Speaker:
Kelly Maynard, Cooperative Development Specialist

Kelly is the Cooperative Development Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Center for Cooperatives. Kelly has 9 years of experience supporting cooperatives and 13 years of experience in food systems work. She is passionate about teaching people to work and make decisions together productively, whatever their purpose! Kelly feels lucky to live, work, garden, paddle, hunt, and frolic outside Belleville, Wisconsin on the West Branch of the Sugar River.

Extension Facilitator:
James Pyecroft, Food Entrepreneurship and Local Market Development Outreach Associate

James has worked in the greater food world for over twenty-five years. He inherited his love of food from his mother, who owned a restaurant in central Michigan. Here, he began to appreciate how farmers, producers, and restaurant workers can bring a sense of community to others. James then worked around the country in a variety of places, from cheese shops to corner bars to Michelin-starred restaurants that celebrated local food and beverages.

He received his degree in Community and Environmental Sociology at UW-Madison, where he focused on equity and labor in diverse food systems. James lives in Madison, WI, and enjoys weekly visits with his family to the city’s many farmer’s markets and all the great cooking (and eating!) that follows.