MSU Extension Master Gardener Program

Eileen Boekestein, Environmental Education Coordinator, MI Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy

Eileen Boekestein is Michigan’s Statewide Environmental Education Coordinator, housed within the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Eileen holds a MS in Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College and a BS in Environmental Biology from Cornerstone University and is a Certified Environmental Educator through the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education. She has over 17 years of experience in environmental education, science communication and civic engagement spanning nature centers, local and state government, and college classrooms.

Angie Bouma, Senior Conservation Ecologist, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy 

Angie joined the Conservancy in 2009. In her current role on the stewardship team, she collaborates on biological inventories and restoration projects on GTRLC protected lands, including coordinating the native plant greenhouse. In addition to her role at GTRLC, she is currently the secretary of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Michigan Botanical Society. Angie is a graduate of Northern Michigan University and enjoys exploring and photographing the natural wonders of the Grand Traverse region.

Bevin Cohen, author, herbalist, owner of Small House Farm and host of the popular Seeds & Weeds podcast

Bevin Cohen is an award winning author, herbalist, owner of Small House Farm and host of the popular Seeds & Weeds podcast. Bevin offers workshops and lectures across the country on the benefits of living closer to the land through seeds, herbs, and locally grown food. He is a food and garden writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications such as Mother Earth News and Homestead Living Magazine. Bevin is the author or editor of more than ten books, including Saving Our Seeds and Grow Great Vegetables in Michigan. Learn more about Bevin’s work at www.bevincohen.com.

Brent Crain, Consumer Horticulture Educator, MSU Extension

Dr. Brent Crain is a Consumer Horticulture Educator with MSU Extension, who formerly served in executive leadership as CTO of an Ag-Tech company. He brings broad horticultural expertise, having worked professionally in research and production systems in small fruits, tree fruits, field crops, and urban and landscape trees. During his 13 years in the non-profit space, he developed local and regional training seminars, workshops, and service learning opportunities in partnership with local and national organizations in the U.S. and overseas. Brent enjoys working with community partners and home gardeners, and making knowledge produced through innovative research accessible to everyone!

Julie Crick, Educator, MSU Extension

Julie Crick became an Educator with Michigan State University Extension in 2013. Her work focuses on strengthening people’s connection with forests through education focused on forest ecosystems, sustainable forest management, and landscape geology as it relates to forest ecology. In her off time, Julie can be found gardening, hiking, or paddling down the river admiring the riparian forest ecosystems.

Sarah Eichberger, Public Health Nutritionist, MSU Extension

Sarah Eichberger, MPH, RDN, is a public health nutritionist and has nearly 20 years of working experience in a variety of community-based settings. Ms. Eichberger provides leadership in support of policy, systems, and environmental change interventions focused on healthy eating and physical activity at Michigan State University Extension. Sarah has a Bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Michigan State University and is a 2012 graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where she studied nutrition with a concentration in health disparities and served as a Maternal and Child Health Fellow.

Duke Elsner, retired Extension Educator, MSU Extension

Duke Elsner was an MSU Extension Educator from 1990 to 2019, specializing in small fruit production and native pollinator educational programming. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Entomology from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Entomology from the Pennsylvania State University.

Meaghan Gass, Michigan Sea Grant Educator, MSU Extension

Meaghan Gass is an Extension Educator with Michigan Sea Grant serving the coastal communities surrounding Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron to apply science-based knowledge to address Great Lakes issues locally. Beginning in 2018, her Sea Grant Extension efforts involve biodiversity conservation, community resilience, and Great Lakes education and stewardship. Meaghan is co-chair of the Center for Great Lakes Literacy team and supports place-based stewardship education regionally in the Saginaw Bay Watershed. Through programming, Meaghan also explores different ways to reduce waste including zero waste events and 4-H partnerships.

Ana Heck, Apiculture Educator, MSU Extension

Ana Heck is Michigan State University's Apiculture Extension Educator. Her role engages beekeepers, growers, pesticide applicators, and home gardeners to improve pollinator health. Ana holds a master’s degree in public policy and a graduate minor in entomology from the University of Minnesota.

