Lulu Waks , has joined the UCCE Sonoma team as Senior Agricultural Program Assistant. Lulu will be working with partners and private landowners to promote the use of prescribed fire as a tool to achieve fuels reduction and ecological enhancement within the county. She’ll also be researching the interaction of fire and grazing, and the complementary nature of the two to achieve vegetation management goals on the landscape. A Sonoma County native and nature lover, Lulu is thrilled by the opportunity to work for UCCE on behalf of the stewardship of our beloved Sonoma County lands.

Lulu holds a Master’s degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management from UC Berkeley, and a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies with a minor in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. While pursuing her MS, she conducted research with private forest landowners regarding the impacts of a high-severity wildfire to their lives and properties, and their impressions of reforestation in the area.

Since 2012, Lulu has been traveling annually to Patagonia, Argentina to help manage a remote guest lodge and off-grid community on a 100,000 acre horse and cattle ranch. There, she guides multiday horse pack trips into the Andes and tends a large organic food garden. She loves horseback riding, backpacking, and dancing. Lulu is a certified Wilderness First Responder and Firefighter Type 2.