Tom Dean

Title: Co-Director

Office Phone: 575-646-5819

Cell: 575-835-8033

Email: tdean@nmsu.edu

Bio: Tom Dean is currently the Southwest District Director/Department Head for Cooperative Extension Service covering nine counties and Co-Director of the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center. He has been an active agent in New Mexico as well as Texas. He was county director of Socorro County for 11 years and then spent time as the State 4-H Ag/Natural Resource Specialist. Tom has a master's and bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University in Range Science.

Marshal Wilson

Title: Co-Director

Office Phone: 575-646-7243

Email: mwilson@nmda.nmsu.edu

Bio: Marshal Wilson is Co-Director of the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center (Center) and provides leadership from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture partner. In addition, Marshal Assistant Division Director for Agricultural Production Services and serves as the Emergency Support Function #11 coordinator for New Mexico. He has a passion for production agriculture and is an active partner on a cattle ranch in Lincoln County.

Janet Witte

Title: Project Coordinator

Office Phone: 575-646-5949

Email: jswitte@nmsu.edu

Bio: Janet Witte is a Project Coordinator with the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center, a cooperative venture with New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension Service and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Witte has been with the Center since 2008 where she assists the team by coordinating Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness trainings throughout the State utilizing the Cooperative Extension Service Agents and Specialists in those trainings as well as National trainers. She maintains liaison with industry, state and federal agencies and others in the state involved in agriculture, food production, and processing for training and exercises. She assists the Center team with grant funding management and budgeting submission. Witte earned her Master's of Science Degree in agriculture, has lived in and around Agriculture her entire life and is a participant in planning and execution of many trainings and exercises.

Robert Silver

Title: Program Specialist

Office Phone: 575-646-2816

Email: rsilver@nmsu.edu

Bio: Bob has been with New Mexico State University (NMSU) since 1992. He is currently a Program Specialist at the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences with the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center. The Center provides instruction to producers of fresh fruit and produce about the risk of microbial contamination during the production, harvest, and handling of these commodities. This instruction is a requirement under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule for farms that grow, pack, process, or sell fresh fruit and produce that are covered by regulations of the Act. Bob is a Lead Instructor with the Produce Safety Alliance that has developed a standardized curriculum to satisfy the training requirements outlined within the Produce Safety Rule. He and the Center plan, organize, and hold in-person and remote training so that producers can certify meeting the training requirements of the Rule.

Kevin Padilla

Title: Program Specialist

Office Phone: 575-339-5040

Email: kpadilla@nmda.nmsu.edu

Bio: Kevin Padilla is the Program Specialist for the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center, the “Center” is a collaborative effort between the NMSU (New Mexico State University) College of ACES (Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences) and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Kevin provides support for programs and outreach for the Centers food safety, biosecurity, and emergency preparedness programs. Kevin is a New Mexico native and NMSU graduate with many years of experience in the horticulture industry.

Sheri Shannon

Title: Administrative Assistant - Inter.

Office Phone: 575-646-2584

Email: sheris@nmsu.edu

Bio: Sheri Shannon is the Administrative Assistant for the Cooperative Extension Service Southwest District Supervisory Unit. Sheri serves as the administrative liaison for the Southwest District’s nine county extension offices, providing support to the county admins. She assists in maintaining the budget for the Southwest District, the Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center and the New Mexico Ranch Camp Program as well as any new grants and contracts that are obtained. Born and raised in Las Cruces, Sheri graduated from NMSU with a bachelor’s degree in Family & Consumer Science.