Sustainable Agriculture Specialist
Southwest Regional Office
Topic Areas: Policy, Soil Health, Communications
Specific Areas of Expertise: Soil health, soil carbon and nitrogen, multiagency collaboration, outreach
Luz Ballesteros Gonzalez is currently finishing her Master of Science degree in Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and she previously earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science at UTRGV and an Associate of Science degree in Chemistry at South Texas College. She has been a graduate research assistant in the College of Biology at UTRGV, where she did soil sampling and collecting data for the NRCS Dynamic Soil Properties project. She has also worked as the south Texas flood outreach specialist for the Texas Water Development Board and as a lab technician at the Texas Plant and Soil Lab.
Education:
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Environment and Society concentration, with a minor in Chemistry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Associates Degree in Chemistry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Previous Experience:
Graduate Research Assistant, August 2020-Present
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX
Conduct research and help gather data related to soil dynamic properties (DSPS) as part of the NRCS DSPS project. Focus on soil carbon and nitrogen response to strip tillage.
Research Assistant, January 2020-July 2020
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX
Processing soil samples, conducting heavy metal analysis, and doing translation of surveys, transcripts, and general data from English to Spanish.
Current Professional Affiliations and Committees:
Texas Floodplain Management Association
UTRGV Agroecology Lab