Jen has been farming for almost 20 years: from owning her own pasture-based livestock farm, to managing mid-sized organic fruit and vegetable operations with agri-tourism and event businesses. Her background is in community organizing, farm-based education, Indigenous knowledge and food sovereignty, and participatory research. She has worked for Tribal governments and in the non-profit sector and brings over 10 years of grant writing and management experience to the team. Jen was elected as a Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner in her conservative county for two terms and also served as Co-Chair on the Board of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Sociology from Northland College and an M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from Iowa State University.