Given annually to an individual or organization whose work on integrated pest management in the Northeast deserves special recognition, the award celebrates those who contribute to the development of new IPM tools; implement or evaluate IPM methods; encourage demonstrations and adoption of IPM; educate others about integrated pest management; and work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders and communities.
Obregon Corredor joined the NYSIPM Program in 2022 where she furthers the Program’s commitment to identifying and promoting sustainable risk assessment tools. Her research assesses the effects of key chemical, biological and physical stressors in agricultural and urban systems to terrestrial organisms, specifically pollinators.
In a letter announcing the award, Northeastern IPM Center Director Deborah Grantham thanked Obregon Corredor for her “strong and outstanding contributions to IPM” and noted the impressive pool of candidates from which she was selected.
Obregon Corredor has a diverse background in integrated pest management. A native of Colombia, she received her bachelor’s degree in agronomic engineering and master’s degree in entomology from the National University of Colombia, where she studied stingless bee beekeeping, pollination biology and the botanical engineering of honey. She served as an assistant professor of entomology, integrated pest management and fruit production at LaSalle University before earning a Fulbright fellowship to pursue her PhD in entomology from Cornell University. Her doctoral work combined multiple research interests to explore the factors that modulate pesticide exposure and risk to bees in agricultural environments.
“As New York officials continue efforts to protect dwindling pollinator populations, Diana’s efforts to develop and increase implementation of environmentally friendly controls for managing pests is more important than ever,” NYSIPM Director Alejandro Calixto said. “We could not be prouder of Diana’s contributions on behalf of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program and all of New York’s farmers and growers.”
