Candidates for Election to the ASEV Board of Directors for 2026–2027

Education: Ph.D. in Biological Sciences – Wine Science from Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. M.S. in Agricultural Business Management with a focus on Human Resources Management from the University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Iași, Romania. B.S. Honors Degree in Horticulture, majoring in Oenology, from the University of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Iași, Romania.

Employment: Associate Professor and Extension Enology Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M University, 2023-present. Assistant Professor and Extension Enology Specialist, 2017-2023. Previous appointments include Lecturer and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Brock University. Earlier career experience includes practical winery work in Romania and Canada.

ASEV Activities: Board of Director (2023-2024), American Society for Enology and Viticulture – Eastern Section. Committee member: Membership Committee, Oenolympics Committee, Merit Award Committee ASEV-ES. Technical Committee Member – ASEV, 2025. Presenter at ASEV-related conferences and technical events, including presentations on verjus as a wine acidifier and other wine chemistry and enology topics.

Other Activities: Leads the statewide Texas A&M Extension enology program, delivering technical support and research-based education to Texas wineries through workshops, webinars, factsheets, newsletters, digital media, and applied research. Her research focuses on practical enology issues in hot climates, including wine pH management, acidification, aroma and flavor management, wine faults, and sensory science. A significant part of her scholarship examines the relationship between wine chemistry and sensory perception, including how production decisions and compositional changes influence acidity, aroma, flavor, and overall wine quality. Sensory-focused work has included research on the impact of verjus additions on wine acidity and sensory profile, educational programming on sensory science in enology, and training activities such as the Wine Sensory Short Course. Her scholarly work has resulted in peer-reviewed publications in Q1 journals in the field, and she has served as a reviewer for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, Molecules, Beverages, and the Journal of Food Science. She collaborates with her enology and viticulture colleagues in other states and participates in the Eastern Enology and Viticulture Forum (EVEF) series of educational webinars. She also hosts The Wine Lab podcast as part of her broader wine education and outreach efforts and has participated in national extension collaborations connected with NVEELC-related efforts.

Education: Ph.D., Horticulture, Virginia Tech, 2016. M.S., Horticulture, Virginia Tech, 2012. B.S., Horticulture, Penn State, 2009.

Employment: Assistant Teaching Professor of Viticulture, Plant Science Department, Penn State, 2023-Present. Viticulture Extension Educator, Penn State Extension, Penn State, 2020-2023. Assistant Professor of Viticulture, Horticulture Department, University of Georgia, 2017-2020.

ASEV Activities: ASEV-ES Scholarship Committee Member, 2017-2019. Co-Chair, 2020-2026. ASEV Nominations Committee Member, 2025-present. ASEV Technical Liaison Committee Member, 2024-present. ASEV Extension Ad-hoc Committee Member, 2023. ASEV-ES Board of Directors Member, 2017-2021. AJEV Article Reviewer since 2017. ASEV and ASEV-ES Member, 2011-present. Frequent presenter at ASEV-ES Conference.

Other Activities: National Clean Plant Network – Grapes Tier 2 Committee Member, 2022-present. Eastern Viticulture and Enology Forum Webinar Series, Co-Coordinator and Co-Moderator of Viticulture Webinars, 2020-present. National Grape Research Alliance – Extension and Outreach Committee, 2023-2025. National Clean Plant Network Extension and Outreach Committee Member, 2022-2025. National Grape Research Alliance – Integrated Production Systems Committee, 2020-2023.

Education: Ph.D. in Horticulture, Washington State University (2023). M.S. in Plant Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2018). B.S. in Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2017).

Employment: Viticulture Extension Specialist, New Mexico State University (2025 – present). Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington State University (2024 – 2025). Graduate Research Assistant, Washington State University (2019 – 2023). Viticulture intern, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain (2018).

ASEV Activities: Scholarship Committee member (2026). Oenolympics Committee member (2026). ASEV Eastern Section member since 2025. ASEV member since 2021. Regular participant and presenter at ASEV national meetings.

Other Activities: National Viticulture and Enology Leadership Community (NVEELC) member. Co-organizer of the New Mexico wine education conference (2026). Contributor to peer-reviewed research on grapevine water relations, irrigation management, and vineyard sensing technologies (hyperspectral imaging). My program focuses on optimizing vineyard inputs in arid regions, with an emphasis on irrigation management, fertilization, and low-input spray programs. I am also committed to deliver bilingual (English/Spanish) extension programming.

Education: Ph.D, Food Science, University of Avignon – INRAE, FR, 2013. M.S., Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Science and Technology, Nantes, FR, 2010. B.S. Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology, Tours, FR, 2008.

Employment: Assistant Professor of Enology, Iowa State University, USA, 2019-present. Research Engineer, INRAE Sciences for Enology, Montpellier, FR, 2018-2019. Invited Researcher, Australian Wine Research Institute, AU, 2018 (March-May). Post-Doctoral Scholar, University of California, Davis, USA, 2016-2018. Post-Doctoral Scholar, California State University, Fresno, USA, 2014-2016. Graduate Research Intern, SEB group, FR, 2010 (February-August).

ASEV Activities: Board director ASEV, 2025-present. Past-Chair ASEV-ES, 2025-present. ASEV Nominating Committee Member, 2025. ASEV-ES invited speaker at the workshop “Changing Climates, Changing Grape and Wine Production Strategies”, 2025. Chair ASEV-ES, 2024-2025. Chair-elect ASEV-ES, 2023-2024. ASEV-ES invited speaker at the workshop “Droughts to Floods: Growing Grapes in Challenging Environments”, 2023. ASEV Extension and Outreach Ad Hoc Committee, 2022-2023. Board director ASEV-ES, 2021-2023. ASEV Member since 2014. Reviewer for AJEV.

Other Activities: International Workshop on Anthocyanins and Betalains (IWA&B) Scientific Committee, 2025-present. Winemaking in journal Fermentation 2024-2025. International Conference on Polyphenols (ICP) Scientific Committee, 2023, 2025. American Chemical Symposium (ACS)–Alcoholic Beverage Symposium member 2023-2024. Guest Editor Special Issue Vice-President Groupe Polyphénols, 2023-present. Reviewer of many food science and enology journals, of book proposals, and of grant proposals. Program Director for USDA-SCRI Research and Extension Planning Project on the Challenges and Needs of the US Grape and Wine Industry, 2023-present. Published research includes studies on the effect of viticulture, such as leaf removal and the application of plant growth regulators, and winemaking techniques, such as accentuated cut edges, enzymes, extended maceration, whole clusters fermentation, stems inclusion, on phenolics and tannins extraction and retention. Many publications focus on the chemical characteristics of interspecific grape varieties, on the mechanisms of interaction between tannins, proteins and polysaccharides and their impact on wine quality. Developed Extension and Outreach programs include the ISU/UMN Research and Winemaking webinar series, workshops, field days, fact sheets and articles to help the growing wine industry in the US Midwest. Instructor of wine science courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Regular presenter at state annual meetings and at wine science, and chemistry conferences including ASEV, ASEV-ES, Macrowine, ACS national meetings, and International Conference on Polyphenols. Board director Groupe Polyphénols, 2021-2023. Judge at Jefferson Cup Wine Competition, 2021, 2022.