BACKGROUND
“Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”
- Howard Thurman
INTERVIEWS:
Article Published May 7, 2024
Rural Assembly - Drawing Resilience
Article published Feb 1, 2024
Wisconsin Women in Conservation Podcast
Episode Aired Jan 22, 2024
Article published May 4, 2023
Homemade for Sale; Second Edition
Book published Dec 13, 2022
Grounded Vitality
opened for business in 2011...
Committed from the start to meeting people where they are, I built my business delivering in-home massage therapy
Grounded Vitality is now the name of my Podcast about farming and health, launching November 2023
I couldn't get over the fact that healing the earth
and healing ourselves is interconnected - and urgent
Seeing my fellow farmers struggling with mental and physical health, I couldn't look away
Vital Ground is about cultivating a nourished landscape
from within - for farmers, for everyone
Now I
farm,
massage,
speak,
write,
consult,
organize...
...do all I can toward creating a more just future;
one where we all have enough food, comfort, and dignity.
It's past time.
National Board Certified
Massage Therapist, 2011
Trained in Chicago, IL at The SOMA Institute for Clinical Massage and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab), Graduated 2010
Board Certified in 2011 by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and went on to start my practice
Bachelor of Arts, 2021
Supportive Leadership
College of Individualized Studies
I spent fifteen years in college, taking classes part-time while starting my businesses and working multiple jobs to get by. This helped me develop a practical, person-centered approach to leadership. I created a degree through Metro State University's College of Individualized Studies that combines the foundations of business management with the psychology of individuals and groups.
Executive Director
In July 2023 I started as Executive Director of this small community market where I set a stand up for the first time in 2016. We had major leadership transition and financial uncertainty after the pandemic and as Board President I supported the market through our hardest times. I am thrilled to be in a position to advocate for this important part of the community and help create a thriving future for it.
Admin for Growing Wellness
Farmer Social Media (no ads, more rad)
This farmer-led platform is a space for you to grow community, post questions, learn about and share events and job opportunities, and more.
I serve as the Admin for the Growing Wellness Group where we share resoures, and create space for conversation and support around our human needs as farmers.
2022-2023: Member
The Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit: Community of Practice
Farmers Market Coalition
I had the honor of joining the 1st Community of Practice surrounding the Farmers Market Coalition's Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit released in 2022.
Using the Toolkit as a lens to examine our specific Farmers Market (representing West Side Farmers Market) we meet as a group to collaboratively problem-solve barriers and identify actionable steps for advancing equity in the communities our markets serve.
2022 Research Co-Designer
Health Access for the Unhoused
In 2018, I served on the committee to develop our small Farmers Market into a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Once they received their non-profit status, I served on their first Board of Directors as Treasurer, then Vice-President and President until I was hired as Executive Director in 2023.
I've loved being part of this market since I first started as a vendor in 2016. The West Side Farmers Market truly embodies what farmers markets are all about!
