Myrna Cadena

Big thank you to for inviting me to participate in the Latino Book and Family Fair in Oceanside last weekend. I enjoyed promoting Dr. Maurice Pitesky's new book, Dr. Cluck's Backyard Chickens, which he co-authored with Dr. Evan Adler and cartoonist Will Suckow. 🤩📚🐓

I can't wait to get my own copy. I saw firsthand how hard worked on making the book extra special. Not only is the book peer-reviewed, meaning that it was reviewed by other poultry experts, but it is also engaging with fun cartoon characters, drawings, and puns. You all know I love an egg-cellent pun. 😜🥚🐣

You can buy online from at the link below: https://anrpublications.org/search?q=dr+cluck&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&type=product

Feeling recharged and inspired after attending this year’s User Conference (UC)! It was an incredible week full of learning, connection, and community. 😊🫶🌎✨

🔹 1st pic: The geogeek in me couldn't resist this photo op. 😆
🔹 2nd pic: Women and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Social— It was great to reconnect with a familiar face I met at a previous Esri UC. Thank you for your advice, Natalia!
🔹 3rd pic: Latinx in GIS User Group Meeting— Big thank you to RomoGIS ( ) for hosting the second meetup. I left feeling empowered to uplift my community. 🇲🇽
🔹 4th pic: Black in GIS Special Intesrest Group— Grateful to Clinton Johnson from for teaching us how to introduce ourselves with intention and impact.
🔹 5th pic: Women and GIS Special Interest Group— Thank you for continuing to build such an inclusive and supportive space.
🔹 6th pic: ArcGIS: How Maps Work session— learning from Ken Field ( ) and John Nelson ( ) was an honor! I can’t wait to apply some of their tips in my next map project.

A special thank you to for continuing to support my professional development. 😊🙏🗺

Help shape the future of CALFP! 🔬🧫🍅🐓📝

The California Association for Food Protection (CALFP) wants to better understand and serve the needs of our members across the state. We’re inviting California-based members of the International Association for Food Protection ( ) to complete a brief survey about CALFP’s website, communication channels, and professional development opportunities. Your input will help us shape our outreach, plan future annual meetings, and explore new ways to connect and support our growing community.

🗓️ Survey closes Tuesday, July 1, 2025
🔗 Survey link:
https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0wTEhJPT5Yxgo5g

Thank you for your consideration!

Throwback Thursday to when I first met the Budweiser horses as an undergrad. 🤩🐎💖 At the time, I was set on becoming a small-animal vet—until I had a change of heart and fell in love with horses. For a while, my dream was to move back to San Diego to manage a horse barn near Del Mar—or maybe even one in Kentucky. Those early ambitions came rushing back when I recently saw the gentle giants again at the Los Angeles County Fair (second pic).

I'm grateful my parents always encouraged me to keep an open mind and reminded me that I didn’t need to follow just one path. Keeping an open mind has allowed me to carve a unique path or niche, as my mentor likes to say.

❓️I would love to hear if you changed career paths, too!

Big congratulations to my best friend — now officially Dr. Alejandra Figueroa, DVM! 🎉🎓👩‍🎓🥳🎊🐾🐓🐈

I’ve had the honor of witnessing your incredible journey firsthand — from late nights spent finishing assignments to powering through tough exams — all while showing up for your family and friends with an unwavering heart.

You did it, Dr. Alejandra Figueroa!! ¡Sí se puede! 👩‍🎓📜💪🇲🇽

😎

Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you. 😊🌟🌌

Throwback 📸: My friend and I bumped into a stormtrooper after attending —feels like light years ago.

I’m grateful to have participated in 's Media Training in Davis. The session began with an engaging presentation by and Mike Hsu on how to navigate media interviews, followed by valuable social media insights from Doralicia Garay.

We then put what we learned into practice through practice interviews. 🎬🎙🎥

The professional setup by Ethan Ireland —with lights, cameras, and rapid-fire questions—added just the right amount of pressure to simulate a real on-camera interview. I quickly realized how easy it is to get rattled under the spotlight. Moving forward, I’ll make time to rehearse with a colleague or record myself on my phone before any media interviews. I’ll also focus on clearly delivering my main messages while applying the helpful tips shared during the training.

Thank you to UC ANR for organizing this opportunity and supporting our growth as science communicators!

📸 Photo credit (first image): Doralicia Garay
📸 Photo credit (second image): Pam Kan-Rice

📽 Myrna

It was an honor to be invited as a panelist for the Alumni Career Panel co-hosted by the and ! 👩‍🎓🐄 🐓 I really enjoyed sharing my experience working in extension and spreading the word about —a system I didn’t know about as an undergrad. I hope it’s a helpful resource for students exploring career paths. It was also inspiring to learn from my fellow panelists and connect with future leaders in animal science!

Many thanks to the Animal Science Department for the kind invitation and thoughtful dinner—it was a wonderful evening. 😊🙏

Go Ags! 🐎

Tuve el honor de participar en el podcast News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) de , donde hablé sobre la Gripe Aviar y la importancia de la bioseguridad en aves de traspatio.

Fue mi primera experiencia en un podcast, y estoy muy agradecida por la oportunidad de compartir sobre un tema que me apasiona. Muchísimas gracias a Ricardo Vela por la invitación y la gran conversación. También agradezco a todos los que trabajan para hacer la bioseguridad más accesible. Ojalá sea el primero de muchos.

🔗 Podcast
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875004/episodes/16770648

🔗 Podcast con video
https://youtu.be/hBVFDTD2uwM

🔗 Los enlaces al podcast están disponibles en mi biografía tambien.

🎙 Myrna
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I had the honor of participating in the News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS) podcast by where I talked about Avian Influenza and the importance of biosecurity in backyard poultry flocks.

This was my first podcast experience, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to discuss a topic I’m passionate about. A big thank you to Ricardo Vela for the invitation and the great conversation. I would also like to thank the other team members who are working to make biosecurity more accessible. I hope this is the first of many.

Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1875004/episodes/16770648

Video podcast:
https://youtu.be/hBVFDTD2uwM

🔗 The links are also available in my bio.

🎙 Myrna