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ABOUT US

Abou FairShare

WHAT WE DO

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin and serving the Midwest region. Our mission is to support and connect farmers and eaters through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We envision a future where CSA is the backbone of a strong local food system and where all families have access to locally-produced, organic food from small-scale farms.​​

CORE PROGRAM AREAS

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WHO WE ARE

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Executive Director

Clare was drawn to Madison because of its vibrant local food community, moving here in 2001 to study Biology at UW. She has a passion for building just, sustainable food systems. She could not be more excited to continue this work through FairShare, and to be part of an organization with such a rich history and meaningful impact. Prior to this role, Clare co-founded and scaled Quince & Apple, a small-batch food company that makes accompaniments for Wisconsin’s amazing artisan cheeses. She has also contributed as a board member, volunteer and supporter of several local sustainable agriculture and racial justice organizations.

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Organic Vegetable Educator

Claire Strader is the Organic Vegetable Educator for FairShare and Dane County UW-Extension.  In this shared position, Claire works with organic vegetable farmers serving direct markets. Her previous experience is as a certified organic vegetable farmer, beginning farmer educator, and retail produce buyer.  She has worked in the Wisconsin local food system since 1993 and joined FairShare in 2013. Her key projects include on-farm research on cover crops and reduced tillage techniques for organic vegetables, the Organic Vegetable Farm Manager registered apprenticeship, and the annual Organic Vegetable Production Conference serving farmers in Wisconsin and surrounding states. 

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Program Manager

Liv’s journey with food has followed her around the country (and beyond); from exploring the farmers market as a child in San Francisco, working on an organic farm in Germany, reviewing her college’s food waste system in Massachusetts, to working on an urban farm and assisting with farm classes for Tilth Alliance, in Seattle. She enjoys cooking new food, and has always looked to her CSA shares and ever-expanding home garden for inspiration. She sees an equitable and sustainable food system as a central component to our environmental and social well being, and is excited to promote that work with FairShare. 

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Communications & Development Manager 

Tess is thrilled to bring her passion for local food systems to FairShare as Communications Coordinator. Her previous experiences- from an urban farm in Iowa to a permaculture acreage in India- have helped shape her belief that access to sustainably grown, culturally appropriate foods are crucial to creating a just and equitable food system. She loves growing and cooking her own food, and is excited to call Madison home again after receiving her Master’s of Food & Agriculture Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. 

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 Apprenticeship Manager

Sarah supports the Organic Vegetable Farm Manager Apprenticeship - an employment-based apprenticeship program registered with the state of Wisconsin. She’s a co-creator and trainer on FairShare’s two labor management training programs, and her PhD through UW-Madison focused on supporting positive labor experiences and long-term career pathways in diversified vegetable production. Sarah works closely with farmers – both owners and employees – in all aspects of her work, and also draws from her own experience as a former farmworker and manager.  

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Network Coordinator

Sara “Sadie” Willis sought out courses in ecology, environmental science, botany, natural resources, land preservation and ethics in her Biology program, before working in the health-tech industry. After honing coordination and networking skills in the corporate world, making a career shift to FairShare felt like returning to her roots. An avid gardener who makes homegrown produce into preserves for local farmers' markets, Sadie savors time spent in nature and making connections with people who love food. She is an enthusiastic home chef who adores seasonal, sustainable eating. Sadie is excited to nurture FairShare’s relationships with CSA producers doing innovative work in creating accessible, equitable, and resilient food systems.

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Ohio Program Manager

Beth is the Ohio Program Manager, and brings experience from multiple segments of the food system: organic CSA farmer, farmers’ market manager, food business owner, and food systems advocate and network coordinator. She has a passion for making good food accessible to people of all income levels, backgrounds, and life experiences while supporting farm viability. Throughout her career she has implemented programs simultaneously achieving these goals, and has actively advocated for policies that support these efforts at the local, state, and national level. Her downtime is often spent hiking in the woods, cooking heirloom beans, or making pie with seasonal fruit.

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Vegetable Educator

Sam will be providing farmer education and support to Milwaukee-area vegetable growers in this shared position between FairShare and UW-Madison Extension. Sam has worked in many roles on vegetable farms in Wisconsin – as a field hand, running his own CSA, and managing an educational farm in Sheboygan. He has a Master’s degree in Horticulture from Michigan State, where he researched organic weed control. And for three years, he was an instructor of Sustainable Landscape Horticulture at Lakeshore Technical College. Sam especially appreciates sharing his love of plants with children in his community.

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Aggregation Coordinator

The son of HMoob (Hmong) immigrants, Chiang Rai grew up around small-scale farming and selling his family’s produce at farmers’ markets around Northeast Wisconsin. Having experienced the challenges of being a grower from an underserved population, he is excited and proud to be part of FairShare’s work in providing support to underserved growers, especially HMoob growers, through the Aggregation Coordinator position. In his free time, he loves to go outdoors and enjoy nature by playing disc golf!

