Leadership Team

We hired SureHarvest because, “They get it.”

– Jan DeLyser, California Avocado Commission

At SureHarvest, we know sustainability from the ground up.

Our expertise lies in the business, scientific and practical knowledge of production agriculture, combined with experience in designing and implementing management information systems for the agrifood supply chain.

Dr. Jeff Dlott

Dr. Jeff Dlott founded SureHarvest in 1999 with a vision for achieving a sustainable agrifood system by measuring and then rewarding growers for producing public benefits like cleaner water and air, job opportunities, and vibrant communities, in addition to food. Dr. Dlott assembled a group of tech-savvy investors and dedicated management team to design the knowledge and technology systems needed to create a ‘sustainability currency’ for the agrifood marketplace. He has almost 20 years of experience in pest management research and the development of sustainability programs for over 25 different commodities, most notably, the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program. Dr. Dlott is a co-founder of the Sustainability Index for Specialty Crops, an initiative to design sustainability performance metrics for the specialty crop sector. He is also participating in a multi-stakeholder effort to design a Sustainability Index for Walmart to measure the impact of the production processes of Walmart’s 60,000+ suppliers. Dr. Dlott received his Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

Pam Mitchell

Ms. Pam Mitchell is responsible for overall company operations including sales, marketing, finance and administration. She is an experienced technology implementation project director having managed numerous system implementations in the healthcare sector at some of the largest organizations in the country. Ms. Mitchell has over 20 years of business management experience across industries including technology, research, healthcare and agriculture. Since joining SureHarvest in 2005, she has overseen the implementation and sales of the Farming MIS product. Ms. Mitchell received a B.A. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Dr. Cliff Ohmart

Dr. Cliff Ohmart joined SureHarvest in September, 2009 to lead the Professional Services team in the design, implementation and evaluation of sustainability strategies for the agrifood supply chain. Prior to joining SureHarvest, Cliff served as the Sustainable Winegrowing Director at the Lodi Winegrape Commission (LWC) for13 years. Working with the Commission’s 750 growers who farm over 100,000 acres, Cliff established the LWC as a national and international leader in sustainable farming practices.  Cliff is the senior author of the Lodi Winegrower’s Workbook: A self assessment of integrated farming practices, to guide grower innovation and adoption of sustainable farming practices. Cliff was the architect of the LodiRules for Sustainable Winegrowing program for third-party certification by Protected Harvest. In 1990, as a pest control advisor for Scientific Methods, he designed what was likely the first computer database system for commercial pest management, including programmable hand-held data loggers for in-field data collection using barcodes. This innovation was the inspiration for SureHarvest and its Farming MIS technology. Dr. Ohmart received his PhD in Entomological Sciences in 1976 from the University of California-Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Forest Entomology from the SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry. Dr. Ohmart has delivered over 300 lectures and presentations around the world and has written over 50 publications.

Christopher Van Coops

Mr. Christopher Van Coops is responsible for managing all aspects of the company's software products and technical services. He has been managing, designing, implementing, deploying and supporting IT, software, web and database systems for over 14 years. Prior to joining SureHarvest, he served as an engineering manager at Kronos where he oversaw the full software development life-cycle for time-and-attendance software products. Mr. Van Coops joined SureHarvest in 2002 to lead the design and engineering of the Farming MIS product. He earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Barbara Meister

Ms. Barbara Meister manages the development and implementation of the company’s marketing and public relations programs. She brings a unique balance of agricultural-based marketing, public policy, advocacy, leadership development, consulting and communication experience. Ms. Meister worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics from 1994-96 and the State Departments of Agriculture in Texas and Nebraska. She completed a B.A. in political science from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and an MPP from Harvard University – John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Andrew Arnold

Mr. Andrew Arnold manages the Professional Services arm of SureHarvest, where he collaborates with commodity associations and agrifood companies to design and develop sustainable practice programs. Mr. Arnold leads the development of Web-based tools to support sustainable practice data collection and benchmarking. Throughout his 20+ year career in the agri-food industry, he has focused on the intersection of information technology and business with experience in strategic planning, product development, project management, marketing, sales, and business development. Mr. Arnold brings experience in using information sharing tools to build collaborative value chains from his work with John Deere’s FoodOrigins group. He also managed information systems for the grape supply, logistics, and winemaking sector at E&J Gallo Winery. Mr. Arnold earned his B.A. from the University of California-Berkeley and a M.S. from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Dan Sonke

Dr. Dan Sonke grew up working on his family's almond farm and custom harvesting business near Manteca, California. He is the Program Manager for Protected Harvest, overseeing the development of standards, the process of certification and third-party auditing. As Senior Scientist with SureHarvest Professional Services, he partners with clients to define sustainable practice program strategies, develop metric-based assessment programs, and implement outreach, training and data collection efforts. Dr. Sonke helped to create the IPM Florida program at the University of Florida, where he served as Assistant IPM Coordinator, 2001-2005. He earned a Doctorate in Plant Medicine from the University of Florida and holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies (with a horticultural emphasis) from Dordt College in Iowa.

Franklin Dlott

Mr. Franklin Dlott is responsible for the SureHarvest Implementation Program, including installation, training and support services. Franklin brings a depth of production agriculture experience to SureHarvest, having worked for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties (the “Salad Bowl”) where he was responsible for IPM research and extension activity for growers, PCAs and agricultural professionals. He has over 3 years experience providing consulting support to the statewide Sustainable Winegrowing Program delivering program content, data management, analysis and reporting. Mr. Dlott received his M.Sc. in Botany from the University of British Columbia and a B.A. in Biology and Linguistics, with honors, from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jane Vandine

Ms. Jane Vandine manages the financial and human resource systems for SureHarvest. She brings a wide breadth of experience managing accounting, bookkeeping, contracting, customer service and marketing programs for architectural firms, small businesses, non-profits and a community college. Ms. Vandine received her B.A. in Psychology from Metropolitan State College in Colorado and has completed coursework for an M.A. in Counseling at California State University-Chico.