Our team is made up of passionate and dedicated professionals. We have a wide variety of education and experience ranging from agricultural education, integrative nutrition, agricultural communications, and so much more. We are thrilled to introduce you to all the members of the SEEAG team!

Seth Wilmoth

Education Program Director

During Seth’s time at SEEAG, he has served as an educator and helped coordinate all of our Education Programs. He earned his degree in Biology, with an emphasis on soil and plant science and has additional experience in ecological research, viticulture, permaculture, produce handling, and education. Along with this, he has done extensive community work in both Ventura and Santa Barbara County, namely with SBTC, SB Bucket Brigade, Veggie Rescue, and SB Food Bank, and is a Life Lab Certified Garden Educator.

Before joining the team, Seth worked with the Organic Inputs team at Reiter Affiliated Companies, creating a statewide contact database, standardizing soil-testing procedures, improving grower relations, and spearheading their first internal production of beneficial insects in the U.S. Seth’s love for agriculture is rooted in family heritage, environmental stewardship, and passion for human health and wellness. He finds joy in working with students and is deeply committed to sharing SEEAG’S vision with our local communities and promoting the overall mission of our organization. Outside of work, Seth is an enthusiast of outdoor recreation, fitness, cooking, and good times — all of which makes him even more passionate about the work that SEEAG does.

Chris Sayer

Farm Lab Consultant

Chris Sayer is the manager of Petty Ranch, which is home to SEEAG’s Farm Lab. Petty Ranch is a producer of citrus and avocados, as well as the site for an experimental orchard that includes figs, apples, apricots, pears and persimmons.

Petty Ranch was engaged with “sustainable agriculture” long before that was a commonly used term. Beneficial insects have been part of the farm’s pest control program since the 1930’s. More recently, Petty Ranch has been known for their early adoption of microsprinkler irrigation and soil-building practices.

As the fifth generation of his family to manage the ranch, Chris served as a Navy pilot earlier in career, and was educated at Northwestern University. He is the Farm Advisor and a contributing writer for Edible Ojai and Ventura County. Chris has also been engaged in a variety of community and agricultural organizations, and currently serves on the boards of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, Associates Insectary and Citrus Mutual Water Company.

Natalie Granucci, RDN

Nutrition and Wellness Initiative COORDINATOR

Natalie joined SEEAG in March 2022 as a Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative Coordinator. She became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in 2020 after completing over 1,200 supervised practice hours with clinical, community, public health, food service, and management rotations throughout Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Kern Counties before passing her nutrition board exam. As a Cal Poly Pomona Dietetic Internship graduate specializing in Medical Nutrition Therapy, she conducted extensive public speaking engagements and lectures to Inter Valley Health Plan recipients on the Mediterranean Diet and facilitated a "Rethink Your Drink" campaign for the community members with the San Bernardino Department of Public Health. Natalie also presents with experience leading individual nutrition counseling sessions with adolescents, adults, and the elderly of various chronic disease states to help them transform their dietary habits based upon their particular nutritional needs as dictated by medical status.

Over the past 8 years, Natalie has focused her efforts as a nutrition educator and health advocate across Southern and Central California in inpatient, outpatient, public health, and school district settings. She has conducted nutrition classes at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles with AltaMed, Kern Medical Center, and the Kids Campus Youth Center. These programs helped inspire and empower children and their families to become their own change agents by making small, sustainable, and realistic alterations to their dietary habits through an emphasis on increased consumption of fibrous, nutrient-dense foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. She developed a passion for teaching students the importance of emphasizing plant-based eating patterns, proper hydration, and physical activity. Natalie is excited to continue to motivate the youth and their families throughout Ventura County to invest in their physical health for the betterment of the present and future.

Nico Navarro

Farm lab coordinator

Nico was born and raised in Ventura County. His childhood experiences of traversing the Grand Canyon, hiking the Zion narrows, and seeing charging buffalo in Yellowstone instilled in him a love for outdoors. In a way, his love of the outdoors inspired him to study soil science, but in another way his path was destined - his mother had a strange pregnancy craving that compelled her to eat soil!

