I started by getting my hands dirty, literally, and spent my first 20 years in business in all phases of growing, marketing, packing, processing and selling of organic and non-organic fresh fruits and vegetables in some of the most fertile and most challenging lands in America.My passion for organic foods and sustainable lifestyles led me to lead the charge in initiating and lobbying for the adoption of green-conscious organic standards throughout California. I worked across both aisles in local, regional and state political organizations and associations, including the City Council and County Board of Supervisors of San Diego as well as California Farm Bureau Federation to spearhead the simple fact that the health of plants, soil, livestock and people are interrelated.I became an organic certification inspector to promote this vision to the world. Today I work with the leading national certification agencies to inspect food growers, processors and manufacturers of organic products and help them comply with the requirements of the national organic program.Leveraging my extensive experience in agriculture and small business management, I am also active in asset appraisals. I serve business owners, attorneys and financial institutions to value assets for litigation, bank financing collateral, allocation of assets, divorce and partnership dissolutions, property tax appeals, mergers & acquisitions, gifting and donations, estate settlements, financial reporting, and risk management. I provide expert witness reports and testimony for litigation related to organic requirements and machinery and equipment valuation.Key words for the search bots: Business Development, Sales, Client Relations, Operations, Financial Management, Organic Compliance and Certifications, Business Appraisals, Real Property AppraisalsNegotiations, Expert Witness, Green Science, Green Environment, Sustainability, Farm to Table, Community Farming
Listed skills include Agriculture, Food Safety, Food, Farms, and 23 others.