BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ann López, Ph.D.— Executive Director
Dr. Ann López is the Executive Director of Center for Farmworker Families. She is an emerita professor and taught courses in biology, environmental science, ecology and botany in the biology department at San José City College for many years. She has a Ph.D. from UCSC in Environmental Studies where she studied the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the farms of west central Mexico. Her book entitled The Farmworkers’ Journey summarizes the results, arguments and conclusions of her research and was published by UC Press.. She has been recognized for her work by The U.S. Congress and many organizations. She was chosen as a Woman of the Year for 2013 and 2014 by the National Association of Professional Women. In March 2018, she was chosen for a 16th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Community Award in Watsonville and as Woman of the Year by Mark Stone’s 29th District for 2019.
Dr. Lopez’ research findings while interviewing central California farmworker families and their family members in Mexico were fundamentally disturbing and life transforming. As a result, she is actively attempting to create awareness about the Human Rights abuses that are endemic to every juncture of the migrant circuit. She has also initiated many projects on both sides of the border designed to alleviate some of the inordinate suffering experienced daily by migrant farm workers and their family members in Mexico.
Recent Published Articles: López, A.A., 2011. New Questions in the Immigration Debate. Anthropology Now 3(1) pp. 47–53 | López, A.A., 2011. NAFTA and the Campesinas Left Behind. Anthropology Now 3(2) pp. 35-40.
Degrees: Ph.D. in Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz, 2002 Dissertation Title: From the Farms of West Central Mexico to California’s Corporate Agribusiness: The Social Transformation of Two Farming Regions.
Post-Doc at UC Berkeley from 2004 to 2006 | M.A. in Environmental Biology, UC Santa Barbara | B.A. in Biology, UC Riverside
Katherine Gabriel-Cox, MD, Board president
Dr. Katie Gabriel-Cox is an OBGYN physician at Salud Para La Gente and Watsonville Community Hospital. Katie values the opportunity to volunteer with CFF and address some of the many factors impacting the health of the agricultural community. She also enjoys the opportunity to connect with patients outside the clinic.
A California native, Katie received her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego, her Medical Doctorate from UC Davis, and her Master’s in Public Health with an emphasis in Maternal-Child Health from UC Berkeley. She also serves on the inaugural board of the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District and the Board of Hospice of Santa Cruz County.
Steve Herrera, BOARD MEMBEr
Steve Herrera teaches Religious Studies at Notre Dame High School in San Jose and has been teaching high school for 44 years. He is a Deacon in the Diocese of San Jose and works with the social ministries at St. Teresa Parish in San Jose. He has conducted dozens of justice-immersion trips globally, in the US and has assisted with the Farmworker Reality Tours.
Steve is the former President of the Sacred Heart Community Service Board of Directors in San Jose and also serves on the St. Joseph's Family Center Board of Directors in Gilroy and is a Board member of the Silicon Valley Inter-religious Council in. He has an MA in Theology from the University of San Francisco with a focus on social justice.
Jovita Molina, BOARD MEMBEr
Jovita Molina was born and raised right here in beautiful Watsonville. As a High School student she would pick berries on her summer breaks at her parents ranch and then again as a young mother. She has also held housekeeping and janitorial jobs but now has had the honor to have been with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District for 27 years working as the Library Media Technician at Alianza Charter School where she serves local children some of which come from the families who toil the fields of Watsonville. She will be retiring very soon in order to spend more time with her mother and being of service to others.
Wendy gabbe day, Development & Events Director
Wendy Gabbe Day has been coordinating nonprofit events the past 15 years and worked in Development for the Homeless Garden Project. She coordinated Harvesting Equity with Dolores Huerta in Watsonville, as well as VegFest in Santa Cruz and Portland, Oregon; she wrote a plant-based cookbook, she's a food blogger, and co-producer of the documentary Vegan: Everyday Stories.
Wendy is on the Board at Monarch Community School. She played college basketball at University of California, Irvine and enjoys being outdoors with her partner, kids, and rescue dogs.
