Jill Groendyk
Jill’s enthusiasm for caring for others - which kicked off in kindergarten when she administered band aids on classmates’ cuts and scrapes on the playground - has grown into a full-fledged passion for fostering community health through thriving local food systems and sustainable design. Of note, Jill co-led a team of fellow graduate researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems in developing the first greenhouse gas inventory for the City of Detroit. Jill has also taken on wide-ranging roles within the local food system: from designing and implementing statewide farm to early care and education strategy and programming in Wisconsin to coordinating an on-farm water quality initiative in the Great Lakes Basin. Most recently, Jill worked alongside fellow Sift partner Sarah as Assistant Market Manager for the Dane County Farmers’ Market, where she enjoyed building relationships with farmers and designing marketing materials that highlighted the joy and pleasure of shopping direct-from-the-farmer.
Jill’s core skills include data analysis and interpretation, graphic design, program strategy, and compassionate and curious communication. Jill enjoys cooking and reading an excessive number of articles from The Atlantic. Jill is originally from hilly Athens, Ohio and holds a BS in Chemistry from the Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and an MS in Natural Resources and the Environment from the University of Michigan.