MARBLESEED - Key Persons
Farmer Education Specialist bagwaj@marbleseed.org ext. 725 Holding a Master of Arts in Indigenous Education from Arizona State University, Alex (Red Lake Ojibwe) brings extensive experience in higher education, community-based language programs, and program development. He is a co-founder and the Curriculum Developer at Endazhi-Nitaawiging Charter School, based in the Red Lake Nation; and is a co-founding parent of the Gookonaanig Endaawaad language nest, based in Fond du Lac reservation. He resides at Bapashkominitigong with his partner Erika Resendiz and their children, and is involved with harvesting wild rice, various wild plants, and farming vegetables at Gitigaaning.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communication and Development
- Vice President of the Board of Directors for Groundswell Conservancy
In addition to her work at Marbleseed, Alexandria is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Groundswell Conservancy, a Wisconsin land trust organization. Prior to her position with Marbleseed, she worked in environmental advocacy, publishing and on a number of urban and rural farms. Alexandria lives in Baraboo, Wisconsin with her partner and dog Yoko.
Alpa's background includes working in food security issues using environmentally sustainable practices and culturally appropriate vegetables in food deserts and other underserved communities. Alpa currently lives in the Twin Cities with her husband, two teenagers and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to serve her community through the Parks and Natural Resources Commission, Dakota County Chamber Foundation and doing yoga with neighbors.
Charlie is the 2013 Organic Farmer of the Year. He operates 2,400 acres of certified organic corn, oats, soybeans, and alfalfa with his brothers and a son near Madison, South Dakota. Johnson Farms also has a 200-head cow-calf operation. Charlie served on the board of the Northern Plains Sustainable Ag Society for six years, leading it for three. He is active in Dakota Rural Action, South Dakota Farmers Union, and local politics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
Dan Cornelius, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, is the Outreach Program Manager for the University of Wisconsin Law School's Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center and the UW-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where he works on the development of producer cooperatives, supply chain analysis, and legal and policy aspects of food and agriculture. Mr. Cornelius is also a farmer and livestock producer with extensive experience providing technical assistance to Native American farmers and ranchers.
Darin, a third-generation dairy farmer, is president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union and serves on the board of the National Farmers Union. He and his wife, JoAnn, own Von Ruden Family Farm in Westby, Wisconsin, which they transitioned to organic in 2007. They are gradually transferring the farm's ownership to their son, Brett. Darin is a patron member of the Westby Cooperative Creamery, a founding member of Wisconsin Farmers Union Specialty Cheese, chairman of the Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Guild, and a founding member of the Upper Midwest Milk Producers Association.
Dela and her husband, Tony, have operated Scotch Hill Farm, a diverse family farm and CSA near Brodhead, Wisconsin, for over 20 years. Dela is a founding board member of the South Central chapter of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, helped launch the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, and served on the FairShare CSA Coalition board. Dela is also a founding member of South Central Wisconsin Women in Sustainable Agriculture, a core partner in the Soil Sisters farm tour and has hosted multiple In Her Boots workshops.
Dr. Clare Hintz runs Elsewhere Farm, a production permaculture farm near the south shore of Lake Superior in Herbster, Wisconsin. The solar-powered farm features perennial fruits and nuts interplanted on five acres, intensive market gardens, and rare-breed pigs and chickens, most marketed through winter and summer CSAs. Clare is also the editor of the Journal of Sustainability Education. Clare has a bachelor's degree in biology and writing, a master's in sustainable systems, and a Ph.D. in sustainability education with a focus on regenerative agriculture.
Dylan grew up on a CSA farm in SW Wisconsin. After graduating from Occidental College in 2016 he worked as a research specialist in organic vegetables at UW-Madison until 2021, with a focus on vegetable variety trials and cover crop-based reduced tillage methods for vegetable production. Dylan founded Circadian Organics in 2018 with his wife, Skye. They grow small scale vegetable and prairie seed contracts for several regional and national companies, cut flowers, and produce for a 100 member CSA. Their farm incorporates several practices for reducing tillage - typically tilling every 3 years - including crimped rye, deep mulch, living mulch, and semi-permanent beds.
Eliana is a creative professional with 16 years of experience in the food industry. As a food scientist by trade, she has had the opportunity to put her expertise and leadership experience into good use at different ingenuity-demanding roles in consumer-packaged goods, private label products, food service, and food ingredient manufacturing through a divergent thinking approach to problem solving. She has had the opportunity to work in food systems early on in her career through the USAID/Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer program in El Salvador and Value-Added Workshops development and facilitation for Indigenous Communities in Guatemala with the Norman Borlaug Institute and USDA. Eliana is looking forward to bringing her skills from her previous work to support the strengthening of the region's food system through her current role at The Common Market as Director of Partnerships. She currently serves as a mentor for the Good Food Accelerator and is the Institutional Procurement working group coordinator for the Artisan Grain Collaborative.
Jo's background includes working as a worker-owner in the country's oldest collectively owned and operated restaurant, Seward Cafe, in Minneapolis. In the wake of the George Floyd Uprising, Jo volunteered with a variety of mutual aid food projects in Minneapolis, including the Phillips Community Free Store. Jo lives in Portland, Oregon. In their free time, Jo enjoys sewing, cycling, foraging, and experimenting with fermentation.
Justine completed her B.A. in art history and gender + women's studies from The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2004 and went on to receive an M.A. in art education with a teaching certification and ESL endorsement from the same institution in 2010. She lives in Champaign with her partner and two children. For the past 19 years, they have annually created and programmed a music and arts festival called PYGMALION. She is also a professional photographer, a master gardener, and an explorer. Something near and dear to her is green burial, as she has been planning to secure land to provide social justice in direct internment for all to access.
