Heartland's Staff
Meet the dedicated team who carry out Heartland’s mission of inspiring compassion for all.
Staff Leadership
Alecia Torres
Shelter DirectorAlecia has lived in Wisconsin since 1993 when she left Illinois to attend UW-Madison. She fell in love with Madison and never wanted to leave, so her parents and brother followed her to the area to be together. Alecia earned her degree in social welfare, but her strongest love has always been animals. She has lived with animal companions her entire life and is passionate about animal rights issues, especially pertaining to the plight of animals used for food and other human purposes. She followed farm sanctuaries for years before finding out about Heartland and attending their very first fundraiser. Alecia started as an animal care volunteer, but her responsibilities grew until working for Heartland became a full time job. Her favorite friends at the sanctuary are the turkeys, hens and roosters. Alecia lives in Madison with her husband Rob, their Lab-Pit mix Sophie, and their cat Tuco.
Jen Korz
Executive DirectorJen has been dedicated to non-profit work for the entirety of her 25-year career. After earning her degree in Social Work, she advocated for a variety of vulnerable populations, eventually finding her ultimate passion working with and for the animals. After working many years in fundraising and advocacy for a nationally-recognized animal organization, she changed gears and served as part of the administration team at an arts-based early childhood education landmark in Madison, Wisconsin. Jen brings expertise and connections in development, project management and strategic planning, but considers her passion and conviction for the mission of Heartland as her most important assets. While Jen was raised on the east coast, her family has Midwestern roots and she has been a resident of Madison since 2005. In her spare time, she enjoys eating her partner’s vegan culinary offerings and spending time with their two daughters (both of whom are campers at Heartland) and their four spoiled rotten rescue dogs.
Jamie Monroe
Communications DirectorJamie started volunteering with Heartland Farm Sanctuary in 2011 as an animal caretaker and is now our Communications Director. She is originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and graduated from Northern Michigan University, earning a degree in writing/journalism. Jamie moved to Madison in 2008 and currently lives with her partner and their rescued animal friends (including rescued chickens adopted from Heartland!) on Madison’s north side.
Shelter Staff
Vickie Hoehn
Medical SupervisorVickie grew up spending summers and vacations on her grandparents’ farm where she was able to feed her love of animals and hard work! Combined with her twenty years of experience as a PA, she has found a great fit at Heartland. Vickie has worked in hospitals and clinics and has taken her skills on volunteer disaster relief trips to Myanmar, Belize and most recently New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina, where she learned construction skills. She now uses her medical and building skills at Heartland. She performs regular animal health checks, works closely with veterinarians, and manages medications and treatments for all of Heartland's rescued farm animal residents.
Stephanie Weis
Shelter AssistantStephanie grew up in Madison and has had a soft spot for all animals as far back as she can remember, beginning with a giant earthworm. 🙂 She studied zoology in college and planned to become a vet until chemistry dashed those dreams and she switched majors to focus on her second passion - kids. Stephanie earned a BS in Elementary and Middle School Education with an emphasis on science. She taught fourth through seventh grades for 23 years until leaving to spend more time at Heartland where she began as a twice weekly animal care volunteer in January of 2011. Over time she excitedly took on various other roles including animal care staff, camp counselor and programs director. She even did an early stint on the board of directors. Currently her part-time work is spent in Memorial High School’s library and at Heartland as assistant to the shelter director. She considers herself so lucky to be able to continue to work with both kids and animals as well as with like-minded people. She lives just a couple of miles from the sanctuary with her husband, her rescued one-year-old dog and 18-year-old-cat who, by strange coincidence, share identical coloration. She also has two college kids who come and go.
Carrie Richardson
Animal Care StaffCarrie was born and raised in Richland Center, Wisconsin. After earning her Associate’s in Arts and Sciences at UW-Richland, she transferred to UW-Platteville. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Social Science Comprehensive in 2008. Carrie always carried a deep concern for animal welfare and in March of 2014, began volunteering at Heartland. She is also a full-time Accounting Clerk for a non-profit healthcare organization.
Barbara O’Connell
Animal Care StaffBarbara’s first career was in the medical field taking care of people. When she retired in July 2014, she knew she wanted to become more involved with animals. She started volunteering at the Dane County Humane Society in Madison and one of her fellow workers, Terry Ryan, mentioned that she volunteered at Heartland Farm Sanctuary. In the cold month of February, Barb started as a volunteer at the farm and fell in love! The animals and people at the barn are her true inspiration, and she hopes to be a part of Heartland Farm Sanctuary for a long time. Barbara shares her human home with her husband, Larry, and two dogs, Ella and Basie.