Studying soil science took Nico on new adventures, getting degrees from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Penn State. His studies allowed him to travel to remote places like the swamps of Arkansas and remote Pennsylvania forests to study soil. Along this path, he discovered that what continued to inspire him was sharing his love of learning through outdoor experiences. Nico's work with children in Guatemala and with the Ventura Jr. Lifeguard program led him to SEEAG, where facilitating learning experiences is at the heart of the Farm Lab program. As Farm Lab Coordinator, Nico adds his curiosity and passion to give elementary students the best possible farm field trips.

Xochitl Coronado

STEM Coordinator

Xochitl was born and raised in Oxnard, CA and comes from a family of farmworkers, but ironically was not raised learning about agriculture. While a student at the University of California, San Diego, she studied Environmental Systems with a focus in both Earth Sciences and Ecology, Behavior & Evolution. For her senior thesis she dove deep into solid waste management inspiring her to live more sustainably. After college, she volunteered at Chapala Gardens, an aeroponic rooftop urban farm and then taught English in Vietnam. Her time abroad and past experiences led her back home to venture in growing her own food, sharing it and inspiring others to do the same. 

Prior to joining SEEAG, Xochitl worked with the California Conservation Corps at the Camarillo Center helping young adults gain work experience in the conservation sector. She was a lead developer of the food waste program which consisted of maintaining the CITYPOD composter machine. This led her to be a main contributor in the creation of the on-site garden. Xochitl joined SEEAG in May of 2022 as a STEM educator with the mission of providing BIPOC high school women opportunities in the field of agriculture.

laura o’malley

agricultural and nutrition educator

Laura grew up in the High Desert with the California Aqueduct at a stone's throw from her family's backyard. She grew up frequently visiting the Eastern Sierras and southern California's coastal areas which left her intrigued about nature, water/food systems and just how much humans had a role in their environment. As a young adult Laura moved to Ventura, CA to attend college as a collegiate swimmer. She received her BA in History with a minor in Asian Pacific studies at California State Channel Islands which applied to her personal life and passion for the humanities. 

For the past 7 years Laura has spent her time as an unconventional educator dedicated to providing hands-on, experiential opportunities to inspire students. Laura spent a year teaching and working closely with children on a biodiverse, biodynamic, organic farm in Moorpark which opened her head and her heart to the biodiversity and interconnectedness of all living things. She then moved on to Ventura Unified School District as a Garden and Nutrition educator in hopes to reach more children in order to facilitate new skills, and to build students capacity for critical thinking by examining our food systems. Laura's hope is not only to connect children to their food but deepen a positive relationship with it, value nourishment, nature and each other. Her work has only just begun and she is excited to further her career with SEEAG.

Liz Shura

Development Associate / Office manager

Liz joined SEEAG with experience in finance, marketing, operations and advertising sales (among others), which makes her an incredible asset to the SEEAG team. With a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Cal Lutheran University under her belt as well, Liz is excited to use her diverse skillset to promote collaboration in the workplace as well as engage with various stakeholders, owners, and managers to promote SEEAG’s mission. Liz offers a leadership lens with a continuous quality improvement focus and utilizes innovative strategic planning to achieve goals. She is devoted to generating ideas to improve outcomes that result in cost savings and improved efficiency. Born and raised in Ventura, she loves the hiking trails along the hillside, takes pride in the rows of crops and orchards grown throughout the county and loves being steps from the shoreline, referring to her hometown as "the best-kept secret in the world."

President

Brett Burkey

Owner

Taylor Ranch

treasurer

steve gill

President & Owner

Gills Onions

Secretary

Patrick sheehy

Grower & Community Member

Driscoll’s

director

MElinda beardsley

President

Beardsley & Son, Inc.

Director

Betsy chess

Author, Board of Directors

Limoneira Company

Director

Sandra Gonzalez

Field Representative

Titan Frozen Fruit

director

chris waldron

Sales & Field Manager

Plantel Nurseries, Inc.

director

Heidi Whitcomb

Owner & CEO

Ventura Rental Party & Events

ventura county

santa barbara county