Our Staff
Administrative Staff
To reach these staff members, call 608-240-0409
Ginny Hughes
Deputy Director of Finance and Operations
she/her/hers
Ginny Hughes serves as Rooted’s Deputy Director. Before joining the staff in 2012, Ginny earned a master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She has over a decade of experience sharing her love of growing vegetables with kids and adults in a variety of settings. When she’s not in the garden, she enjoys yoga and adventuring outdoors with her two sons and husband.
Hedi Rudd
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SOUTH MADISON PROGRAMS
she/her/hers
Hedi Rudd is a former Southdale neighborhood resident who has been an active community organizer since being appointed to Mayor Bauman’s Task Force on Race Relations in 1998. In 2001, she joined Bauman’s staff as the Study Circle on Race Relations Coordinator, a program recommended by the task force. Hedi served two terms on the City of Madison Equal Opportunities Commission and was a staff member of the City of Madison Affirmative Action Department, prior to the creation of the Office of Civil Rights. After living in Las Vegas for 6 years, where she worked at Nevada Cancer Institute in various Executive Administrative positions, she returned to Madison and community organizing. An avid photographer, Hedi is often seen at community events telling the story of communities of color through her lens. Hedi is the 2019 recipient of Forward Community Investments Nan Cheney March for Justice Award. Hedi serves on the Madison Food Policy Council.
Laura Whitt
Marketing and Communications Manager
she/her/hers
Laura grew up in Madison, and graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in Environmental Studies and History. She is interested in the intersection of people and the environment, and the systems that bind both ecological and human communities together. Laura got her start with the Aldo Leopold Nature Center’s Nature Net, and is now continuing her journey in local environmental education organizations as Rooted’s Marketing and Communications Manager.
Marcia Caton Campbell
Executive Director
she/her/hers
Marcia, Rooted’s Executive Director, is a city and regional planner who has worked on community and regional food systems planning, policy, and development for over twenty years. Marcia is co-author of Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places (American Planning Association, 2011) with Kimberley Hodgson and Martin Bailkey. She was the 2020 recipient of the Community Shares of Wisconsin Sally Sunde Family Advocate Award. Marcia serves on the Dane County Food Council and the City of Madison Task Force on Farmland Preservation.
Sheena Tesch
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF north MADISON PROGRAMS
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Sheena joined the staff in 2018. Sheena has farmed all over the country for a decade—from growing organic seeds in California to homesteading in Vermont—and has a particular interest working to increase food sovereignty. Sheena serves as Vice Chair of the Dane County Food Council.
Badger Rock Neighborhood Center Staff
Hedi Rudd
Deputy Director of South Madison Programs and Badger Rock Neighborhood Center Director
she/her/hers
Hedi Rudd is a former Southdale neighborhood resident who has been an active community organizer since being appointed to Mayor Bauman’s Task Force on Relations in 1998. In 2001, she joined Bauman’s staff as the Study Circle on Race Relation’s Coordinator, a program recommended by the task force. Hedi served two terms on the City of Madison Equal Opportunities Commission and was a staff member of the City of Madison Affirmative Action Department, prior to the creation of the Office of Civil Rights. After living in Las Vegas for 6 years, where she worked at Nevada Cancer Institute in various Executive Administrative positions, she returned to Madison and community organizing. An avid photographer, Hedi is often seen at community events telling the story of communities of color through her lens. Hedi is the 2019 recipient of Forward Community Investments Nan Cheney March for Justice Award.
Kipp Thomas
Culinary Arts Manager
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Kipp is the Culinary Arts Director and founder of Kipp’s Kitchen. Kipp has found his sweet spot working closely with the community and students in the Madison and Sun Prairie School Districts. His food can be found at community events such as the Badger Rock Community Market, Dane Dances, and the Urban League’s Unity Picnic. Kipp places a high value on helping others and being able to share his talent and resources with the community. His culinary talent is being used to feed families facing food insecurity. Kipp’s service to his community was recognized when he was honored as a 2019 Community Shares Backyard Hero.
MARI VERBETEN
Farm & Education Assistant Manager
she/her/hers
Since graduating from UW-Madison in 2018, Mari spent two growing seasons working on farms and a year abroad in Panama with the Peace Corps. She enjoys showing people love through food, learning about how to increase food autonomy, and speaking Spanish. She is excited to engage with Rooted and the Madison community through gardening, school programming, and collaborations with partners to increase resilience in the school food environment.