Krysta Koralesky
Animal Care StaffKrysta was born and raised in La Crosse, Wisconsin and has degrees in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Krysta loves learning about animals and nature, and has always found farm work to be fulfilling. She started volunteering at Heartland in October of 2015 and has been part of Heartland animal care staff since April 2017. Outside of Heartland, Krysta works in administration for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lives in Madison with her two cats, Lily and Diana.
Michelle Hogan
Animal Care StaffMichelle moved to Madison from the Chicagoland area in December 2013 and started volunteering at Heartland doing animal care the following April. Michelle lives with her fiancé and their three dogs. They also foster for several organizations so they usually have a few foster animals (dogs, cats, and birds) at home, as well. Outside of Heartland, Michelle spends most of her time with her dogs, but also enjoys baking vegan desserts, reading too many books at one time, and listening to true crime podcasts.
Terry Miller
Animal Care StaffTerry moved to Madison from Pennsylvania to take a nursing position in hospice. She has been an avid animal lover since childhood and is dedicated to volunteerism. After volunteering for WI Badger Honor Flight for five years, she decided to direct her attention to her love of animals. She found Heartland Farm Sanctuary was just a few miles from her home and started as a volunteer in the fall of 2016. After 25 years in nursing, she is looking forward to her retirement and spending more time at Heartland.
Hannah Moore
Animal Care StaffHannah was born and raised in Madison, WI. She grew up in the city but has loved and cared for many feathered and furry companion animals her whole life and is an avid outdoors enthusiast. Driven by her love for animals, Hannah started volunteering at Heartland Farm Sanctuary in December of 2021 as part of the Animal Care team. Caring for the animals and ensuring their comfort, health and happiness has been incredibly rewarding for Hannah. She quickly began to realize the amazing mission, vision and values of HFS, and to appreciate the incredible humans involved. Hannah is honored to join the HFS staff and to contribute as much as she can to the organization! When not at Heartland, you may find Hannah glamping in the woods of central Wisconsin, exploring and appreciating nature, or putzing around her home in Stoughton with her wife, two dogs and three cats.
Thomas Gasper
Groundskeeping AssistantThomas started volunteering at Heartland in February 2021 and loved spending time with the staff and animals. He is excited to join the Heartland team for the summer because he has always been intrigued by tractors and farm machinery. He is looking forward to caring for the grounds at Heartland and making friends with the animals and staff. Thomas loves biking, video games, and his dog named Bear.
Jenni Vance
Animal Care Staff + Assistant Medical SupervisorJenni lives in Madison with her wife, daughter, and their two dogs, Jack and Trudy. For the past 4 1/2 years, Jenni ran an in-home daycare, which she started after her daughter was born prematurely. This year, their daughter will start kindergarten and Jenni will return to healthcare, and hopefully spend more time at the sanctuary!
Amanda Dambrink
Animal Care Staff+ Volunteer Co-CoordinatorAmanda worked as a project manager, a writer, and an editor before joining the Heartland team as an animal care staffer and volunteer co-coordinator. After she began volunteering at the sanctuary in 2021, she found herself wanting to spend more and more time there, working alongside kind people to care for lovable animals in a peaceful setting. Amanda lives in Verona with her husband and their two goofy cats.
Julie Sabo
Animal Care StaffJulie Sabo is an animator and illustrator who moved to Wisconsin in 2019. She started working with horses and in 2021, became a volunteer at Heartland Farm Sanctuary! We welcomed Julie to the team as an animal caretaker in May of 2022.
Gia Arciero
Animal Care StaffGia spent many of her childhood and early adult years on farms working with horses. She moved to Madison from Minnesota in 2015, and started volunteering at Heartland when she left her job in January 2021. She loved spending time with the animals so much that she decided to join the staff! She lives with her husband, dog, and cat in McFarland. When she's not out snuggling the chickens, she spends her time sewing, weaving, and trying any other fiber art that seems fun.
Tera Runde
Ambassador + Medical AssistantTera began volunteering at Heartland in February 2014 and her regular shift evolved into training and animal enrichment. She particularly loves working with the mini pigs and llamas, but is in the process of helping all the animals get comfortable being handled for veterinary care. She regularly assists our Medical Supervisor, Vickie, with vaccinations, hoof trimming, medications and more. Tera also serves as an Ambassador, leading private and public tours and representing HFS out in the community. Tera especially loves being known as “Percy’s human” (Percy is one of our rescued potbellied pigs) and taking him on field trips to businesses and schools. Tera lives with her husband, son, and her own herd of four rescued potbellied pigs.
