Food & Fitness Staff and Leaders

Regional Leadership Team

The purpose of the Regional Leadership Team is to assure a regional, integrated approach to the work achieves the highest quality results for children and families in Northeast Iowa.  The Regional Team meets quarterly. Current delegates (voting members) include Work Group Leaders (NE Iowa Food & Farm Coalition, Youth, School, Active Living, Community Health); two leaders from 6 County Teams and Postville Community, 7 Youth Leaders (6 counties and Postville). Co-conveners provide coordination and facilitation.  Fiscal Agent is Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.

The Vision Team consists of Work Group Leaders and meets monthly.  The Vision Team compiles the budget and determines the plan of work for the year. 

Ann Mansfield - Project Director & Co-Convener

Luther College - (563) 382-2949 - mansan01(at)luther.edu
Ann Mansfield has 30 years experience in health care and facilitation utilizing process improvement, multidisciplinary teams and systems thinking to achieve desired outcomes. Her degrees include BA-Nursing from Luther College and MSN from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Brenda Ranum - Core Partner

Iowa State University Extension - (563) 382-2949 - ranum(at)iastate.edu
Brenda Ranum is the Regional Extension Education Director for Region 4 Extension in Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties.  Brenda is responsible for Extension programming in the six-county region.  Her areas of expertise are youth development and communities. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in child development from Iowa State University.

Teresa Wiemerslage - NE Iowa Food & Farm Coalition

Iowa State University Extension - (563) 794-0599 - wiemer(at)iastate.edu
Teresa Wiemerslage is the Program & Communications Coordinator for Iowa State University Extension in northeast Iowa.  Half of her time is spent coordinating the work of the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm Coalition (NIFF). She holds a BS of Science degree in Biology and Microbiology and a Masters of Science in Plant Pathology from Iowa State University.  She has a strong background in plant science including horticulture and agronomy.  She lives on a fourth generation cow-calf operation along the Minnesota border where they finish 180 head of natural beef annually.

Lynette Houser- Youth Engagement Coordinator

Iowa State University Extension - lmanders(at)iastate.edu - (641) 330-5653
Lynette Houser is the Regional Youth Coordinator for ISU Extension and Outreach in Region 4.  She has a degree in Education from Northeast Iowa Community College and was the county youth coordinator in Howard County for thirteen years. 

Flannery Cerbin - Communications Liaison

Iowa State University Extension - (563) 382-2949 - fcerbin(at)iastate.edu
A graduate of Luther College, Flannery spent one year working as an AmeriCorps member with Food & Fitness. While in college she was an intern journalist for the La Crosse Tribune in Wisconsin, a Sports Media Assistant at Oberlin College, and the Garden Manager at Luther College. She has been an invited participant in national Food and Fitness conferences and workshops, including a work session to guide the development of a national Food Corps program. Flannery holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies.

Heidi Skildum - Safe Routes to School Liaison

Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission - (563) 382-6171 ext. 201 - hskildum@uerpc.org
Heidi Skildum is a graduate of Luther College in English, Spanish and Secondary Education. She currently works with communities to create better walk and bikeability as well as helping families play outside together.  She is a certified National Safe Routes to School Instructor.  In her free time, Heidi enjoys running, gardening, baking bread and spending time with her friends and family.

Scot Michelson - Active Living

Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Scot Michelson, a park ranger with the Iowa DNR, provides regional leadership for the Active Living Work Group to align the SRTS work with the FFI Vision. Michelson is the Ranger for Volga Lake State Recreation Area. He has worked in conservation and recreation with the Dept. of Natural Resources for 29 years.

Emily Neal - School Wellness Coordinator

Luther College - nealem01(at)luther.edu
Emily Neal works with educators, administrators and students in Northeast Iowa to promote, create and support initiatives relating to Sustainability and Wellness. She has a B.S degree in Exercise Science and Master's degree in Science Education, University of Iowa.  

Sonja Arneson-Ecklund - AmeriCorps

Luther College - ecklso01(at)luther.edu - (952) 237-1860
Resource Contact for Central, North Winneshiek, and MFL MarMac schools.
Sonja is a recent graduate of Luther College in health and psychology. She is originally from Minneapolis. At Luther, she completed a two-year research position in the psychology department, an internship in the wellness department, and a position teaching yoga. She also completed certification in wellness coaching at The National Wellness Institute. In her free time, she enjoys reading, riding her bike, baking/eating desserts, yoga, painting, jogging, and watching HGTV.

Leah Chapman - FoodCorps

Luther College - leah.chapman@foodcorps.org - (402) 689-0046
Resource Contact for Howard-Winneshiek, North Fayette and West Central Schools
Leah recently graduated from the University of Florida where she studied political science, religion, and sustainability studies. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, she Leah recently completed a six month corporate environmental internship program with ARAMARK in which she helped expand UF's Farm to School program, create a Styrofoam-free campus, and develop a sustainable catering menu for the university with local, organic, and fair trade-certified options.

Stephanie Conant - FoodCorps

Luther College - conast01(at)luther.edu - (703) 725-2810
Resource Contact for Turkey Valley, South Winneshiek and Oelwein schools.
Stephanie Conant is originally from Fairfax Station, Virginia.  She graduated from Luther College in June 2010.  For the past year, she has been working for the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative, as the farm to school intern. This year, Stephanie is one of two FoodCorps members joining the NE Iowa team.  Stephanie is excited to be back and working with your communities again!

Elizabeth Makarewicz - AmeriCorps

Luther College - makael01(at)luther.edu - (660) 619-1988
Resource Contact for Postville, Starmont and Valley schools.
Originally from Missouri, she has spent the past four years living in the upper Midwest at Beloit College in Wisconsin, where she studied anthropology and Spanish.  In her free time Elizabeth enjoys all the hobbies one might suspect from someone working to promote local food in public schools (gardening, cooking, baking, etc.), though she many times combines these activities with bicycling.

Melanie Stewart - AmeriCorps

Luther College - stewme01(at)luther.edu - (515) 975-4880
Resource Contact for New Hampton, St. Joseph's and Riceville schools.
An Iowa native, I was born in Des Moines, raised in Ankeny, and am a recent graduate of Grinnell College where I studied Biology with a concentration in Environmental Studies. I had a great time this past summer interning as a naturalist educator at a nature center in southern Minnesota.  I really look forward to a year of working with schools and learning more about the food system.

Maren Stumme-Diers - Food Sustainability Coordinator

Luther College - stumma01(at)luther.edu - (563) 387-1722
Resource Contact for college students and Allamakee schools.
Maren Stumme-Diers works with the Food and Fitness Initiative and Luther College as a Sustainable Foods Educator.  At Luther Maren works on edible landscaping, campus gardens, community gardens and the facilitation of education opportunities related to food. On behalf of Food and Fitness provides support to school gardens and food service directors throughout the region as they work to incorporate more local food into the menu.  Maren graduated from Luther College with degrees in Environmental Studies and Spanish.

County Teams

The purpose of the County Leadership Team is to implement the Food and Fitness Initiative in its county, and to inform the direction of the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative by making suggestions, gathering learning from their work, and identifying opportunities and needs within the county.  There are County Teams in Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties and in the Postville community.

Allamakee Leaders - Angela Gibbs, Barb Winters
Postville  Leaders - Mary Koopman, Cici Mueller
Chickasaw Leaders - Joanne Tupper, Vacant
Clayton Leaders - Vacant, Vacant
Fayette Leaders - Donna Story, Gordon Murray-John
Howard Leaders - Elaine Govern, Laura Schmauss
Winneshiek Leaders  - Johanna Bergan, Brandon Friedlein
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