Board of Directors
F.H. King is directed by a nine-member board of UW undergraduate and graduate students. Board members are required to serve one-year terms but encouraged to stay two years. The F.H. King board of directors is nonhierarchical — each director has a significant degree of independence, board members are held accountable by each other, and major decision making is decentralized. Our non-hierarchical structure makes us more flexible and resilient and addresses the problem of turnover, the need for accountability, and the importance of empowerment.
All members of the F.H. King Board of Directors share certain responsibilities, including assisting with programming and events, volunteering in the garden, and participating in major events. All Directors must attend weekly board meetings and office hours, as well as quarterly Mission & Vision sessions, and participate in quarterly peer evaluations.
Current Board Members
Farm Director
Dani Maria Adams-Valenzuela
Ava (She/Her)
Ava is a senior studying Botany with certificates in French and Environmental Studies. She loves to explore ways of creating and currently enjoys weaving with both beads and naturally sourced materials. Her relationship with food continually informs my love and respect for plants and the systems to which they belong. She hopes to further the integration of ecological dynamics with practices of sustainable agriculture. Caring for a garden is often a means of caring for herself, and she is excited to be a part of an organization that fosters such connections between people and land.
Contact: fhking.garden@gmail.com
Farm Director
Ava Padilla
Eren (She/Her)
Eren is a junior studying Environmental Science and Conservation Biology with a certificate in Food Systems. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, which is also where she first encountered urban agriculture on a field trip to Will Allen's "Growing Power" farm. Eren is passionate about making agriculture accessible and fun for all people, no matter where they live and how much space they have. In the future, she hopes to engage with ecology and agriculture through a research or government position. When she's not at the farm, you can find her helping with jumping worm research at the UW Arboretum, or trying recipes from other F.H. King members!
Contact: fhking.urbanag@gmail.com
Urban Ag Director
Eren Wolf
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Urban Ag Director
Marion McKinney
Rachel (She/Her)
Rachel is a junior studying Environmental Studies and Zoology. She is from Illinois where she grew up spending a lot of time outside. Super passionate about the environment, she knows it is crucial to educate and inform the community about sustainable practices to better our planet. She is eager to learn more about sustainable food systems and incorporate that into her own life while also informing the Madison community. In the future, Rachel hopes to have a career involving environmental preservation, where she is dedicated to an establishment that is focused on mitigating climate change. Besides working with F.H. King, Rachel loves painting, cycling, and spending time with people.
Contact: fhking.intern@gmail.com
Joya (She/Her)
Joya (she/her) is a junior studying Health Promotion and Health Equity and Community and Environmental Sociology with certificates in African Cultural Studies and Environmental Studies. She gained an interest in agriculture by being exposed to the herbal healing practices passed down from her mother and spending time in her family’s garden. Joya is passionate about the ways we can use nature as healing, and the benefits the natural world can have on overall wellness. She hopes that one day, everyone can have access to natural resources needed for survival and have the knowledge to holistically sustain themselves and the ecosystems around them. In her free time, Joya loves to spend hours crate digging, watching old films, and writing.
Contact: fhking.programming@gmail.com
Education Director
Rachel French
Programming Director
Joya Headley
Ben (He/Him)
Ben is a senior studying Conservation Biology with a certificate in Environmental Studies. He grew up in Middleton, Wisconsin, and fell in love with outdoors and environmentalism in high school. On this path, he discovered the realm of sustainable agriculture and permaculture. He is dedicated to improving the sustainability and conservation of our world, and how that is embedded in our food systems. In his free time, you can find him biking the streets of Madison and climbing at the local bouldering gym.
Contact: fhking.news@gmail.com
Outreach Director
Ben Dickmeyer
Bobby (He/Him)
Bobby is a junior pursuing a double major in Supply Chain Management and Environmental Studies. He was born and raised in Milwaukee, where he was able to volunteer at local ecology centers and learn about the outdoors. Those experiences laid the foundation for his passions toward the environment, sustainability, and working to mitigate climate change. Besides working for F.H. King, Bobby is a player on the Wisconsin Badger Club Rugby team and enjoys meeting new people. Bobby’s favorite part about F.H. King is learning more about sustainable agriculture and taking part in the awesome workshops it has to offer!
Contact: fhking.finance@gmail.com
Finance Director
Bobby Joehnk
Majenta (She/Her)
Majenta is a sophomore hoping to study Landscape Architecture or Urban Planning with a Food Systems certificate at UW-Madison. Interested in the ways urban planning policies have contributed to food apartheid, she hopes to use her studies as well as her work at Troy Farms and F.H. King to help make fresh food accessible to everyone. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, reading, rollerblading, and laying in the sun trying to grow roots and photosynthesize.
Contact: fhking.students@gmail.com