LACBA Speaker July 6, 2026 - Keith Roberts (In Person)
Share the Buzz - Beekeeping for veterans program
Keith Roberts is a Los Angeles–based beekeeper, educator, and co-founder of The Valley Hive, a beekeeping and education center located at Topanga Nursery in Chatsworth. His journey began after encountering an observation hive at the Los Angeles County Fair—an experience that sparked a lifelong passion for bees and led him to study under respected beekeeper Walt McBride.
Roberts quickly became a leader in the local beekeeping community, serving as President of the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association and continuing to teach and mentor new beekeepers. Through The Valley Hive, he has built a hub that blends hands-on experiences, retail, and education—offering everything from beginner classes to immersive beekeeping experiences that connect people directly with the craft.
He is also the President of Share The Buzz, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to beekeeping education. A core focus of the organization is helping military veterans suffering from PTSD find relief through working with bees—offering them purpose, calm, and connection through hands-on time in the hives.
Known for his belief that beekeeping is an ancient and meaningful practice, Roberts emphasizes authenticity, stewardship, and respect for the natural world. His work focuses not only on producing high-quality, local honey, but also on fostering a deeper public understanding of bees and their essential role in our ecosystem.
LACBA Speaker August 3, 2026 - Kim Lehman (Via Zoom)
The Beekeeper’s Lab : Discussion and Demos
Candle bowls
Rolled candles
Beeswax jewelry
Comb rubbings
Lip balm
Painted hives
Seed balls
Mason bee houses
Encaustic Art
LACBA Speaker September 7, 2026 - Dr. Ruben Alarcón (Via Zoom)
Impacts of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions at 10,000 ft.
Dr. Ruben Alarcón, earned his Ph.D. at UC Riverside, where he studied plant-pollinator communities in high elevation mountain meadows. For his postdoctoral work at University of Arizona, he studied hawkmoth communities, followed by an entomology research position at the USDA’s Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Ruben Alarcón is currently the Chair of Biology at CSU Channel Islands and regularly teaches Entomology, Behavioral Ecology, and Apiculture & Bee Biology. His research focuses on pollinator ecology, honeybee health, and sustainable agriculture. He is the faculty advisor for the Bee Club. On his free time, Dr. Alarcón enjoys backpacking, kayaking, fishing, and volunteering with Canine Adoption and Rescue League https://carldogs.org/
LACBA Speaker November 2, 2026 - Genesis Chong (In Person)
Can some bees thrive better with Varroa? What Southern California hybrid honey bees may teach us
Genesis Chong is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside, where she studies how honey bees respond to various forms of stress, including parasites such as Varroa destructor and environmental challenges like heat stress. Her work combines field and laboratory approaches to understand the mechanisms that allow some bees to survive under pressure. She is particularly interested in how immune responses and host-parasite interactions contribute to resilience, with the goal of supporting more sustainable beekeeping practices.
Presentation:
In ongoing evidenced-based research, it is clear that some feral or hybrid bee populations consistently maintain lower varroa mite levels and require fewer mite treatments. Chong's research goal is to understand what exactly causes this phenomenon, and isolate it in order to benefit large scale bee populations, through the establishment of a molecular breeding program. In this talk, she will share her findings from her long-term study of feral-hybrid honey bee colonies in Southern California.