Eliza Hensel, Compost Systems Educator, MSU Extension

Eliza Hensel is a statewide Michigan State University Extension Compost Systems Educator located on campus at Michigan State University. Her role is to help the campus programs and provide composting resources to the state. Her academic background is founded in seeking solutions to climate change through a community-based and entrepreneurial approach. She has worked with college programs, urban-agriculture businesses and she founded a compost non-profit program. She has also been featured on WEDU PBS and the Florida Discovery Channel to speak publicly about composting and young professionals in the agriculture industry. She attended Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida where she majored in both Environmental Studies and Animal Studies.

Noah Jansen, Restoration Manager, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council

Alan Jaros, Director of the Bowers School Farm and the Johnson Nature Center

Alan is the Director of the Bowers School Farm and the Johnson Nature Center, leading the expansion of the educational facility since 2016. His work is emphasized by building strategy and leading teams to connect youths, adults, and communities to food and agriculture through outdoor learning environments. His area of expertise is in farm-based education, outdoor education, and youth development.  Alan serves on several community associations and professional societies including the Preservation Bloomfield and the Friends of Bowers Farm Board of Directors. In 2020, Alan was recognized as “Oakland County Executive's Elite 40 Under 40, recognizing dynamic leaders under the age of 40 who are making a difference in Oakland County and beyond He is also a past President for the Detroit Association for Talent Development. 

Lindsey Kerr, Consumer Horticulture Educator, MSU Extension

Lindsey is a Consumer Horticulture Educator based out of Wayne County. Before coming to MSU, she worked as a horticulturist at private estates and public gardens. She has a background in historic preservation of landscapes and public gardens. She has a BA in history from the College of Wooster, a Master of Historic Preservation degree from the University of Georgia, and a MS in Public Horticulture from the University of Delaware. She enjoys teaching gardening topics such as gardening with plants native to Michigan, garden planning and maintenance, and vegetable gardening.

Rebecca Krans, Consumer Horticulture Educator, MSU Extension

Rebecca Krans is an MSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Educator who covers the Upper Peninsula as well as serving on the statewide team. She coordinates the Extension Master Gardener program across the Upper Peninsula. She earned her B.S. Horticulture & M.S. Adult Education from UW-Madison. Before Extension, she worked in the horticulture industry as a perennial grower, greenhouse grower/manager, and grounds manager. After these experiences, she realized how little many people know about where their food comes from, so she earned her high school/middle school Agriscience teaching certification and taught for ten years as an Agriculture Teacher/FFA Advisor. She lives in northern WI enjoying her small farm with horses, Icelandic sheep, chickens, and her German Shepherd, Ruby.

Bill Mansfield, Owner, Lavender Hill Farm

Bill Mansfield owns Lavender Hill Farm in Boyne City, MI. Lavender Hill Farm is an agritourism destination and home to 13000 lavender plants in 30 different varieties.

Shiloh Maples, Anishinaabe community organizer, seed keeper, and storyteller

Shiloh Maples is an Anishinaabe community organizer, seed keeper, and storyteller. Shiloh has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she specialized in community organizing. She has also completed programs in organic farming and sustainable community design. During her time as a student, Shiloh recognized the powerful potential of food systems to heal and transform communities. Since then, Shiloh has been committed to serving the Indigenous food sovereignty movement and revitalizing her own ancestral foodways. For nearly a decade, Shiloh worked within Detroit's Indigenous community to create a food sovereignty initiative that increased access to ancestral foods, offered culturally-based nutrition education, and created opportunities for the community to practice their cultural foodways in the urban landscape. In 2021, Shiloh was a writer-in-residence at Denniston Hill in upstate New York. In 2022, Shiloh partnered with Whetstone Media to launch her podcast, Spirit Plate--which discusses the social, political, and historical reasons the Indigenous food sovereignty movement is necessary and uplifts the voices of seed keepers, chefs, historians, and community members from across the movement.

