Program Staff

What’s your favorite produce item & why?

Dragon Fruit, it’s the perfect fruit, not to sweet but not too bland!

Who is your hero(s)?

Parents, they have shown me how to succeed in this world.

What do you like to do in your free time?

When I’m not at work, you’ll usually find me with my wife, my friends, and/or my dogs. I am a stained glass artist, I love to create beautiful things.

What is your favorite produce item and why?

Hard to choose, they’re all delicious in their own way. I’ll say apples – I have happy memories of apple picking with my family as a kid, I love eating apples alone or baked into sweets, and apples with honey every fall as a special Rosh Hashanah treat.

What do you like to do on your spare time: I love hiking and spend time in nature. I’m also an avid gamer and spend way more time than I should playing. I enjoy my free time with my wife, kid and two pugs.

Favorite Produce Item: Dates, sweet and nutritious. Especially if they are sourced locally from my hometown in Spain.

What do you like to do on your spare time: I love to spend time with my daughter!

Favorite Produce Item: Lime! I pretty much use it for everything in my life.

Favorite Proteus Memory: I’ve enjoyed each participant that I’ve been able to help pursue a new and successful career. I enjoy seeing updates from them on the great changes they have made.

Favorite Produce Item: The vegetables used in a pot roast (carrots, potatoes, onions) always remind me of weekends at my Grandparents’ house.

Favorite Proteus Memory: Connecting a young patient to a community resource that assisted her with cleft palate revision. The young patient’s mother was overjoyed knowing her daughter would finally get the help she needed to lift her out of her depression.

Favorite Produce Item: Cilantro, it’s versatile and adds pizazz to many dishes. I have fond memories of cooking with my mom rolling up taquitos filled with chicken, cilantro, and onions! Yum!

Who is your hero: My mother is a heroic figure, exemplifying courage, selflessness, empathy, and justice. She prioritizes others’ needs over her own and remains steadfast in her values.

Favorite Produce: Arugula is my favorite. Arugula is spicy and delicious and has a very interesting shape. It belongs to the superfood’s family. Do you know that arugula is the cousin of kale, cabbage and broccoli?

What you do in your spare time: bike, hike, and/or work out.

Favorite Produce Item: Watermelon is my favorite produce item. A neighbor grew watermelons and then would invite all of the neighborhood families over for a watermelon feed.

What do you like to do in your free time? I love doing a little bit of everything, you can catch me fishing, hitting the gym or reading at a cute cafe.

What is your favorite produce item and why? I can’t pick just one! Maybe potatoes and rambutans. Potatoes are so versatile, you can bake them or you can fry them and mash them. Rambutans are extra special to me because it was the fruit I ate the most when I went to Honduras for the first time to meet my brothers and sisters.

Favorite Proteus Memory: My favorite memory is when I was at a health and safety training. I had been working with this particular group of workers from Mexico for several years. One of the workers came up to me at the start of the presentation and told me he only spoke English. I panicked for a minute because the training was in Spanish and frantically started explaining this to him in English. The man and group of 100 workers started laughing and that was when I realized they were all playing a joke on me. I have appreciated all of the relationships with workers I have developed throughout the years.

Favorite Produce Item: My favorite produce item is the avocado because it’s the most universal produce item. It literally goes with everything from toast to tacos. Plus, when an item is full of fat but is considered a healthy item it has to have a special place on my table.

Hero/Heroes: My Mother – She never gave up on anyone. She was bold, smart, and strong. No matter what she would say, “It was a good day.”

Favorite Produce Item: Tomato – My Father was a small vegetable farmer and My mother would work, when I was little, in the summers sorting tomatoes at a local cannery before she went to nursing school.

What do you enjoy to do during your free time? Spend time with my family, cook out shopping.

Favorite Produce? Lettuce and tomatoes!

What you do in your spare time: I have a passion for learning about different cultures and customs, and I have had the privilege of traveling to various fascinating destinations around the world. I also enjoy competing in duathlons (run/bike/run) and participating in Spartan events.

Who is a hero of yours and why?: My grandmother, Violeta Riquelme, who was a public health nurse in Chile and taught me many valuable life lessons.

What you do in your spare time: Spend it with family and friends

Favorite Produce Item: Garlic, it makes just about any dish taste great.

Favorite Proteus Memory: Going to Conesville with Dr. Claudia Corwin and experiencing and watching our first “round” of farmworkers being vaccinated in mid-March 2021.

Favorite Produce Item: Cucumber (with lime, salt, and sometimes Tapatio) – a snack my mom used to make us grow up and one of the produce items my dad would grow in his mini-garden.

Who is a hero of yours and why? My mom and my dad are my heroes because they have gone above and beyond to make sure I take advantage of the opportunities they never had, and they have always been my support system.

Favorite Produce Item: My dad grows his own strawberries and cucumbers (and other vegetables) at home so those are two of my favorites. Although I also love mangos and jicama because they’re very refreshing in the summertime (with lime and tajin).

Favorite Proteus Memory: There are so many already! Having a patient bring a warm chocolate flan cake to us during the clinic.

Favorite Produce Item: I love all veg and fruit. A favorite is sweet red pepper- I love the flavor and will eat them like an apple.

Who is your hero? Julian, my oldest. Came to make my life better!

Favorite Produce: Corn, you can make it so many different ways!