Officers

New Jersey native and former US Army Combat Engineer Captain, Luke served two tours in Iraq before finding his passion in wine making while stationed in Bamberg Germany.  Luke enjoys anything food and drink related, and enjoys making anything form hand made ravioli, ales, and limoncello.  You will find Luke behind the grill at any given DEVO BBQ.

BS Chemical Engineering Tulane University

BS Biology East Carolina University. 

Diego Roig- Vice President Operations

droig@ucdavis.edu

Niki Williams- Vice President of Human Relations

niki.l.williams@gmail.com

Niki was born amidst the corn and soybean fields of central Illinois, with nary a grapevine in site. In her previous life, she studied English literature, performed as an actor on stage and film, and labored in the travel industry. She now appears in the role as a student of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis and as DEVO’S Vice-President of Human Resources. Please silence your cell phones and hold your applause until after she actually receives her degree. Enjoy the show!

Lauren Schwartzburg- Public Relations, Social Media

lschwartzburg@ucdavis.edu

Lauren grew up in the Midwest, attended undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she received her degree in Biology with a focus in Food Science. She spent several years traveling through Italy and all over the United States, she made a stop in beautiful Sonoma County for her first harvest at Jordan Winery in 2009. Captivated by beauty of wine making, she decided to enhance her experience with further education at Davis. She is currently working harvest at Jordan and is a student of Dr.Bisson conducting research with genetically unique yeast strains! Lauren also loves triathlon, anything outdoors, and is traveling any chance she gets.  

Max is a second year graduate student in Viticulture & Enology, currently researching cap extraction kinetics in red wine fermentations with Dr. Block.  His interest in wine making started at a young age while helping his father with fermentations at home in Michigan, as well as working in a local wine shop.  After finishing his chemistry degree from the University of Michigan, Max moved to Napa where he worked his first harvest.  When he's not in the research winery, Max can be found riding his bike, skiing, rock climbing, hiking, and enjoying adult beverages with friends.

Shaunt Oungoulian graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Chemistry in 2008. Soon after he got his first winemaking experience as an intern at Breggo Cellars, a small pinot house in the Anderson Valley. After the harvest he was hired full time as their only full-time cellar employee. Shaunt traveled to New Zealand's Waiheke island for the 'spring' 2009 harvest to pursue syrah winemaking while working at the critically acclaimed Passage Rock Winery. The 2009 harvest was Shaunt's last at Breggo Cellars as he was accepted to the M.S. V&E program and is currently working with Doug Adams investigating the nitrogen economy of the grapevine.

 Brittany Dibb- Undergraduate Representative

bldibb@ucdavis.edu

Brittany is finishing her bachelors degree in V&E after spending fall quarter working as a harvest intern at NW Wine Company in Oregon. Upon graduation, Brittany plans to continue her love for wine by interning internationally. You might find her in France, New Zealand or maybe even South Africa! For now, she is studying (and tasting) diligently and working as the enologist at Rominger West Winery.

After graduating with a degree in biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aaron worked in the biotechnology industry for 7 years. There he did quality control testing, fermentation/purification process development, and technical sales.  He resigned from this industry and moved to the Napa Valley to work a harvest with MX Wines, making premium cabernet sauvignon from the Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard.  At
the conclusion of harvest, he traveled to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, to work a harvest with Sileni Estates.  Prior to beginning the master's program, he worked briefly at the winery in his hometown in Illinois--Mackinaw Valley Vineyard. Currently, he is working with Dr.Mark Matthews and Dr.Kenneth Shackel on deficit irrigation in Cabernet sauvignon. His career change would not have been possible without the love and support of his family.

Victor Martinez- Adjutant

As an international addition to the DEVO team, this Blues Brother will try to fill in the position of one of the DEVO secretaries. Originally from an arts and humanities background, his German program of Viticulture and Enology led him to UC Davis, and he is here to stay – thanks to one of the most unique and specific Scholarship programs. Always a fan of the USA and the West Coast especially, this made a dream he had not dared to dream come true. California has given him back the determination and zest he had lost long before. In the tradition of his predecessors, who have always been loyal DEVO devotees, he now attempts to take the involvement a step further. With all that said, he is more than grateful that Victor Martinez will be his back-up for fall quarter 2011, which he will be spending in an internship in Napa. Given the topical focus of the secretary position, Victor has agreed to stick around all year in order to take care of specifically American issues – e.g. legal issues, which Constantin can hardly address despite his coursework in Common Law.