Sarah Karlson
Education Director and Farm & Education Manager
she/her/hers
Sarah comes to her work at Rooted from Oakland, CA where she began her work in food justice and urban agriculture in 2005. She continues this work at Badger Rock, managing the 2-acre Badger Rock Urban Farm and Badger Rock Community Garden and provides gardening and culinary-based education opportunities. Sarah is passionate about gardens as a tool for education, food access, joy, connection, and building community resilience at the intersection of food, racial, environmental, and educational justice.
Dane County Gardens Network Staff
To reach these staff members, call 608-240-0409
Chuekao Thao
Gardens Network Manager
My full name is Chuekao Thao but normally I go by KO. I have lived in Madison for almost my entire life, starting my elementary education at Lakeview Elementary and finishing up with a BA from UW-Madison. While young, I was very active in sports like soccer, volleyball, and weightlifting. I’ve been married for over 30 years and raised 4 children all enrolled in college. While attending UW-Madison in the early 90s, about eight or nine of us early Hmong students found our first mutual assistant student association at UW-Madison (HASA). Since I graduated, I’ve taken various job from working as Teaching Assistant for Madison Metro School District to starting various self-employed businesses. Southern Wisconsin Hmong Association (SWHA) was one major association I joined in the Hmong community during the late 90s. I served in various capacities from being a board member to being treasurer of the association. Currently I’m an avid gardener with the Troy Garden and enjoy taken hiking trips with family and fellow trackers.
Nicholas Leete
Gardens Network Manager
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Originally from Minnesota, Nicholas has spent time in Iowa studying soil, water, and sustainable agriculture, has worked in middle-income housing in New York, and has researched perennial crops at the University of Wisconsin. He spent several years working with community-focused food and gardening projects before joining Rooted as the Gardens Network Manager. Nicholas serves as Chair of the Madison Food Policy Council. When not working on his own community garden plot, Nicholas enjoys cooking, biking, and the Madison lakes.
Sheena Tesch
Deputy Director of North Madison Programs and Gardens Network Director
they/them/theirs
Sheena joined the staff in 2018. Sheena has farmed all over the country for a decade—from growing organic seeds in California to homesteading in Vermont—and has a particular interest working to increase food sovereignty. Sheena serves as Vice Chair of the Dane County Food Council.
Farm to School and Early Care Staff
To reach these staff members, call 608-240-0409
Courtney Raatz
2023-24 AmeriCorps Farm to School Specialist
Courtney Raatz is excited to be a first-year Farm to School Specialist! She thought this experience would be a perfect continuation of the Garden Education work she started this season at Troy Kids Garden. Prior to her work with Rooted, Courtney worked in Education and Public Health: serving her first Americorps year as a communications specialist for an collective impact organization in Milwaukee 2020-21, and later coordinating operations at the University of Wisconsin Madison to help sustain the national Community Health Worker workforce. Her passion for promoting health equity, food justice, and community-based learning was sparked during her undergrad at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee where she received a bachelor degree in Social Work in 2020. Outside of work, Courtney can be found in the garden or at home enjoying her many hobbies including cooking, reading, sewing, painting, and making music.
Emily Scott
2023-24 AMERICORPS FARM TO SCHOOL SPECIALIST
she/her/hers
Emily is a returning, second-year Farm to School Specialist and is providing services to four different schools in Madison Metropolitan School District this year. She is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree from West Chester University, and comes to Madison after having lived in San Diego, Hawaii, and Denver. Emily has a background in Applied Behavior Analysis and is currently enrolled in school to become Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition. She is passionate about the outdoors, urban agriculture, cooking, nutrition, and the intersection of these modalities with human behavior and health.
Erica Krug
director of youth garden support
she/her/hers
Before joining the Rooted team in 2020, Erica worked as an elementary school teacher on Madison’s Northside where she helped to create a curriculum for the school’s outdoor classroom and garden. She holds a strong belief that children deserve the opportunity to spend lots of time learning–and playing–outside and is excited to share her love of doing research and creating curricula. Erica has also worked on farm crews, as a kayak guide in Yellowstone, and as a freelance writer. Erica enjoys hot yoga, cross-country skiing, gardening, and eating homemade pizza.
Michelle Huber
2023-24 AmeriCorps Farm to School Specialist
Michelle serves as the Farm to School Specialist for Crestwood and Midvale. She grew up in British Columbia, Canada, but also lived several years in the Midwest and South Korea. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience & Behavior and Philosophy. In the past, she have served in an intentional community in Seattle called L’Arche for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, implemented healthcare software at Epic Systems, and coached college students with learning disabilities at a residential program in Madison. She lives with her husband live on the West side and enjoys making music, writing, biking, dancing, and hosting community meals in her free time.