Ana Rudy
Animal Care Staff + Volunteer Co-CoordinatorAna grew up in Madison, just four miles from Heartland Farm Sanctuary. After various stints in the tech industry, Ana discovered Heartland by chance after following other farm sanctuaries on social media. Starting out as a volunteer in 2017, Ana immediately loved the messy work, like-minded people and amazing animals. She joined the Animal Care Staff in 2018 and later became our volunteer co-coordinator. She will tell anyone willing to listen how special Heartland is and how blessed she feels to have found her true purpose, passion and bliss. Ana lives on the near west side with her husband, Mo, and rescue dachshund, Peanut.
Alecia Torres
Shelter DirectorAlecia has lived in Wisconsin since 1993 when she left Illinois to attend UW-Madison. She fell in love with Madison and never wanted to leave, so her parents and brother followed her to the area to be together. Alecia earned her degree in social welfare, but her strongest love has always been animals. She has lived with animal companions her entire life and is passionate about animal rights issues, especially pertaining to the plight of animals used for food and other human purposes. She followed farm sanctuaries for years before finding out about Heartland and attending their very first fundraiser. Alecia started as an animal care volunteer, but her responsibilities grew until working for Heartland became a full time job. Her favorite friends at the sanctuary are the turkeys, hens and roosters. Alecia lives in Madison with her husband Rob, their Lab-Pit mix Sophie, and their cat Tuco.
Julie Sammer
Animal Care StaffJulie moved to Madison in May 2018 and after learning about Heartland from a co-worker, knew she needed to get involved. After attending a barn tour, she was able to begin volunteering as part of the animal care team in June 2021 and she became a staff member in July 2022. While a lifelong city girl from Texas with no farm experience whatsoever, she has fallen in love with the animals, people, and mission of Heartland. She has enjoyed learning more about animal care and the farm work required to create an environment of loving inclusion for all. She lives in Middleton with her husband, Chris, French Bulldog, Napoleon, and cat, Greta.
Program Staff
Tera Runde
Ambassador + Medical AssistantTera began volunteering at Heartland in February 2014 and her regular shift evolved into training and animal enrichment. She particularly loves working with the mini pigs and llamas, but is in the process of helping all the animals get comfortable being handled for veterinary care. She regularly assists our Medical Supervisor, Vickie, with vaccinations, hoof trimming, medications and more. Tera also serves as an Ambassador, leading private and public tours and representing HFS out in the community. Tera especially loves being known as “Percy’s human” (Percy is one of our rescued potbellied pigs) and taking him on field trips to businesses and schools. Tera lives with her husband, son, and her own herd of four rescued potbellied pigs.
Emma Rosera
Therapeutic Programs Manager + Experiential TherapistEmma moved to the Madison area in 2017 from Minnesota. She earned her degree in social work and education, and has been practicing as a licensed social worker in child welfare for the past five years. Emma also teaches dog training classes at a local facility where she highlights using positive reinforcement techniques and teamwork. Heartland’s mission of inspiring compassion for all is close to Emma’s heart. Her current menagerie at home includes two cats, an ex-racing greyhound named Solomon, a leopard gecko, and a collection of fish. In her free time, Emma enjoys sipping coffee and reading on the couch with her pets, camping and hiking with her husband and dog, and playing board games. Emma is so excited to combine her love for animals with her passion for supporting families by being part of the experiential therapy program at Heartland!
Katelyn Becker
Experiential TherapistKatelyn joined our team after learning about Heartland's mission and was excited to combine her passions for supporting kids/families with her passion for animal compassion, healing and rescue. Katelyn is originally from central Wisconsin but moved to Madison to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed a Bachelor's and Master's of Social Work with a Child, Youth and Family Welfare focus. Katelyn has worked in after-school programs, nonprofits and currently in a school social work role providing crisis stabilization. She lives with her husband, two dogs and one cat...with hopes to expand when they have more space!
Justin Mistretta
Experiential TherapistJustin earned his degree in clinical mental health counseling from UW-Whitewater and has practiced as a licensed professional counselor for the past two years at The Psychology Center in Madison. He currently lives with his wife and two majestic Siberian forest cats, Kura and Ollie. In his free time, Justin enjoys pushing himself out of his comfort zone to try new things. This often comes in the form of travel, exploring new hiking routes, and learning new sports/activities, such as most recently learning how to mountain bike and cross country ski. Justin is excited to bring his love of furry and feathered friends and passion for promoting social and emotional well-being to the Heartland team!
Laura Marshall
AmbassadorLaura is an instructional designer by day and an animal lover 24/7. As of spring 2022, she is also a Heartland ambassador, leading public and private tours of the sanctuary and representing Heartland in the community. Laura is a Wisconsin native who grew up on a farm. Her passions in life are to teach, learn, and explore the world, especially its creatures and cultures. In her free time, you can find her walking in Madison's many parks with her husband and two dogs, growing flowers in her garden, or embarking on a variety of creative projects.
