Our Team

Ermias Kebreab

Associate Dean of Global Engagement and Director of the World Food Center

Ermias Kebreab is a renowned scholar and skilled administrator with extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and animal science. Alongside his leadership of the World Food Center, Dr. Kebreab serves as the Associate Dean of Global Engagement in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, and through both positions he oversees the advancement of the college's international goals while working in collaboration with extensive internal and external partnerships to magnify the grand challenges facing our global food systems.

Dr. Kebreab is the Sesnon Endowed Chair in the Department of Animal Science. He has conducted extensive research in developing strategies for using feed additives to reduce methane emissions from livestock and has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications. He is chair of the United Nations FAO Technical Working Group on Feed Additives, a committee member for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Panel on Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States and also serves on the NAS Committee for Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle. He is a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2019 Update on Good Practices Guideline in Chapter 4, "Emissions from Livestock and Manure Management." Dr. Kebreab is a recipient of the 2018 Bouffault International Animal Agriculture award and the 2014 American Feed Industry Ruminant Nutrition award from the American Society of Animal Science.

Dr. Kebreab has previously served as the Associate Vice Provost of Academic Programs for Global Affairs and as the Deputy Director for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis. Hailing from Eritrea, Dr. Kebreab received his B.Sc. in biology from the University of Asmara, followed by a M.Sc. in integrative biology and a Ph.D. in ecological modeling from the University of Reading, UK.

Nikki Grey Rutamu

Training Director

With a family background in agriculture, degrees in Cultural Studies and Public Health and more than twenty years of professional experience with in-country application spanning five continents, Ms. Grey Rutamu is a seasoned project manager and agricultural development professional. She has hosted and facilitated training for hundreds of professionals from more than seventy countries on the six populated continents including dozens of multi-week education programs for international career professionals and longer-format fellowship programs. She is an expert in adult educational programming and is particularly adept at bridging intercultural understanding between professionals and ensuring applicability of concepts to “real world” use. Creating and fostering inclusive environments is highly important to her; personal inclusivity statement available upon request.