Silvia Rondon was named Oregon IPM Center (OIPMC) Director back in July 2021. She would drive over 540 miles from Hermiston to Corvallis once a month, spending 1 week in Corvallis and the remaining time in Hermiston, since one of her posts was based in Hermiston, at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center where she served as Extension Entomologist Specialist for 17 years, and 1 year as interim director of the HAREC. She is now located in Corvallis and spending all of her time focusing on the Oregon IPM Center.
Silvia received her BA and MS in Entomology from the Agraria University in Lima, Perú, and PhD in Crop Sciences with a major in Entomology and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2002, she worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Florida Horticulture Department. In Sept-2005, she joined Oregon State University working as an applied Extension Entomologist.
As director of the OIPMC, her team aims to promote and support Integrated Pest Management for Oregon and the Northwest region, in an equity and inclusive manner in agriculture and non-agricultural sectors, such as urban and structural IPM, school IPM, and collaborations with Oregon's natural resource and state and federal agencies. OIPMC goal is to serve as a one-stop hub of information regarding IPM research and extension activities around the state and region while fostering communication, participation, and engagement among IPM researchers, practitioners, and partners. To learn more about OIPMC check their website https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/oipmc (English/Spanish videos available).