Testimonial
It was an amazing experience working with Dr. Abraham. Great to know someone who is able analyze situations and rise above in order to meet the objective. Very understanding and approachable. He has demonstrated great qualities that makes him an asset such as: critical thinker, problem solver, mediator, knowledgeable, fast pased, ethical, open to growth. That last one is very important. Open to growth is what makes a person limitless to what their capabilities are or can be. He is dedicated to his work and his education. I’ve seen him work with crews and on a one to one basis and he has managed to direct instruction on both scenarios. I came into a field in which I didn’t have much experience in. I only had with me the general knowledge of how things function in the work environment. Dr. Abraham guided me to find the tools for myself that made me successful in, not only understanding the agriculture field, but also familiarizing me with the innovative technique of micro-budding. I adquired skills I didn’t know I had because he was patient. He broaden my possibilities because now I have a different perspective on how to handle situations, with coworkers, employees, vendors and of course more importantly the boss. Highly recommended.
A former co-worker
★★★★★
About me
Entomologist, Ag Operations Leader, and Agricultural Scientist with over 24 years of hands-on experience in various aspects including research and development, project management, fresh produce food safety and regulatory agency know-how, technical expertise in crop production, IoT, employee recruiting and coaching, hands-on farm and farming experience emphasizing environmental stewardship.
My current role as an R&D Scientist in the Insect Control group of Syngenta’s Vero Beach Research Center gives me the opportunity to impact Agriculture on a much larger and global scale. Trialing active ingredients at various stages of the pipeline, finding efficacious use cases and finding answers to questions that come up in the process.
Prior to that, I was the Research Leader for an Innovative and forward focused Agricultural company, IMG Citrus, that has featured multiple times in top 100 businesses in the Orlando area.
My forway into commercial production was in south Texas in where we built a world class nursery and high density orchard. Having started as the Entomologist, I was lastly the Director of Operations, Food Safety & Entomology for US Citrus, LLC.
Hopefully, this online connection will lead to even better real-life connections. Drop a comment or send me an email via the “Contact” page if there is anything you would like to chat with me about.
The road I’ve travelled
A global citizen, I have lived in three continents, namely, Asia, Africa and North America. Lived initially in Nigeria, then raised in southern part of India after which I came to the USA.
My baccalaureate degree in Agriculture was done at College of Horticulture in Kerala Agricultural University in Kerala state of India.
Armed with the intention to pursue a graduate, I however first worked at what is similar to the county extension program in the USA, called Kissan Call Center, helping farmers with practical issues of their operations anywhere from conception of idea to harvesting and marketing and everything in between. There was even a time when a farmer called asking for helping birth a calf of his cow. As I am not trained as a veterinarian, I had to direct him to somebody that had that expertise.
Starkville, Mississippi, the home of Mississippi State University was the starting point of the next chapter of my life, in the United States of America. During my time there, the two main enterprises in the locale was the University and a Walmart. Starkville has since made amends, but the Starkville experience was a stark difference for an Indian kid whose impression of America was based on the numerous Hollywood movies through the years. The Entomology department, great teachers, bug camp, and the research experience on the coast of Biloxi mentored by Dr. David Held, as his career’s first MS student was a great launch pad for my PhD in another school in the SouthEastern conference a few years later. Athens, Georgia, the home of University of Georgia, often among the top schools in the nation still boasts of a great community, locality, campus, Entomology department and everything else possible. The proximity to Atlanta, the big city, and the university campus feel is something I still cherish. My PhD Advisor here was Dr. Kristine Braman, and is somebody that I (or anybody that I have spoken to) never had the chance to see get MAD. Apart from the research and academic mentoring, the grace with which she carried and still carries herself is an example I strive to emulate.
Professional society
I got to know Cheri throughout my 9-year tenure as Executive Director of the Entomological Society of America, and watched him progress from graduate student to professional scientist. Cheri is a dedicated scientist and was a highly engaged volunteer leader at ESA. He was a student leader, serving as chair of the Student Affairs Committee and was later recognized and called to advocate for the discipline as an ESA Science Policy Fellow. Both are exclusive honors with significant responsibility, requiring building consensus, communicating clearly, identifying goals and developing support to move them forward. I recommend Cheri highly for any role in a dynamic environment that requires motivating teams to achieve common goals.
★★★★★
Former Acquaintance through The Entomological Society of America
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