INTERNS

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Administrative Coordinator

Caroline is excited to continue to support local organic food access in the Madison community and beyond in this role. She grew up in Richmond, Virginia and studied Biology and Math at the College of William & Mary with a focus on plant science and ecology. During undergrad, Caroline participated in her first CSA and had the opportunity to take a Sustainability & Agriculture class with the farmer - she’s been a CSA enthusiast ever since! She has food system experience in Madison from her two full seasons on the farm crew at FairShare endorsed Crossroads Community Farm, her horticultural and research roles at UW-Madison for the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program, and as an EBT Collections Assistant for the Dane County Farmers’ Market. When she isn’t cooking or eating local food, Caroline is probably outside birding, identifying plants, kayaking, or XC skiing, depending on the season. 

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Partner Shares Program Intern

Jenna enjoys building relationships and sharing stories around a good plate of food. Food is so central to our identity and well-being, which is why she cares about creating a just and equitable food system through education, policy, and system-changes. She pursues this work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is in her final semester double majoring in community and environmental sociology and environmental studies with a certificate in food systems. Jenna is also involved with her local food systems through her internship and Director’s positions at the student organization and nonprofit Slow Food UW. 

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Events Intern

Majenta is a senior at UW-Madison studying Landscape and Urban Studies and Food Systems. They feel passionately that fresh food should be accessible to all, and have worked for various Madison organizations to support this. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crocheting, biking, and generally spending time under the sun. They are very excited to spend the summer working at FairShare as the Bike the Barns intern.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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LIZ GROSS

Board President

CEO of Campus Sonar

Liz is the CEO of Campus Sonar, a specialized social listening agency that partners with colleges and universities. She’s previously served as the Market Insights Manager and Social Media Strategist at Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation. Prior to joining Great Lakes, she was the Director of Marketing and Communications at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and Program Outreach Coordinator in University Housing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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SARAH LARSON

Board Treasurer

Acting Director, Food Finance Institute

Sarah is the Acting Director of the Food Finance Institute (FFI), part of UW System's Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship. FFI provides finance-focused training and technical assistance to growing food, farm and food systems enterprises. Prior to FFI, she spent time helping launch and grow food brands including Wisconsin Specialty Protein (WSP) and the  tera’swhey® brand, Death’s Door Spirits and Tribe 9 Foods. Additionally, Sarah managed the Wisconsin statewide AmeriCorps Farm to School Program at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and served as the Farm to Business Program Director at nonprofit REAP Food Group

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CAROL RIDDERBUSCH

Board Secretary

Senior Customer Success Manager, Advarra

Carol is a Senior Customer Success Manager at Advarra, a leader in clinical trial research management systems for research sites and academic medical centers. Before this role, Carol spent the previous 12 years at Healthgrades in data analytics and marketing strategy and execution for hospitals and health systems. In her free time, Carol loves to spend time outdoors, travel and explore local restaurants both in Madison and abroad.

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MEGAN COSTELLO

Senior Content Strategist, Morgridge Institute for Research

Megan has +10 years’ experience directing multi-channel communications to inspire and engage audiences. She started in legislative affairs and cut her teeth as the Assistant Dean for Communications in the College of Letters & Science, the largest college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Megan is content strategist turned content marketer—in her current role at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wisconsin, she manages integrated communications and directs fundraising campaigns to cultivate donors and inspire a culture of philanthropy.

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BEN JACKLE

Farmer, Mile Creek Farm

Ben is co-owner of Mile Creek Farm, a certified organic farm outside of Dayton, OH.  He has farmed for 17 years, 15 of those at Mile Creek Farm with his wife Emily. Over the years Mile Creek Farm has distributed produce through a 225 share CSA, at farmers markets, and to wholesale accounts. Since 2016 the farm has been part of the farmer owned and run coop, Great River Organics which sells produce throughout Ohio.

 

Since 2007 Ben has also been an active member of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) serving on a number of advisory committees and on the board of directors. Recently Ben started working for the organic certification agency MOSA as a materials review specialist. 

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RICK KLEMME

Executive Director, Cooperative Extension Services

Rick currently works as the Executive Director of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP works on behalf of Cooperative Extension Services across the country). He is a retired Director of Cooperative Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. He was a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the UW-Madison and director of the UW-Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.

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SCOTT LAESER

Farmer, Plowshares & Prairie Farm and Water Program Director, Clean Wisconsin

Scott owns and manages Plowshares & Prairie Farm with his wife Chelsea in Argyle, Wisconsin. Their produce farm, now in its fifth season, is focused on growing a diverse array of vegetables for their community supported agriculture program and a local farmer’s market, while minimizing runoff and nutrient loss from fields through use of cover crops, grass waterways, and restored wetlands and prairies.

