Three Rivers Fibershed Board
Maddy Bartsch (they/them)
President
Maddy Bartsch is a farmer, educator and organizer of decentralized textile economies based in Minneapolis. Maddy has helped a broad range of clients navigate local textile economies through projects like the Minnesota Hemp Wool Project, the TRF Regional Fiber Sourcebook, the National Mill Inventory Survey, and as a Yarn Incubator for Fibershed. In addition to fiber systems, Maddy’s work includes tackling food systems as the Community Connector for the Cannon River chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association. More recently, Maddy received a Farmer-Rancher SARE grant which has enabled them to focus on 2 years of research around building a natural dye cooperative in the midwest. Maddy is co-founder and co-president of the Three Rivers Fibershed and teaches and speaks on the topic of local fiber systems and sustainable textiles to learners of all ages throughout the Midwest.
Maddy can be reached at hello@threeriversfibershed.org
Wendy Johnson
Secretary
Wendy Johnson is an organic and conventional grain farmer and grazier in Northeast Iowa and writer and public speaker on the intersections of climate and agriculture. She and her husband Johnny own and operate Jóia Food & Fiber Farm, a diversified regenerative organic farm growing food-grade grains, grazing ewes, grass-finishing lambs and cattle, custom grazing cow/calves and selling direct to consumer meats, grains and other edibles. They collaborate with other local farms to help build a robust food shed. She founded Jóia Sleep in 2020, a wool bedding business utilizing their sheep’s wool. Wendy also co-manages her family farm with her father, currently a 1200 acre conventional row-crop farm. In the last five years, Wendy and Johnny have invested in agroforestry practices, adding trees and shrubs to enhance diversity and resiliency to the land and animals. Wendy is an active advocate of all things organic, perennial and promoter of diverse enterprises and people on the land. Her curiosity, passions and experiences have led her to leadership opportunities as former chair of the Iowa FSA state committee, former board member and chair of Practical Farmers of Iowa, and currently steering committee member of the Rodale Institute Midwest Organic Center, farmer consultant and federal policy co-lead for Climate Land Leaders, Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative board member and chair, Regenerative Agriculture Foundation board member, Land Stewardship Project’s program committee member and numerous other local, state, regional and national affiliations.
Wendy can be reached at secretary@threeriversfibershed.org
Lily Turner (she/her)
Programs Director
Lily is a Fashion and Costume Designer, sustainable fashion activist, and arts educator currently living in Minneapolis, MN. Her design work is influenced by her childhood-- connecting with soil and learning to tell stories from a young age on her small family dairy goat farm in Northeast Ohio shaped how she approaches art, design, and materials as a whole. She worked with Rust Belt Fibershed (Cleveland, OH) as a Communications Intern in 2022 and for TRF in 2023 as the Documentary Photographer for our Sheep to Shawl Project. Lily completed a thesis research project at Macalester College titled "From Field to Fashion: A Journey in Sustainable Design and Regional Understanding" which allowed her to deep dive into our local fibershed and release a circular, soil to soil based collection, showcased at Minnesota Fashion Week in April 2024. Through her role as the Programs Director, she is excited to continue aiding in the connection of all those who take part in the textile lifecycle, from fiber producer to designer and beyond.
Lily can be reached at programs@threeriversfibershed.org
Kathryn Hoffman
Development Director
Kathryn Hoffman is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, a nonprofit legal organization that has been enforcing Minnesota's environmental laws for over 50 years. She holds a JD from the University of Minnesota, as well as a Master's in Public Policy from the Humphrey Institute.
Kathryn is a lifelong sewist, and makes many of her own clothes. She is excited to combine her two passions of textiles and sustainability as a member of the board of Three Rivers Fibershed.
Kathryn can be reached at development@threeriversfibershed.org.
