Officers of the Board:

Chuck Andrews, Chair; Chemical Engineer, Pharmacia and Upjohn
Jack Gesmundo, Vice Chair & Treasurer; Builder, Hawk's Hollow
Lynn Heasley, Secretary; Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Western Michigan University
Dick Roosenberg, Executive Director, Tillers International

Other Board Members:

Mary Andrews, Dean of Human Ecology at Michigan State University
Clint Bolton, Farmer & International Advisor
Pat Crowley, Agricultural Hydrologist 
Tim Harrigan, (Past Chairperson), Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University
David McMorrow, Attorney with Ford Kriekard PC
Mark Uggeri, Anesthesiologist at Kalamazoo Anesthiesiology
Lynn Waldron, Mechanical Engineer with Tower, Pinkster & Associates
James Weaver, Accountant
Duane Westrate, Bedding Plant Grower
Robert Wilkinson, Retired Agricultural Engineer, Michigan State University.

Tillers' Staff:

Howard Cain keeps the accounts of Tillers as a volunteer. In his youth, he ran a custom threshing operation for his father. He spent his career as a CPA, serving as comptroller of corporations much larger than Tillers.

Todd Juzwiak and Evie Barr, founders of DreamAcres in Wykoff, Minnesota, run a CSA producing organic vegetables, as well as coordinating Tillers' classes there. Two of DreamAcres' buildings were built in Tillers' classes. Todd was an intern at Tillers.  Evie is also busy in Theatre.

Dick Roosenberg serves as the Director of Tillers. His experience teaching draft animal farming in Africa with Peace Corps and the UN-FAO sparked the vision of Tillers. He grew up on a farm and owes his father for much of his technical knowledge. Before heading Tillers, he advised organizations on legal and tax issues with the Detroit Accounting Aid Society, and helped other organizations with fund raising.

John Sarge has an exceptional combination of mechanical perception and artistic appreciation that permits him to execute fine metal work very efficiently. He is at home with either hand tools or in the power shop. John came to Tillers as a blacksmithing volunteer while he was working for the Grand Rapids Public Museum in preparing exhibits and restoring artifacts. Previously John had worked as a master mechanic with several industries, and studied energy conservation and alternatives at Jordan College. John has a deep curiosity about most crafts, and brings to Tillers an encyclopedic knowledge and a practical hand. The restoration of many of the farm tools and the passing along of an understanding of their maintenance is thanks to John.

Steve Stier, a carpenter, boat builder, vocational educator, and barn preservationist, has a deep reserve of knowledge about barns and the tools with which they are built. He has been teaching timberframing skills with Tillers since 1994, and is co-curator for the Abbey Collection. He holds a BA in Historical Preservation from Eastern Michigan University.

Brian Webb is Tillers' International Outreach Coordinator. He was a Tillers intern in 1994, then spent time with the Peace Corps in Mali and the Central African Republic from 1995 to 1998.

Past Staff

Pieter Kiwiet was Fund Raising and Outreach Coordinator for Tillers during our transition to the Cook's Mill Farm. Pieter has served as a consultant for non-profits, and as a pastor. In addition to his Master of Divinity, Pieter holds a Masters in Regional Planning from the Maxwell School of Public Affairs at Syracuse University. In his undergraduate education, Pieter studied development aid procedures as an intern at the Club du Sahel of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France.

Dave Kramer managed Tillers' wood and metal shops. He is trained as a vocational educator, is an excellent woodworker, and an enthusiastic teacher. Before Tillers, he worked overseas for seven years. In 1998, Dave took a local teaching job, but still helps Tillers as a volunteer.

Kris Svenson studied biology in college, then worked with draft horses at Howell Living Historical Farm in New Jersey before coming to Tillers as an intern in 1995. After her internship she helped manage the farm at a Covenant Church mission in Northern Zaire. Later she farmed at a CSA in Prairie Farm Wisconsin that uses draft horses. She returned to Tillers as farm manager from late 1999 to 2004.

Larry Dyer previously worked with Michigan State University's extension program at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, with responsibilities in sustainable and organic agriculture and agricultural ecology. Larry received his Ph.D. in Entomology from Michigan State University. Some of his perspective on agriculture comes from his experience in Paraguay with the Peace Corps, working on agroforestry projects with cooperatives of small farmers. He is dedicated to promoting farming systems that are ecologically based, family-scale, and grounded in their local communities and natural environments. He and his wife now teach at Olney Friends School in Ohio.

Interns

Each year Tillers brings in 2 to 4 interns to help with the farm, shop, and organizational work. They come for up to 9 months, and most of their compensation is what they have an opportunity to learn. A number of them have gone overseas afterwards, to work with various projects.

2004
Mark Lundy of Arizona
Brian Stoval of Arizona
Jonathan Yoder of Virginia
Daniel Wolfinbarger of Oregon
Emily Frasier of Michigan
Martha Burch of Illinois
Alex Petrov of Maine
Valerie Hart of Iowa

2003
Robert Burdick of Delaware
Dan Conklin of Michigan
Robert Schulz of Wisconsin
Summer Deal of South Carolina
Eric Oganda of Kenya
Gilbert Malenga of Uganda

2002
Ed Chew of Indiana
David Rice of New Jersey
Kevin Klott of Michigan
Surawit Chopjit of Thailand
Alicia VerHage of Michigan

2001
Martin Erhardt of Michigan
Cathy Dernay of Michigan
Moses Kisamo of Kenya
Melissa Rhodes of Ohio
Kristen Grote of Iowa
Steve Poland of Iowa

2000
Martin Munene of Kenya
Nathan Bemis of Michigan
Fiddlin' Holly of Virginia
Dennis Munga of Kenya

1999
Henry Sibawaga of Kenya
Morgan Taggart of New York
Andy Newell of Indiana
Joseph Kyome of Kenya

1998
Susan Johnson of Michigan

John Miller of Pennsylvania
Beth Murphy of Ohio

1997
Erin Scott of Kansas
Keith Polo of Illinois

Other Instructors

Meet our Lead Instructors for:
Animal Power,
Farm and Crop Series,
International Rural Development,
Blacksmithing, and
Woodworking.

Tillers' Response Form

Use the Tiller's Response form to tell us about yourself or pass along your ideas and comments. The Form can also be used to request a Class Schedule or Tillers Catalog of quality products and hard-to-find publications.