Staff

Lori Stern

Executive Director
lori.stern@marbleseed.org
ext. 702
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.

Alexandria Baker

Communications & Development Manager
alexandria.baker@marbleseed.org
ext. 700
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.

Sarah Broadfoot

Operations Director
sarah.broadfoot@marbleseed.org
ext. 706
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.

Jenica Caudill

Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships
jenica.caudill@marbleseed.org
ext. 719
Jenica has been involved in the movement for regenerative agriculture and trade justice for small-scale farmers for over 10 years, working with Equal Exchange and Fair World Project. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner, Cody, and their daughter, Elsie.

Jo Facklam

Communications Coordinator
jo.facklam@marbleseed.org
ext. 721
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.

Tay Fatke

Local Food Purchasing Specialist
tay.fatke@marbleseed.org
ext. 724
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.

Alex “Bagwajinini” Kmett

Farmer Education Manager
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 a director of 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.

Tom Manley

Program Director
thomas.manley@marbleseed.org
ext. 704
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.

Victoria Ostenso

Farmer Network Specialist
victoria.ostenso@marbleseed.org
ext. 722
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.

Marguerite Rapp

Operations and Events Coordinator
marguerite.rapp@marbleseed.org
ext. 705
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.

Nou Thao

Local Food Purchasing Specialist
nou.thao@marbleseed.org
ext. 723
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 Hmong and English growers, then on payroll 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 have cultivated for generations.

Sarah Woutat

Farmer Advancement Coordinator
sarah.woutat@marbleseed.org
ext. 703
After nine years on her own certified organic vegetable farm in Minnesota, Sarah moved to Minneapolis where she and her daughter have been getting used to city life and trying to grow veggies in a small shady yard. Sarah loves to cook (it’s what led her to farming), she’s learning to knit, and is trying her hand at various fermented concoctions.