Operation and Foundation boards, and as an advisory board member to Teen’s Connect. He is a past board member for the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, the Napa County Housing Commission and Napa Valley Community Housing.
	Mike Thompson, US Representative, California's 5th Congressional District Mike Thompson represents California's 5th Congressional District. The district includes all of Napa and parts of Contra Costa, Lake, Solano and Sonoma Counties. Thompson is the co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Wine Caucus, which consists of over 215 U.S. Senators and Representatives. Thompson’s number one priority in Congress is to create jobs and grow our economy. He has co-authored numerous pieces of legislation to improve our nation’s infrastructure, boost our renewable energy economy, and better our education system. Thompson is recognized in Congress and throughout his district as a strong leader for Democratic principles who has built a solid reputation for bipartisan problem solving.
	Bill Dodd, California State Senator, 3rd State Senate District Elected in 2016 to represent California’s 3rd Senate District, Sen. Bill Dodd is a fifth-generation Californian and lifelong resident of the district, where he grew up on a small family farm in Napa County. The district includes all of Napa and Solano counties and portions of Contra Costa, Sacramento, Sonoma and Yolo counties. Sen. Dodd serves as the chair of the Governmental Organization Committee and is a member of the Transportation Committee, the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Insurance Committee. He is co-chair of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry and the Legislative Delta Caucus.
	Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, California State Assemblymember Cecilia grew up in western Yolo County and has long served her community.She first served as planning commissioner and then was elected to the city council eventually serving as the first female mayor of Winters. While growing up, Cecilia was surrounded by agriculture. As a youth, she cut apricots in the packing shed and helped her father in the walnut orchards in the area. She is still involved in local agriculture to this day as she and her brothers own an 80-acre walnut orchard. In November 2016, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the California Assembly to represent the 4th District that includes all or parts of Napa, Lake, Yolo, Sonoma, Colusa and Solano counties.
	Karen Ross, Secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture on January 9, 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom. Before joining CDFA, Secretary Ross was chief of staff for U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a position she accepted in 2009. Prior to that appointment, she served as President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers from 1996-2009, and as Vice-President of the Agricultural Council of California from 1989-1996. Her prior experience before moving to California included staff work for a United States Senator, a presidential candidate, and government relations for rural electric cooperatives and public power districts.

To submit questions in advance or for assistance with registration, please reach out to events@napagrowers.org.