Special Project Staff
Martin Bailkey
Special Project Manager, Promise of Urban Agriculture Project
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Martin manages the Promise of Urban Agriculture project, a joint partnership and project of Cornell Small Farms Program, Rooted, and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Martin has worked in urban agriculture for over 20 years, mostly in front of a computer screen rather than in the field. He has been connected for years and in various ways with the groupings and organizations that eventually became Rooted. Martin, along with Marcia Caton Campbell and Kimberley Hodgson, wrote Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places (2011) for the American Planning Association’s Planning Advisory Service report series.
Troy Farm STAFF
To reach these staff members, call 608-240-0409
Federica Ranelli
Farm Manager
she/her/hers
After growing up on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, MN and attending UW-Madison, Federica farmed and taught young people outdoors all over the country. She is delighted to be back in Madison after years away. When she isn’t growing food at Troy, she is planting dry corn in the garden behind her house. She also enjoys fermenting things, playing outside, and exposing her cat to the wide, wide world.
Paul Huber
Farm Director
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Paul Huber is the Farm Director at Troy Farm. He is passionate about small-scale intensive agriculture and teaching others the craft. Since 2005, Paul has worked as a farm volunteer, laborer, manager and a farm owner. He and his wife Sara ran Shared Seasons LLC from 2013 to 2019.
Sebastian Hassell
Assistant Farm Manager
he/they
Sebastian is from a small town in south Alabama where he learned and gained experience with growing, harvesting, and storing food from an early age. He attended Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University where he earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP). Over the years, he has been involved in community building and grassroots organizing work in a variety of ways. Outside of work, Sebastian is currently focused on building his business and using his skills to serve Black and Brown LGBTQ+ folks.
Sheena Tesch
Deputy Director of North Madison Programs
they/them/theirs
Sheena joined the staff in 2018. Sheena has farmed all over the country for a decade—from growing organic seeds in California to homesteading in Vermont—and has a particular interest working to increase food sovereignty.
Wisconsin School Garden Network Staff
To reach this staff member, call 608-240-0409
Erica Krug
Farm to School Director
she/her/hers
Before joining the Rooted team in 2020, Erica worked as an elementary school teacher on Madison’s Northside where she helped to create a curriculum for the school’s outdoor classroom and garden. She holds a strong belief that children deserve the opportunity to spend lots of time learning–and playing–outside and is excited to share her love of doing research and creating curricula. Erica has also worked on farm crews, as a kayak guide in Yellowstone, and as a freelance writer. Erica enjoys hot yoga, cross-country skiing, gardening, and eating homemade pizza.
Youth Programs Staff
To reach these staff members, call 608-240-0409
Brian Emerson
ASSISTANT EDUCATION MANAGER
he/him/his
Brian, who is a native of Cedar Rapids, IA, is a Northside Madison resident. After graduating from the University of Iowa he worked with the USDA-NRCS on various mapping and watershed projects. Since 2004 he has been with the UW Madison trialing fruits, flowers, and veggies. Most recently, he served as Trial Manager for the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative in the Urban and Regional Food Systems program. In his free time, Brian works in his community coaching, teaching horticulture, and running a small urban farm.
BRONTË ADAMSON
Troy Kids' Garden Manager
she/her/hers
Brontë graduated from UW-Madison where she studied Environmental Science and Global Health. While in school, she found a passion for garden-based education and food justice work through her volunteer and work experiences in the Madison community. She believes food is a powerful tool for learning, connection and exploring the world around us. In her free time she enjoys experimenting with cooking, baking, and fermenting.
Sarah Karlson
EDUCATION Director
she/her/hers
Sarah comes to her work at Rooted from Oakland, CA, where she began her work in food justice and urban agriculture in 2005. She continues this work at Badger Rock, managing the 2-acre Badger Rock Urban Farm and Badger Rock Community Garden and provides gardening and culinary-based education opportunities. Sarah is passionate about gardens as a tool for education, food access, joy, connection, and building community resilience at the intersection of food, racial, environmental, and educational justice.
Travus Maloney
Education Manager
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Travus received his bachelor’s degree in conservation and environmental science from UW-MIlwaukee. He served as an intern for the Goodman Youth Farm in 2016 and now works with the Goodman Youth Farm, the Troy Kids’ Garden, and the Grow Academy as Rooted’s education manager. In his free time, Travus can be found exploring wild spaces with his family, cooking, and spending quality time with their four-legged family members.