Derek Newberger graduated from Baylor University in 2014 with a B.S. in Biology. Originally pursing a medical doctorate, Derek changed his career path after his impactful experience of releasing 250 baby sea turtles of the coast of Mexico. From there, Derek was interested in sustainability and changed his undergraduate thesis to anthropogenic metal accumulation in American Crocodiles. Next, in the Peace Corps, Derek lived in Panama or over two years where he worked on ecological sustainable projects like reforestation and constructing fuel efficient wood burning stoves. While Derek lived in this small rural mountain town, growers were changing from sustainably growing sugar cane to conventional farming tomatoes to improve their quality of life. This change from sustainable growing, to needing irrigation and pesticides, had a large impact on the environment in a short time. Seeing a growing need for sustainable agriculture, Derek went to the University of San Francisco for a M.S. in Biology and had the privilege to work with Star Route Farms, the longest continually certified organic farm in California. His thesis was on the characterization of the phyllosphere of cover crops. Derek is now a Ph.D. student in the Vivanco lab, looking for sustainable cropping techniques to alleviate replant disease in peaches.