Joe Damiano

Joseph Damiano joined CDFA's Pierce's Disease Control Program (PDCP) as the statewide coordinator in November 2022. The PDCP is responsible for detecting and controlling the vector of Pierce's Disease, which can have devasting impacts on California's winegrapes. Pierce's disease is caused by a strain of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa and can kill grapevines.

Joseph was born in Sacramento and grew up on a small family farm in the Sierra Foothills. He has a degree in Plant Science-Viticulture from the University of California, Davis, and extensive experience in the wine and agriculture industries.

Joseph worked at E. & J. Gallo Winery as a grower relations representative in the San Joaquin Valley. He then joined Kendall-Jackson Wines as a grower relations manager, which enabled him to work with grape growers throughout California. In 1999, he relocated back to the Sierra Foothills to manage a 200-acre vineyard in the Grass Valley Area. In 2002, Joseph accepted a position in the Nevada County Department of Agriculture as an Agricultural Biologist. He became licensed as an Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. In 2011, he was appointed as the Agriculture Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures for Colusa County, a position which also included being the manager of the airport, migrant housing center, and the air pollution control officer.

After five years as Agricultural Commissioner, Joseph joined the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) as a Branch Chief in the Pest Management and Licensing Branch. In 2020, after a department reorganization, he assumed the role of Branch Chief over Enforcement Headquarters at CDPR.

Damiano helps manage and operate a six-acre family vineyard in the Auburn area.