[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING DR. ANITA OBERHOLSTER, RECIPIENT OF THE YOLO AMERICAN DREAM 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 11, 2023

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. 
Anita Oberholster, a renowned member of our community who has been 
chosen to receive the prestigious Yolo American Dream Award for 
California's Fourth Congressional District. This award honors 
immigrants who have excelled professionally, through entrepreneurship 
and innovation, in the arts and culture, or through community service. 
Dr. Oberholster's exceptional research and philanthropic activities 
make her a very deserving recipient of this recognition.
  Dr. Oberholster was born in South Africa, where she received a 
bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry and an honors degree in 
Chemistry from Stellenbosch University. She then went to Australia to 
earn a Ph.D. in Wine Science from the University of Adelaide in South 
Australia in 2008. She moved to the United States in 2011 to work at 
University of California, Davis as a cooperative extension specialist, 
professor of extension. There she became a vital member of our 
community through her research in finding solutions to problems 
plaguing the wine industry.
  Dr. Oberholster has been a board member of the American Society of 
Viticulture and Enology for 6 years and is currently the 2nd vice-
president of the society. Additionally, Dr. Oberholster has also worked 
as the secretary of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture 
Foundation (ASEV) which fundraises to give scholarships to viticulture 
and enology students. Furthermore, she is a member of the LLC 
Management Committee which works to organize the Unified Grape and Wine 
Symposium. She is currently the chair of the coordination and extension 
committee that is responsible for the Department of Viticulture and 
Enology Extension and Outreach activities. Previously, she was the 
chair of the Viticulture and Enology graduate group and worked as an 
advisor to incoming students.
  Dr. Oberholster is now the vice-chair of the Department of 
Viticulture and Enology and is doing important research to benefit the 
grape and wine communities. She focuses on the challenges the grape and 
wine industries are dealing with, including Grapevine Red Blotch 
Disease and the impact of smoke from wildfires on grape and wine 
quality. Dr. Oberholster prioritizes sustainability and works to help 
our wine community through methods such as improving the quality of 
winery wastewater recycling methods.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Oberholster's research and contributions to our wine 
community, and work to help students has greatly enriched our Yolo 
community. Her readiness to help others is evident in her impactful 
work at University of California, Davis and the ASEV Foundation. It is 
therefore fitting and proper that we honor her here today with the Yolo 
American Dream Award.

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