Erica Lindsay
Program Intake CoordinatorErica is a lifelong animal lover and people-person! They're passionate about supporting education and mental healthcare opportunities that are accessible and rooted in compassion, and they're excited to help provide these at Heartland as the Program Intake Coordinator! They have a degree in mathematics, with plans to return to school to pursue training and certification as a therapist. Currently Erica has far too many plants at home, with dreams of fostering and adopting rescue dogs in the (hopefully!) near future. They love creating art, playing tabletop games with friends, and diving headfirst into new hobbies and interests. They're looking forward to getting to know all the animal residents who call Heartland home, and all the people who come to Heartland to learn and find community!
Solomon
Therapy DogSolomon is a seven-year-old, ex-racing greyhound who is elated to be joining the HFS therapy team in his retirement. Solomon hails from the South, but has learned to love the changing seasons in Wisconsin, and especially loves a good zoom in the snow. Since joining the team at Heartland, Sol has learned he's more than just the speed he can run, and has leaned (literally, if you've met him) into a role of dedicated comforter and supporter. In his free time, Solomon enjoys taking his human, Emma, on local adventures to breweries, coffee shops, and walking paths. His favorite thing about being part of the experiential therapy team is doing whatever it takes to make the kids laugh, and getting SO MANY snoot rubs.
Sar Carlson
Humane EducatorSar was raised in Owatonna, Minnesota, and has a degree in Early Childhood Middle Childhood Education with a minor in Ethnic and Racial Studies from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. After graduation, Sar moved to the Madison area with her spouse. This is Sar’s first year at HFS; She loves our vision and is excited to get to create a ripple at Heartland! Outside of Heartland, Sar likes to read, spend time with friends, explore new places, and train her dog. They live in Edgerton with their spouse, two cats, Lark and Cloudy, and dog, Badger.
Administrative Staff
Chrissy Watson
Special Projects ManagerA native of McFarland, Chrissy studied psychology at UW-Madison and went on to receive her Master's degree in sport and exercise science. After her careers as a soccer player and coach, she worked as a nurse and medical assistant before discovering how much she loved volunteer work. In the last few years, she has volunteered tutoring within her local school district, serving as a committee member for environmental groups, and bringing therapy animals to local nursing homes and healthcare facilities. Chrissy began volunteering with Heartland in 2021 as an animal care volunteer. A lifelong animal lover, she was immediately drawn to chance to help all of the residents and get to know all of the wonderful people that take care of them. When the opportunity arose to pursue her position at Heartland, she knew this would be the ideal opportunity to combine her love for animals, her passions for environmental sustainability and veganism, and her love of problem-solving.
Kes Allen
Administrative CoordinatorKes was most recently employed as an adoption counselor and merchandise coordinator at Dane County Humane Society, and currently volunteers with House Rabbit Society. Kes shares their home with two dogs, two cats, three rabbits and four chickens (and one spouse)! When Kes isn't working in the Heartland office, they love to knit, read, play video games, and participate in karate and theater.
Erica Lindsay
Program Intake CoordinatorErica is a lifelong animal lover and people-person! They're passionate about supporting education and mental healthcare opportunities that are accessible and rooted in compassion, and they're excited to help provide these at Heartland as the Program Intake Coordinator! They have a degree in mathematics, with plans to return to school to pursue training and certification as a therapist. Currently Erica has far too many plants at home, with dreams of fostering and adopting rescue dogs in the (hopefully!) near future. They love creating art, playing tabletop games with friends, and diving headfirst into new hobbies and interests. They're looking forward to getting to know all the animal residents who call Heartland home, and all the people who come to Heartland to learn and find community!
Direct Contacts
Planned giving, corporate and business partnerships, fundraising:
- Emily Goad | Development Director
- Emily.Goad@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-285-2138
Shelter management and donations of barn supplies including feed/hay/produce:
- Alecia Torres | Shelter Director
- Alecia.Torres@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-577-6795
Communications & outreach, social media, website, special events:
- Jamie Monroe | Communications Director
- Jamie.Monroe@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-205-8508
Humane Education and Experiential Therapy Programs:
- Annie Aschenbrenner | Program Director
- Annie.Aschenbrenner@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-466-6242
Administrative inquiries:
- Kes Allen | Administrative Coordinator
- Kes.Allen@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-440-1118
Animal surrenders and rehoming requests:
- Rehoming@HeartlandFarmSanctuary.org
- 608-440-1118