Shivangi Kedia
Treasurer
Shivangi grew up in India, where she was inspired by her father's dedication to establishing a printing mill that utilized various methods, including hand blocking, hand screen printing, and flatbed screen printing. Her childhood Sundays were filled with joy and adventure as she played among the large, beautifully printed fabric rolls. In 2008, she moved to Minnesota with her husband, and they have since made Rochester their cherished home, raising two wonderful boys. Professionally, Shivangi works at the prestigious Mayo Clinic, where she excels in managing business aspects such as financials and human resources. Her passion for community service, coupled with her eagerness to deepen her understanding of regional fiber systems, led her to become involved with Three Rivers Fibershed. A serendipitous encounter with a knitting colleague at work rekindled her love for fabric. Shivangi now enjoys knitting as a hobby, cherishing the meaningful connection it provides to her roots in textile printing.
Shivangi can be reached at treasurer@threeriversfibershed.org
Cerissa Stockton
Steward Outreach Coordinator
Cerissa Stockton owns and operates a small farm, Twisted Oak Farm and Woolen Mill, near Spooner, WI. On the property they tend a small flock of Icelandic and Shetland sheep, along with a few breeds of poultry, a large garden, and her pack of dogs. The property is also home to the mill that was opened in 2023. The focus is supporting small flocks and helping farmers process individual fleeces to make selling their wool more personalized. Cerissa joined TRF as a steward in 2022 and has since played a role on the board as Regional Outreach in Northern WI and MN and now as Steward Outreach Director.
Cerissa can be reached at
regionaloutreachnorth@threeriversfibershed.org
Jane Hansen (she/her)
Regional Outreach Director
Jane Hansen is passionate about sustainable and regenerative agriculture and the environment. What started as a love of knitting led her to learning to spin and finally to raising the wool herself. She began keeping sheep on her farm in Ogema, WI in 2009 and got her foundation flock of Coopworth sheep in 2012. In addition to the Coopworth breeding stock, she keeps a trio of Romeldale/CVM wethers. Jane loves that agriculture and specifically raising sheep for wool is a pursuit that involves constant learning. She works tirelessly to improve her pastures, flock health, wool quality and her business skills as well. Jane received an education in Architecture and worked as a construction manager. She finds that translates nicely to the problem solving skills needed on the farm. She also worked for a decade as the coordinator of the Wisconsin Local Food Network and through that work, she discovered that her forte is connecting people. When Jane discovered Three Rivers Fibershed, and became a member in 2017, she knew she had found a fiber home. The vision and mission of Three Rivers Fibershed to develop regional fiber systems that build soil health and protect the wellbeing of our biosphere right here in our little corner of the world aligns perfectly with her own philosophy. Jane strives to help the members of Three Rivers Fibershed connect with one another and with customers for their beautiful locally produced and processed fiber and also to continually improve the wellbeing of the land and their flocks.
Jane can be reached at stewardoutreach@threeriversfibershed.org
Lily Peterson
Volunteer Director
With a background in apparel sciences, Lily Peterson takes an anthropological look at the impact textiles have in our lives. Her endeavors actively support looking at textiles from a personal, regional and global perspective. With an ever-deepening fascination in finding connections between people and the clothing that they find themselves in, Lily finds ways to share those snippets with a larger community of people in her role as the Volunteer Director. Lily teaches and shares mending-focused work in the central and metro areas of Minnesota.
Lily can be reached at volunteer@threeriversfibershed.org
About our board of directors
Three Rivers Fibershed relies on a small but mighty board of directors to oversee and conduct the work for all aspects of our growing non-profit organization. Our board is made up of shepherds, fiber enthusiasts, and individuals with professional skills and a desire to support and grow our organization. The board of directors is entirely volunteer run and acts through consensus decision making. We currently meet monthly on the second Monday of each month from 6:00-7:30 pm (Central Time).
If you are curious about getting more involved with Three Rivers Fibershed, please reach out to us at hello@threeriversfibershed.org. We would love to talk with you more about opportunities for involvement.
