Walter-Peterson Appointed as ASEV Technical Program Director

Hans Walter-Peterson, senior extension associate, with Cornell Cooperative Extension has been appointed the ASEV Technical Program Director in July 2024. This position provides leadership for the Technical Program Committee, who fully develop and oversee a program that includes technical projects such as symposia, workshops, seminars, and sessions for the National Conference or other conferences. This is an opportunity to direct the program development for an established wine and grape industry national organization and impact professional education for many sectors of the industry including winemakers, viticulturists, university researchers, students and other professionals.

“I believe ASEV can broaden the types of voices that we bring into our programs. I want to encourage more scientists from other fields related to grape and wine production (e.g., plant pathology, microbiology, flavor chemistry) to attend our meetings, when they might otherwise choose to present their research to other organizations or societies.”

Currently, Hans is responsible for viticulture extension in New York’s Finger Lakes region. He conducts applied research and advises the region’s grape growers on a wide range of topics such as pest management, vine health, and all-encompassing issues related to grape growing in the area. Prior to joining the Finger Lakes Grape Program in 2007, he was the viticulture extension specialist for the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program in Fredonia, New York, for six years. He received the ‘Research Award’ from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in 2020 for his work in research and extension.

Hans has been a member of ASEV and ASEV-Eastern Section since 2001. He served on the Board of Directors of ASEV-ES from 2006-2012 and served on the ASEV Board of Directors from 2015-2019 and as the Technical Program Director in 2024.

Hans received his Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1990, and his master’s degree in viticulture from the University of California, Davis, in 2001. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in viticulture at Cornell University.

“In addition to providing our members with access to the latest research, I want ASEV to be an organization that provides professional development opportunities for its members, particularly in extension and outreach. In recent years, I have worked with the National Viticulture & Enology Extension Community (NVEELC) on ways to strengthen viticulture & enology extension specialists’ careers and skill sets. This would not only benefit ASEV extension members but the industry as a whole.”