Dr. Delate's research and extension program evaluates agroecological methods to improve organic farming systems in Iowa. Her research focuses on nutrient and pest management strategies that enhance production while lowering agriculture's environmental footprint. Current projects include an examination of appropriate crop rotations, organic no-till, varietal response, and integrated crop-livestock systems to improve soil quality and economic returns.
Along with her family, Katie owns and operates PrairiErth Farm, a 400+ acre organic vegetable and grain farm in Central Illinois. Katie oversees many facets of the vegetable operation along with her very talented staff. In addition, her passion lies in people development and helping others improve their leadership skills. Katie feels honored to serve on the Marbleseed board and promote the work this organization does to help others.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Owner of Pura Vida Organic Farm LLC
Kattia Jimenez is the founder and owner of Pura Vida Organic Farm LLC, a USDA certified organic hemp farm in south central Wisconsin. Kattia currently works at the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP). WPP is an endowment within the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Kattia manages every step of her hemp farming operation, from seed selection to planting, pruning, harvesting, drying, and working with processors to create the highest quality full spectrum CBD products. She was recognized for this work as a recipient of the 2022 Amy Award, which honors women entrepreneurs in memory of Amy Gannon, and as the 2022 Emprendedora del Año (Entrepreneur of the Year) by the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce. Kattia lives on her farm with her husband and their rescued pets.
Lori's background includes work related to community and environmental health, social justice, and food access. From 2014 to 2020, she brought all those things into focus through her farm-to-table restaurant, Cow & Quince, a community-supported restaurant in New Glarus, Wisconsin. She lives with her wife, LeAnn, on a small farm near Monticello, Wisconsin, where they grow vegetables and raise chickens and goats.
Job Titles:
- Organic Conservation Specialist
Marguerite is a forester by training with broader interests in holistic land management and food justice. Their work history ranges from forest restoration field work in the Southwest, invasive species management in south-central Wisconsin, and forestry outreach to Wisconsin communities and landowners. They have also worked on organic vegetable farms and at community farmer's markets. In their free time, Marguerite enjoys sharing food and playing old-time fiddle tunes.
Rosmann Family Farms, operated by Ron and Maria Rosmann and sons, outside of Harlan are known for their diversification and intensive use of research and experimentation in seeds, animals and organic agricultural procedures.
The Rosmanns also raise organic beef, pork and chickens, with organic eggs as a bonus product. The operation generates about 1,000 tons of compost annually from the livestock to replace chemical fertilizers.
The farm has had organic certification since 1994, beef operation since 1998 and certification for pork since 2004. The farm is certified by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).
Job Titles:
- Climate and Conservation Program Manager / Mercedes
Mercedes' agricultural roots are in organic vegetable production, but the power of ruminant animals led her to work in dairy sustainability and adaptive grazing. She received her bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia and her master's in environmental conservation from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Job Titles:
- Local Food Purchasing Specialist
Nou is an educator, an advocate, and community organizer. Food is a woven fabric of who she is. She is passionate in bridging communities through food and storytelling - working to increase food justice and land sovereignty. She has been involved with community gardens as a young child for decades, first volunteering as an interpreter between HMoob and English growers, then on payroll and now back to volunteering to help support, train, and manage community gardens in Dane County. She grew up on the eastside of Madison. Agriculture and vegetable growing is an ongoing legacy she and her family has cultivated for generations.
Job Titles:
- Operations and Events Coordinator
For over the past decade Sam has worked with multiple cooperatives and food service industries focused on local, organic, & sustainable food systems. He's a co-founder of the South Central Wisconsin Hemp Co-operative and joins Marbleseed after working for the Creative Team at E.l.f. Beauty. Originally from Chicago, he earned his degree in Playwriting and Directing and is an avid supporter of the arts.
Job Titles:
- Local Food Purchasing Specialist
Sara was raised in the Milwaukee suburbs. She grew up loving books and horses and earned a degree in Biology from UW-Milwaukee. She and her husband raised a son on a rotational sheep and lamb grazing operation in Southwest Wisconsin while she was also learning and working in hydroponic greenhouse operation and management, farm startups, tiny cheese factories, and collaborative farm management. When not at work, you'll likely find Sara at the barn with her beloved horses Larry and Lou and her good dog Buster.
Sarah has a degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota and owns a small landscaping business. She enjoys spending time growing, cooking, and eating delicious foods. She lives Downsville, Wisconsin with her partner, Drew, and their three cats. Their property that adjoins family land where they manage prairie, woodland, and wetlands.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
Sophia provides administrative support to the Marbleseed team. She, her husband, and their daughter live just outside of Menomonie, Wisconsin, where they enjoy vegetable and flower gardening.
Job Titles:
- Farmer Education Specialist
Tay's prior experiences include on-farm food safety, organic certification and quality management systems. He lives with his partner in Milwaukee and during the growing season he farms with his parents growing produce for local restaurants while slowly but surely planting a diverse orchard. He enjoys being active outside, eating good food and helping family farmers thrive.
Job Titles:
- Climate and Conservation Director / Organic Conservation Specialist
Tom and his wife own a 40-acre homestead farm near Spring Valley, Wisconsin. They are working to develop a permanent, woody perennial-based system with alley cropping and grazing. He hopes to someday earn the title of "Gentleman Farmer." He enjoys running, winemaking, and woodworking.
Job Titles:
- Farmer Network Specialist
Victoria is a community organizer, food systems researcher, and aspiring farmer from Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Her most recent roles include Lead Organizer on a ballot campaign to regulate payday lending in Nebraska, Packshed Manager at a diverse vegetable farm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Juice & Coffee Barista at an organic café in Key West, Florida. Her research (BA & MSc) has focused on racial and cultural inclusion in food systems spaces, placemaking, and the immigrant experience.