Gerald Holmes

Gerald Holmes is the Director of the Strawberry Center at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The Center is a partnership between Cal Poly and the California Strawberry Commission. The mission of the Center is to increase the sustainability of the California strawberry industry through research and education. The Strawberry Center is intimately connected to stakeholders through its applied research program and training students for careers in the strawberry industry. Gerald got his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from UC Riverside in 1994 then worked as a University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor in Imperial County for three years. For the next 12 years he was an Extension Vegetable Pathologist and Associate Professor at NC State University then worked six years as Product Development Manager for Valent USA Corporation before becoming Director of the Center in 2014.

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