Who We Are

Convinced that every vibrant organization needs a stable base, Susan has honed her financial and organizational skills at a number of Willy Street businesses, including Nature’s Bakery, Red Caboose Day Care Center, and most recently, TDS Custom Construction. After years of raising sheep and living on a community-run vegetable farm in southern Dane County, she is now enjoying the pleasures of life in on the near east side. And while she has traded in her sheep for a pair of zebra finches, she continues to be fascinated by fiber arts in all forms, often trailing yarn and knitting needles into staff meetings and spending evenings stitching colorful art quilts. She also enjoys canning tomatoes in the fall, hanging out with her retired sheepdog Bella, and nurturing an ever-expanding collection of plants in her sunny river-view windows.

Katie joined REAP in April 2023 as Development Director. Her role is to oversee and guide a growing portfolio of stewardship efforts including grants management, fundraising events, and donor relations. Prior to joining the staff, Katie was a member of the REAP Board and member on the Development Committee. Katie spent over 15 years in multilingual learner education, strategic communications, and marketing. Whether in the classroom or in the boardroom, Katie is passionate about social justice and environmental protection. She lives on the east side of Madison with her husband, daughters, dogs, and cat.

Noah grew up in Kenosha, WI before moving to the Isthmus to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison. Growing up in a politically active family, he developed an enthusiasm for learning about environmental, economic and social justice issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a certificate in Sustainability in the spring of 2018. After working various jobs in the food industry throughout high school and college, he saw how our food system touched the topics he was passionate about and food systems quickly became the focus of his papers. In 2016, he joined REAP as a Development Intern and has evolved into REAP’s Events Coordinator and Farm Fresh Atlas Manager. Through these roles he is excited to expand on REAP’s work to build community in our local food system. When he’s not at REAP you can probably catch Noah reading, cooking, or trying to find a game of pick-up basketball.

Anna has been making cheese part-time and managing her business Landmark Creamery, along with grassroots organizing and political campaign management work, working to level the playing field for small producers and growers in rural Wisconsin and foster investment in our rural communities. As a small producer, she sees first-hand the systemic challenges within our food distribution channels that make it difficult for our farmers and small processors to be profitable, and to get fresh, locally grown products into our restaurants and institutions. Anna would like to help find solutions and open up access for these small producers and processors.

As an Agricultural Engineer, Yolibeth is very familiar with the food chain, from production to table. She has also been involved with different local, family farms in her community where she has helped cultivate or sell at the farmers market. Through her volunteer work with different community organizations, she has had a direct connection with families in need and minority groups, becoming familiar with the issues of inequality in Wisconsin and the needs of the different groups. Yolibeth was a member of the Stoughton School Board for 7 years. Originally from Venezuela, Yolibeth has been in Wisconsin for 20 years, having come to Madison to complete her master’s degree in Plant Pathology at UW Madison.

Throughout her career, Allison Pfaff Harris has witnessed the power of food in creating healthy bodies, minds, and communities. Receiving her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her innate curiosity to understand food and its complexities has led her to work as a dietitian in a community hospital, sharpen her culinary skills as a personal chef, and volunteer on a local CSA farm.

She’s also had the privilege of working with Wisconsin School Nutrition Programs through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, learning from School Nutrition Professionals the strengths of policy in action, as well as areas for improvement. Allison is thrilled to serve as the REAP Farm to School Director, supporting the work of every person involved in growing food to bring to the cafeteria table.

Hailing from Western Wisconsin, Allison grew up eating handfuls of red raspberries in her grandparents’ garden. Today, she spends her summer evenings cultivating that garden of her memories at her near west-side home, planning bike routes to include stops at local coffee shops, and honing her woodworking skills through DIY projects with her husband.

Samantha grew up in southern Wisconsin. After studying history at Beloit College, she briefly followed in her father’s footsteps by working at farms in Wisconsin and Oregon. When she landed in Madison, she quickly fell into the local agricultural and food community through hospitality work. In her roles, she forged relationships with countless farmers and cheesemakers. In 2012, Samantha and her husband, Jon Nodler, moved to Philadelphia to hone their pastry and cooking skills, respectively. Over a decade they worked as chefs for a growing restaurant group and operated their own restaurant in their North Philly neighborhood. In the middle of COVID-19, they decided to move back to Wisconsin, where Samantha hoped to put her writing and design skills to work for a mission that she was passionate about.  Samantha and Jon live in a quiet pocket of Green County with their two quirky dogs, surrounded by emerging native prairie and a sightly chaotic vegetable garden.

Addi has lived most of her life in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in biology from Beloit College and her doctorate from the School of Pharmacy at University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a few years in academia and entrepreneurship, she pivoted to supporting local nonprofits through grant management and outcomes evaluation. As a grant writer for REAP, Addi will support the team to turn their great ideas into dollars. Addi has been a proud REAP event volunteer since the first Pie Palooza. Addi loves to grow, cook, and preserve food, play her handpan drum, and ride her bicycles. She lives in Monona with her spouse, Sam, and their two sweet old dogs.