District Directors
Michael Slattery
Brown, Calumet, Dodge, Door, Fond du Lac, Forest, Florence, Kewaunee, Langlade, Marinette, Manitowoc, Menominee, Milwaukee, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Shawano, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago Counties
Michael grew up on an Iowa farm in an extended family farming operation. Since 1999, he and his wife, Nancy, have farmed in Manitowoc County. They are conventional farmers raising Holstein steers, cash cropping grain and alfalfa, and some commercial raising of vegetables, while employing agronomic techniques of cover-cropping, reduced tillage and methodical means for improvement of soil health.
Patty Edelburg
Adams, Columbia, Green Lake, Juneau, Marathon, Marquette, Portage, Sauk, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood Counties
Bio coming soon!
Linda Ceylor
District 1, Secretary
Term: 2017-2026
Catawba, WI
715-567-1010
Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Lincoln, Oneida, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Taylor, Vilas, and Washburn Counties
Linda Ceylor operates Hillside Dairy, an organic farm milking 50 cows and raising replacement heifers. She and her late husband Gerald began farming in Washington in 1990 but due to urbanization moved to Catawba in 1997 with their two children. Linda started the Taylor-Price WFU chapter, coupling it with the Taylor County Farmers Union Youth Group, and was elected chapter president. Linda is a member of the state Farm Services Administration Board. She is a leader of the KC Clovers 4-H Club and was a Price County Fair Board member for 10 years. She is currently President of Price/Taylor National Rural Letter Carriers Association and serves as a local steward. Linda was Vice President and is now a board member of Save Our Unique Land, a group working against construction of the Arrowhead-Weston transmission line. She also serves on the Bethany Lutheran Church Council.
Dave Rosen
Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, and St. Croix Counties
Dave Rosen owns and operates his family dairy farm with his brother and father near Forest in St Croix County. They milk around 140 cows and run 700 acres of corn, oats, alfalfa, and soybeans. He has been a lifelong member of Wisconsin Farmers Union, taking part in the youth program, attending WFU Kamp Kenwood in Chippewa Falls and All-States camp in Bailey, Colo., and receiving the Torcherbearer award.
Rosen took part in the Farmers Union Enterprises Leadership program. He also has attended the National Farmers Union Fly-in, where he had the opportunity to participate in lobbying. He has attended the WFU annual convention for the past 20 years and was a delegate for the past 12. He served on the policy committee two different years. For the past seven years, Rosen has served as the vice president of the St. Croix County Farmers Union. In that role, he helped the chapter start a scholarship fundraiser selling cheese curds, with proceeds going toward scholarships for high school seniors.
Ed Gorell
Chippewa, Clark, and Eau Claire Counties
Ed and his wife Kristi have operated their farm in Eau Claire County since 1983. They started with a 320 head veal barn and a 50,000 bird broiler facility which they have converted to transition steers onto feedlots. 2018 Ed & Kristi retired from full time farming- Ed is now a part time milk hauler. They are also past 4-H members and have been leaders of their local club.
Ed has received Farmers Union awards for membership and chapter building. He has served and chaired a number of different committees. He has attended the National Farmers Union conventions and fly-ins to Washington D.C. Ed has formerly served as the Eau Claire County Farmers Union President and Vice President.
Tina Hinchley
Dane, Jefferson, Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth Counties
Tina, along with her husband Duane, own and operate a 260 cow dairy farm in Dane County. Since 1998, Tina has also been running Hinchley’s Dairy Farm Tours to provide non-farmers (especially children) with an honest and positive look at how a typical dairy farm operates. Tina, Duane, and their four children work together on their second-generation farm.
Darin Von Ruden
Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Rock, Green, Lafayette, Richland, and Vernon Counties
Darin serves as Wisconsin Farmers Union's President and represents WFU on the Farmers Union Enterprises board. Darin is a third generation dairy farmer who is very active with Farmers Union on local, state, and national levels, earning several awards for member recruitment. He and his wife, JoAnn, have two children.
Rachel Bouressa
Director At Large
Rachel grew up on a 5th generation dairy farm in central Wisconsin. She received degrees in Agronomy and Environmental Science at UW-Madison and took part in the Agroecology Masters Program. She raises grass-fed beef cattle at Bouressa Family Farm in New London. Bouressa serves as vice president of GrassWorks and a co-coordinator for the Central Wisconsin Graziers' Network. She is also a farmer mentor with the Wisconsin Women in Conservation initiative and serves on her county FSA committee.
Jen Schmitz
Buffalo, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, and Trempealeau Counties
Jen has been active in Wisconsin's dairy supply chain throughout her life, growing up on a dairy farm and then working 17 years in dairy, projects and resiliency at CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley. Seeking new endeavors in 2019, Jen joined the hemp supply chain, helping friends harvest and store biomass. In 2020, Jen plans to start hemp from seed, try cloning and sharecropping a hemp field or two. Jen' s interest in hemp supply chains and infrastructure are directly linked to a vision of cleaner future for planet Earth and all living creatures, where hemp, as another alternative in the renewable resources we use, plays a new role in our lives.
Jen is active in community groups at various levels of organization: Kickapoo Conversations (local communities sharing ideas in information), Wisconsin Partners (statewide association of associations supporting local community groups), and River 2 Ridge Disaster Resilience (R2RDR.org; meeting local unmet needs post-disaster).
Minutes for the WFU Board of Directors Meetings are available to members here.
WFU STAFF
Julie Keown-Bomar
Executive Director
715-492-3549
jbomar@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Camryn Billen
Executive Assistant
715-382-6330
cbillen@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Grace Clardy
Education Director
715-214-7887
gclardy@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Lavane Hessler
Accounting Manager
715-450-9441
lhessler@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Danielle Endvick
Director of Development
715-382-6814
dendvick@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Jackie Boos
Facilities Director
715-450-4322
jboos@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Brad Henderson
Facilities Manager
715-214-7244
bhenderson@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Matthew Conte
Rural Organizer
715-382-6107
mconte@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Tommy Enright
Communications Director
715-563-2169
tenright@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Michelle Ramirez-White
Government Relations Director
715-450-9507
mramirezwhite@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Blake Gieck
Policy Coordinator
608-896-3802
bgieck@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Tara Greiman
Director of Conservation and Stewardship
715-492-0329
tgreiman@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Julia Keegan
Communications Specialist
715-471-0398
jkeegan@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Kriss Marion
Communications Specialist
Wisconsin Women in Conservation
608-844-3758
kmarion@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Erin Thompson
Communications Specialist
Fox-Wolf Climate Smart Commodities Project
715-450-6431
ethompson@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Erin Lenninger
Conservation Coordinator
Fox-Wolf Climate Smart Commodities Project
715-382-0341
elenninger@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Kirsten Slaughter
Membership Engagement Director
608-514-2031
kslaughter@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Allison Crook
Regional Membership Coordinator
608-851-0518
acrook@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Karen Goulet
Membership Assistant
608-716-3816
kgoulet@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Forrest Humphrey
Local Foods Organizer
715-450-9179
fhumphrey@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Layne Cozzolino
Communications Specialist
Local Food Purchase Assistance Program
715-450-6430
lcozzolino@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Cara Vellender
WI-LFPA Program Assistant
715-215-2298
cvellender@wisconsinfarmersunion.com