Off the farm, Scott has worked for Clean Wisconsin, a Madison based environmental non profit organization, since 2015 and is primarily focused on water quality issues pertaining to agriculture. Scott has worked on water quality and environmental issues for over ten years, including stints with the Driftless Area Land Conservancy in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership in Washington, DC.

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SARAH LEONG

Farmer, Squashington Farm

Sarah is a first generation farmer originally from Fort Myers, FL. Along with her husband Pat, daughter Hazel, and wonderful farm team, she runs Squashington Farm in Mount Horeb, WI. They have a ~100-member CSA, serve a couple local markets and a couple local restaurants. She is passionate about eating, growing as many varieties as possible, and being a new mom. As a small business owner, Sarah has become a Jane of All Trades and Master of None making sure day-to-day operations flow smoothly, digital marketing keeps them current, engaging with customer bases, and staying innovative to keep their business growing steadily. 

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AMBER MIDDLETON

Humane Educator, Dane County Humane Society

Amber is the Humane Educator at Dane County Humane Society, leading community education and outreach programming. Before this role, Amber spent most of her career working in the local food realm with the San Luis Local Foods Coalition, a nonprofit working to foster an equitable local food system in southern Colorado. She has experience in development, grant management, and supporting statewide coalitions. Amber has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and spends her free time exploring with her rescue dogs, Taffy and Roux, trying her hand at gardening, and volunteering with SoL Criations Farm Sanctuary.

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KAY SCHWICHTENBERG

Former Executive Vice President, Animal & Public Health - Central Garden & Pet

Kay is the recently retired CEO of Central Life Sciences, where her expertise has centered on the blending of technology and marketing to deliver products to both consumers and business markets. She is a member of the Committee of 200, a professional organization of America’s pre-emininent women business leaders. Kay brings her experience on consumer trends, business leadership, and advising startups and small businesses. 

 

In addition to being on FairShare’s Board of Directors, she also sits on the board of advisors for Springboard Enterprises, a global business accelerator for women entrepreneurs, and the board of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. 

Board Advisors

Cheri King

CHERI KING

Former Board Treasurer

Manager, RSM

Cheri is a CPA with 10+ years experience as a tax accountant, and is a Tax Manager in the Madison office for RSM US LLP. She started her tax career at a small CPA office in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Prior to her move to RSM US LLP (a.k.a. McGladrey), she worked as a Senior Tax Consultant for Badgerland Financial (now part of Compeer Financial).

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BILL HERMAN

Former Director of  Human Resources, Aprilaire, a Division of Research Products Corporation

Now retired, Bill was the Corporate Director of Human Resources for Research Products Corporation, the manufacturer of Aprilaire indoor air quality products with over 600 employees.

Bill began with Arthur Andersen, an international consulting and audit firm, followed by a move to Madison, WI for the opportunity to be the VP of HR for the Highsmith Company. Of particular note is Bill’s background in managing health care costs.  He has been at the forefront of employee health care initiatives and is continuing his efforts at Aprilaire.

Interested in Joining the FairShare Board of Directors?

Directors serve 3-year terms and provide strategic leadership and oversight for the organization. Directors attend board meetings (6 per year), serve on a committee (monthly), participate in organizational decision-making, volunteer at 1-2 events per year, and provide financial support as able. Our Directors are passionate about providing our communities with fresh, local, organic produce through farmer relationships by putting their skills to use in supporting FairShare staff and organizational growth.

 

FairShare is committed to equity through practice, policy, and programming, and we are actively seeking to diversify the membership of our Board to represent more of the communities we serve. We specifically encourage BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as people from low-income households, to explore opportunities to serve on the board of directors.

 

Sponsorship-Focused Director Opportunity

We have a need for a Director with a strong background in B2B marketing or sales. You will serve on our Communications and Development Committee, and provide guidance and assistance in securing corporate and organizational sponsorships for major events and annual support. You may be a great fit for this role if you’ve led a marketing team, sold advertising or services to mid-size businesses, or made sponsorship decisions for your own company.

 

If you are interested in serving FairShare in this capacity, please submit a brief statement of interest and summary of your relevant experience to Liz Gross, FairShare Board President, at board@csacoalition.org.

Fundraising-Focused Director Opportunity

We have a need for a Director with a background in fundraising; particularly in leadership-level annual giving and stewardship. You will serve on our Communications and Development Committee, and provide guidance and assistance in stewarding our major donors and cultivating additional leadership-level gifts. FairShare is a largely grant-funded organization, and over the last few years we’ve significantly increased the number of donors and dollars raised from individuals. You will help us continue that progress by cultivating leadership-level annual donors. You may be a great fit for this role if you’ve led annual giving for a non-profit, worked as a gift officer or development director, or chaired a fundraising campaign.
 

If you are interested in serving FairShare in this capacity, please submit a brief statement of interest and summary of your relevant experience to Carrie Sedlak, Executive Director, at carrie@csacoalition.org.

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