Almond Industry Stunned by Sudden Loss of Leader
May 27, 2020 
In this file photo from 2014, Almond Board of California members (from left) Christi Heintz, Bob Curtis, and Gabriele Ludwig take time during a meeting in Washington, DC. Heintz reportedly passed away recently from an allergic reaction after a bee sting.
Photo courtesy of the Almond Board of California
Christi Heintz, Director of Production Research and Environmental Affairs for the Almond Board of California (ABC) from 1996 to 2005, is being remembered by colleagues for her visionary leadership on almond production and environmental issues following her tragic death on May 11. Heintz was hiking on Black Mountain near Las Vegas when she was apparently stung by a bee and suffered a fatal allergic reaction.
Tributes to Heintz poured in from former ABC staff and almond industry members who worked with Heintz when she managed research in the areas of insect and pest control, disease management, irrigation, nutrition, orchard management, varietal development, and pollination. Oversight of environmental issues was added to Heintz’s portfolio in 2001 when the ABC created the Environmental Committee. During her tenure, the almond industry became actively involved in issues related to air and water quality, crop protection and the Endangered Species Act.
President and CEO of the Almond Board Richard Waycott said, “I worked closely with Chris from the first day I joined ABC in 2002 through her departure in 2006, and beyond that as a consultant to ABC on apiary issues and as the founder and director of Project Apis m. She was my tutor on all things production and environmental as I climbed my learning curve in the almond industry. I am so grateful for those years working with Chris as a professional and friend. I send her family my most sincere condolences and wish them joy as they celebrate her life.”
Julie Adams, ABC’s Vice President in Global Technical & Regulatory Affairs, noted, “She was with the board at a pivotal point, when it was a small staff and everyone had multiple responsibilities. Many of her activities led to bigger things – expanding into environmental issues, nutrition, bees, etc. She brought in a consultant, Gabriele Ludwig, to help with pesticide issues and later asked her to deal with that ‘sustainability’ area, which has grown from a small issue to a dominant issue.”
At the Almond Board, Heintz helped create the Honey Bee Task Force, which focused on honey bee health and pollination issues. In 2006, after leaving ABC, Heintz was instrumental in founding Project Apis m (PAm), which has become the largest non-profit organization funding honey bee research projects in the U.S. and Canada. She served as PAm’s executive director for 10 years before retiring in 2016.
Chairman Emeritus of PAm Dan Cummings worked with Heintz for more than 20 years at both ABC and PAm. He pointed out, “Chris’s contributions have been recognized by many distinguished service awards from various beekeeping organizations. Chris was an amazing complement of vision and inspiration and always cheerful, a real pleasure to work with. Her contributions to the almond and walnut industries are incalculable. What a tragic loss for all of us.”
Dr. Gabriele Ludwig, ABC’s director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs, said she considers Heintz to be the “godmother or seed setter or initiator” of the Almond Board’s sustainability program.
“She sensed more than 15 years ago that this was going to be a key topic for agriculture. She initiated conversations within the Environmental Committee that led to grower focus groups to develop a definition of sustainability that was meaningful for almond growers. Her parting shot to me when she left ABC to move to Arizona was, ‘Figure out sustainability for almonds!’”
But more important than work, says Ludwig, was “her moral compass, her high expectations, her drive, her leadership, and also her degree of caring.”
Bob Curtis, the Almond Board’s former Director of Agricultural Affairs, cited Heintz for her “progressive vision on honey bee nutrition, in particular supplemental forage, cover crops and Project Apis m.’s Seeds for Bees program,” which gives free cover crop seed mixes to growers in an effort to provide bees natural nutrition with health benefits before and after almond bloom, when there is a dearth of pollen. “Her leadership on this issue will be long remembered by our industry,” Curtis said.
Dr. Karen Lapsley, ABC’s former Chief Scientific Officer, reflected on her memories of Heintz: “When I joined ABC in 1999, Chris was responsible for both the nutrition and production research programs. She initiated ABC efforts to fund key human clinical trials, but it was clear her passion lay with production research and the complex web of interaction with growers, farm advisors and especially bee researchers! She willingly handed over the management of the stellar network of nutrition researchers she had established for ABC.”
Matt Billings, former chair of ABC’s Production Research Committee, met Heintz shortly after she was hired in 1996, when he was the new chair of the committee. “It was during these years that we would often trade hiking and backpacking stories,” he explained. “She was the best liaison a young green chair could want. We spent countless meetings, lunches and dinners strategizing and working to improve the production side of the almond industry. She was strong, strategic and, above all, trustworthy. She truly loved the almond industry and especially the bees used to pollinate them, as seen in her later work for Project Apis m. I will miss her and her passion for life.”
Former Almond Board CEO Rodger Wasson (1991-2001) recalled, “When I moved to California to become the CEO of the Almond Board, it became clear that we needed a special talent to head the scientific and research needs of the industry. It didn’t take long for Chris’s name to come up, although she wasn’t looking for a job and she didn’t want to leave Sacramento. As we talked, it became clear that she was the perfect person for the job and there was no reason that she would have to move. While most people associated Chris with leading the production research for the Almond Board, many do not realize that she managed the early nutrition research that became a foundation of the almond industry’s success. Chris’s knowledge, enthusiasm and upbeat personality is sadly to be missed but can forever be appreciated by co-workers, friends and almond growers who harvest many benefits of her contributions.”
Heintz is survived by her husband Mike, daughters Tara and Erin, son Kevin, and nine grandchildren. A Celebration of Life is being planned for the near future in Green Valley, AZ. More details can be found at a memorial website established by her family. Information about donations in her memory may be found at this link.
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