Poppy received her AA in Anthropology at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. She began working in the service industry after college and spent ten years working in and managing restaurants. In 2017, she relocated to Durham, North Carolina, where she continued her path as a restaurant manager. Poppy began working for QCS in November of 2021 as a Certification Project Coordinator. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her pets, camp, and travel.

Ramkrishnan (Ram) Balasubramanian earned his Ph.D. in Crop Sciences, Masters in Agricultural Engineering, and Masters in Ecological Agriculture. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration.

Ram is a ISO 9001 Lead Auditor with extensive food safety/GAP and organic auditing experience. Additionally, Ram specializes in organic aquaculture standard and curriculum development. He has collaborated with the Produce GAP Harmonization Initiative, Global Food Safety Initiative, and GLOBALG.A.P. scheme training material and small holder guides.

Ram is a FSPCA Lead Instructor for the Foreign Supplier Verification Program and Lead Certified Trainer for the Produce Safety Rule. Ram has served in on numerous boards of directors including serving as the Organic Material Review Institute Board Chair. He has has farming roots with experience in producing both crops and livestock. Ram is a firm believer in family values and family first and, in his free time, he loves swimming, spicy food, and organic gardening and growing rare exotic and medicinal plants.

Ricardo was born in Venezuela, and grew up in Tampa, Florida. He received his B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of South Florida. After graduating, Ricardo worked as a nursery plant inspector for Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for four years before joining QCS. He has always enjoyed spending time outdoors, and in his free time, he likes to hike trails, swim, and cook.

Samantha Victores is originally from Weston, Florida and moved to Gainesville in 2018 to attend the University of Florida. She is a double gator and received her bachelor’s in plant science in 2021 and a master’s in agronomy in 2023. Her graduate thesis centered on the feasibility of organic peanut production in Florida, where there are no certified organic peanut farms. She also worked as the graduate assistant for the Field and Fork Farm, the campus farm which is managed organically and brings all produce to a free pantry for the UF community. She is eager to continue working around farms and farmers in both organic and GAP certifications. In her free time, she likes to go on nature walks, cook, attend trivia, and hangout with her two cats.

Hello, my name is Shemuel Patton, I was born in California and lived the last 19 years in Las Vegas, Nevada; I earned my Bachelor’s in Biology with minor focuses in chemistry and mathematics at Nevada State College. My interests range from playing music, learning languages (French and Spanish), and gardening. My newest hobby since moving here is spending almost every weekend at the beach and running from the ever-so abundant bugs that call Florida home.