David Michener, Curator, University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and Midwest Co-Lead, Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, University of Massachusetts

Dr. David Michener is a curator at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, and Mentor Faculty in UM’s Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship Program. In the fall of 2023, Dr Michener and Jennifer Gauthier (College of the Menominee Nation) became the Midwest co-leads on an exciting new initiative with the International Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, (based at University of Massachusetts) as a result of a $30,000,000 NSF-funded research grant. Since his undergraduate years at the University of North Carolina in the 1970s working in native plant gardens, Dr. Michener has been quietly and intentionally working to reframe native plants and communities in a way that can build better awareness of and increase engagement in Tribal sovereignty and sustainability. As he says, “Who cares more about native plants and their ecosystem health than the environmental, cultural, and spiritual leaders of Native Nations?” Dr. Michener’s driving passion is to support biodiversity - from genes to culturally embedded knowledge. During his 33 years as a curator at the University of Michigan, he’s become internationally known for his work on historic peonies. He is coauthor with Carol Adelman of Peonies, The Best Varieties for your Garden (2017) which made the NY Times Best Summer Reading List. He remains active in peony research with colleagues from the Central Botanical Gardens, Minsk.  Dr. Michener also has expertise in bonsai, for which he plans to cover in a learning session at this conference.

Laurie Messing, Extension Educator, MSU Extension

Laurie has been an Extension Educator for MSU Extension since 2000 providing research-based educational programming in a variety of program areas. Since 2010, she has had a Food Safety focus as a Food Safety Extension Educator in Huron, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola counties. Laurie offers Preserving MI Harvest-Home Food Preservation educational programs online to a virtual audience and in-person sessions in the Thumb of Michigan. She also offers a variety of other food safety programs educating consumers, childcare providers, entrepreneurs and volunteers on food safety best practices. She is the program lead for MSU Extension's Home Food Preservation statewide programming.

Stephane Ostrenga Sprague, Supervisor and Food Safety Educator, MSU Extension

Stephanie has been a Supervisor and Food Safety Educator for MSU Extension since 2016. She coaches and manages staff that offer nutrition and physical activity education to low-income audiences in the District 1 counties of Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Menominee, and Ontonagon. Stephanie also provides research-based Food Safety educational programming in the same District 1 area and her interest areas are food safety, food preservation, and disaster preparedness. Stephanie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Exercise Science from Grand Valley State University and a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior Health Education from the University of Michigan.

Anita Singh, National Field Educator, National Wildlife Federation

Anita Singh is a National Field Educator at National Wildlife federation, former teacher and a long time gardener and farm educator. They currently reside on the Eastside of Detroit where they tend to the land, community and themselves. The started the Detroit Queer and Trans Birding group and believe deeply in the healing power of community in nature.

Emily Umbarger, Sustainability Director and Instructor of Agricultural Sciences, Interlochen Center for the Arts

Emily is the Sustainability Director and Instructor of Agricultural Sciences at Interlochen Center for the Arts where she has spent the past 14 years. During her tenure at Interlochen, she has been instrumental in bringing about positive change in the world of sustainability on the institution’s campus, receiving numerous rigorous certifications for the school in the field of regenerative, sustainable, and earth-friendly practices. In 2019, she led the institution through the US Department of Education’s Green Ribbon School award, where they were awarded prestigious national recognition for advancements made in sustainability across campus. She oversees the school’s campus-wide initiatives in composting, recycling, sustainability-related outreach, and community education, and manages the school’s R. B. Annis botanical laboratory and school garden complex. She is leading her institution through a Climate Action Plan 2028, implementing institution-wide goals and objectives in sustainability planning. She sits as a trustee on the Allen Foundation board and is a member of the Michigan Association for Environmental and Outdoor Educators and the Michigan Association for Environmental Professionals. She is a lover of the outdoors and nature. She is the proud mother of two boys: Jake and Joey. Emily is a Michigan State University certified Master Gardener, a passionate cast iron chef, a devoted beekeeper, and a lover of our Mother Earth.