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

Director of Communication and Development
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.

Justine Bursoni

Farmer Education Manager
justine.bursoni@marbleseed.org
ext. 701
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.

Jo Facklam

Communications Manager
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

Farmer Education 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.

Alpa Goswami

Program Director
alpa@marbleseed.org
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
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.

Alex “Bagwajinini” Kmett

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.

Tom Manley

Climate and Conservation Director/Organic Conservation Specialist
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.

Sara Mooney

Local Food Purchasing Specialist
sara.mooney@marbleseed.org
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.

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

Organic Conservation Specialist
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.

Mercedes Talvitie

Climate and Conservation Program Manager
mercedes.talvitie@marbleseed.org
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
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 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.