Staff

Lori Stern

Executive Director (she | her)
lori.stern@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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

Development and Communications Director (she | her)
alexandria.baker@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 700
Alexandria's background includes environmental advocacy, publishing, and work on a number of rural and urban farms. Alexandria also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Groundswell Conservancy, a Wisconsin land trust organization. She lives in Baraboo, Wisconsin with her partner, daughter, and dog Yoko.

Sarah Broadfoot

Operations Director
sarah.broadfoot@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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.

Alondra Cano

Farmer Education Specialist
alondra.cano@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 725
Alondra’s agricultural educational journey began through her family’s work in the poultry processing industries followed by summers of detasseling corn. She graduated from the University of Minnesota and attended the Carlson School of Management and is working towards her master’s degree in the Arts and Cultural Leadership program, all while helming the Hungry Turtle Farm in Amery, Wisconsin. Alondra is an immigrant, bi-cultural, bi-lingual, and passionate about organizing Spanish-speaking farmers and farmhands to work together to establish a local, cultural food system that reconnects communities to their traditional foods. She is now focused on adapting Mexican Indigenous maíz (corn) varieties to thrive in our Midwest climate for fresh masa production. She’s excited to use her linguistic abilities, her cultural connections, and her multi-faceted experience to deepen and expand the legacy impact of one of the country’s most reputable, organic farming organizations – Marbleseed.

Sofia Caracci

Organic Transitions Resources Coordinator**
sofia.caracci@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737
Sofia is a dedicated advocate for sustainable agriculture and food equity. With a background in recipe development, farmers market coordination & a BA in Food Systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Sofia brings a unique blend of experience to her work supporting local farmers and community-based food systems.

Jo Facklam

Communications Manager
jo.facklam@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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

Farmer Education Manager (he | him)
tay.fatke@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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.

Alpa Goswami

Program Director (she | her)
alpa@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 727
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.

Sam Gutierrez

Operations and Events Coordinator
sam.gutierrez@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 726
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.

Tom Manley

Climate and Conservation Director/Organic Conservation Specialist
thomas.manley@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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.

Sara Mooney

Local Food Purchasing Specialist
sara.mooney@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 716
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.

Kaleb Ortner

Organic Agronomy Specialist
kaleb.ortner@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 x703
Kaleb received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University in Crop and Soil Sciences. His research focused on transitioning topographically diverse farms to organic production using interseeded cover crops to decrease erosion. While there, he found a passion for organic production and soil health. He looks forward to providing technical assistance to farmers. Kaleb lives with his wife and their animals in the Thumb of Michigan, where he farms organic row crops.

Victoria Ostenso

Farmer Network Manager
victoria.ostenso@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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

Communications and Publications Specialist
marguerite.rapp@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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.

Mercedes Talvitie

Climate and Conservation Program Manager
mercedes.talvitie@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 707
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.

Nou Thao

Local Food Purchasing Specialist (she | her | nws)
nou.thao@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 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 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.

Rachel Wood

Conference & Partnerships Manager
rachel.wood@marbleseed.org
888-906-6737 ext. 701
Rachel began her journey in agriculture during a gap year spent working on an organic farm in Pennsylvania. She went on to earn a degree in Food Systems from the University of Minnesota and she volunteered at the Marbleseed Conference for two consecutive years. After graduating, she relocated to Bellingham, WA, where she restored salmon habitat, supported farm business incubators, and developed community education programs focused on food, farming, and native plants. Now back in the Midwest, Rachel enjoys canoeing, cross-country skiing, and photographing the beautiful landscapes around her. She is thrilled to be managing the Marbleseed Conference, which served as an invaluable resource during her time as a college student.