LACBA Speaker May 4, 2026 (In Person) - Phoebe Piper
Stories for Newbees
Phoebe Piper is a Certified Master Beekeeper and owner of the Los Angeles based beekeeping company, The Hive Tribe Beekeeping. Together with her team, she cares for over 100 hives in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Phoebe came into beekeeping with a background in animal husbandry and instantly fell in love with bees and the impact they have on the environment. She loves sharing her passion with others as a way to foster interest in the small, often overlooked ecosystems in our own backyards.
LACBA Speaker June 1, 2026 (Via Zoom) - James C. Nieh
Honey bee health: immune priming, queen diapers, and more!
Professor James C. Nieh was born in Taiwan, and grew up in Southern California. He received his B.A. at Harvard in 1991 and his PhD from Cornell University in 1997. He received the prestigious Harvard Junior Fellowship and in 2000, joined the faculty in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California San Diego where he is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. He held the Heiligenberg Chair of Neuroethology, was chair of his department, was elected Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and received the Hambleton Award for his bee research and the Springer Nature Distinguished Editor Award. He is an Associate Dean in the School of Biological Sciences, and is the Chair of the City of San Diego Bee City Committee and the UC San Diego Bee Campus Committee.
Dr. Nieh’s interests focus on bee communication, cognition, and health. He studies many types of social bees, including honey bees, bumble bees, and stingless bees. His lab studies natural and man-made stressors of social bees. A major part of his work focuses on foraging and communication in honey bees and honey bee health. The research on honey bee health focuses on how pesticides alter honey bee behavior and learning, how a common pathogen, Nosema ceranae, infects bees and alters their behavior, how honey bee immunity can be boosted to fight Nosema infection, how the bee gut microbiome may help us find new ways to counter Nosema infection, and how a nutritionally balanced diet can help bees exposed to pesticides.
LACBA Speaker July 6, 2026 - Keith Roberts
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 September 7, 2026 - Dr. Ruben Alarcón
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/
