We are excited to introduce you to our 2025 FoodWIse team. If you are interested in classes and programming please feel free to contact our FoodWIse Administrator Jill VanAirsdale at . For PSE opportunities please reach out to Prasanta Anumolu at prasanta.anumolu@wisc.edu (food retail and farmers markets,) and/or Andrea Fuentes at andrea.fuentes@wisc.edu (F2ECE, K-12 schools, and food gardens.)
Jill VanAirsdale, FoodWIse Nutrition Administrator
jill.vanairsdale@wisc.edu
Jill VanAirsdale is Program Administrator for FoodWIse in Milwaukee County. In her role as Program Administrator, she provides leadership and support to the UW-Extension FoodWIse team. She is also responsible for building relationships and fostering collaborations with many programs and agencies across Milwaukee County. Jill previously served as the FoodWIse Teaching Coordinator for four years. She spent that time coaching and mentoring nutrition educators, providing curricula guidance and support, and teaching nutrition lessons for youth, parents, child care providers, and older adults. Prior to joining the team in 2015, she worked with Milwaukee parents and youth for seven years as a Classroom Manager and Family Advocate Specialist for Educare/Next Door, a Head Start and Early Childhood Education program in Milwaukee County. In addition to working with families across Milwaukee, she also served as a Home Visitor and Lead Teacher for CAP Services Head Start in Waupaca County for eight years. Jill enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She is currently trying to find her “green thumb” and her goal is to keep several herbs plants (chives, parsley, thyme) alive long enough to enjoy them.
Maria Schmid, FoodWIse Nutrition Coordinator
maria.schmid@wisc.edu
Maria joined the Milwaukee County FoodWIse team in the summer of 2021. She was born and raised in Milwaukee and previously worked as a Nutrition Educator for FoodWIse in Southwest Wisconsin for a year and a half. Prior to that she also worked as a Nutrition Educator at 2nd Harvest Foodbank in Spokane, WA. Her experience includes working with youth, adults, and families in schools, food banks, transitional housing shelters, and community centers. She enjoys introducing participants to new foods and simple recipes. Maria has a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Global Health from UW-Madison. In her free time, she enjoys staying active by running, biking, and exploring the outdoors.
Priscilla Ordaz, Bilingual Administrative Assistant
priscilla.ordaz@wisc.edu
Priscilla Ordaz is the Bilingual Admin Assistant at UW-Extension Milwaukee County-FoodWIse. Who believes in its never too late to start a new career in life. She began her journey in retail and warehouse work when she moved to Wisconsin back in 2013 from California and has now decided it’s time for a change. Priscilla Ordaz lives in the small city of South Milwaukee, WI. She enjoys spending time with friends and family creating memories by doing fun adventurous experiences. She loves going camping, hiking, kayaking, and having a nice relaxing day at the lake on her days off.
Denise Clark, FoodWIse Educator
denise.clark@wisc.edu
Denise Clark has recently been hired as a Nutrition Educator in Milwaukee County. She is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has been working as a Nutrition Educator in Racine and Kenosha counties for the past 5 years. Denise’s experience has been working with children, parents, and older adults in a variety of settings including, community centers, homeless shelters, food pantries, and elementary schools. In her exploration of continuing education, she is still searching to find M&Ms in one of the food groups on My Plate!
Nicole Wittkopp, FoodWIse Educator
nicole.wittkopp@wisc.edu
Nicole Wittkopp is a newly hired Nutrition Educator, but she is not new to the field of nutrition nor education. Nicole was born and raised in Fond du Lac, WI and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a degree in Human Development and Family Studies, as well as in Elementary Education. She is a certified K-8 teacher and has been teaching for the last three years. In her free time, Nicole loves to spend time with her family, read novels, bike or walk outside, and especially, cooking and baking. She loves to develop new recipes to use in the kitchen and share her creations with others. In her role as Nutrition Educator, Nicole gets to combine her passion for teaching and her love of nutrition to enrich others’ lives about food and health. She can’t wait to get out into the community and share her passions with Milwaukee County!
Rachel Skoczek, FoodWIse Educator
rachel.skoczek@wisc.edu
Rachel Skoczek is a Nutrition Educator who joined the FoodWIse team in 2018. Rachel works with pre-K and elementary aged youth, parenting groups, food pantries, and community members of all ages. She is passionate about providing accessible learning opportunities and delicious recipes during lessons. Rachel is a graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, with focus in areas such as nutrition, global health, and food studies. She is also part of a community garden and a Master Gardener Volunteer. She loves to experiment in her kitchen and garden, biking, and spending time in Milwaukee’s County parks.
Maricela Pantoja, Bilingual FoodWIse Educator
mpantoja2@wisc.edu
Maricela Pantoja is a Bilingual Nutrition Educator with FoodWIse. She previously worked with Milwaukee Public Schools as a paraprofessional, teaching youth about healthy eating habits. For nearly 10 years, she was also part of the Healthy Choices Program at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, where she supported families in reaching their nutrition and active living goals. Maricela is passionate about helping families live healthier, happier lives through better nutrition and physical activity. She completed the Early Childhood Education Program at MATC and has experience working with childcare centers, K–12 schools, food pantries, and senior centers. She also enjoys leading guided tours at local farmers markets. In her free time, Maricela loves cooking dishes from different regions, baking and gardening.
Fernie Magaña, Bilingual FoodWIse Educator
mmagana@wisc.edu
Maria “Fernie”, is a native of Mexico City. Before moving to Wisconsin, she was an income tax preparation expert in El Paso, TX for 17 years. Fernie has collaborated with the Hispanic community in Milwaukee since 2014 in a health-centered environment providing support and education for underserved communities in Milwaukee County. One of the favorite parts of her job is being able to see how people thrive after learning healthy habits that can transfer through generations in both English and Spanish. In her spare time, Fernie likes to travel, cook, grill, and spend time with her grandchildren and friends.
Jimena Zamudio, Bilingual FoodWIse Educator
jgzamudio@wisc.edu
My Name is Jimena, I was born in Salinas California but lived in the town of Watsonville until the age of five, since then Milwaukee has been my home. I am thrilled to be a part of the FoodWise team, with my four years of experience as a Youth Development Professional for the Boys and Girls Club, I have had the opportunity to work closely with diverse groups and become deeply involved in the community. This experience has ignited my passion for promotion healthy habits and making a positive impact on people’s lives, my hobbies are to go on nature walks with my children and finding new ways to staying active, I also enjoy learning about new recipes I can cook for my family.
Andrea Fuentes, Bilingual Healthy Communities Coordinator
andrea.fuentes@wisc.edu
Andrea supports the nutrition educators in PSE work with community partners in early childhood education, K-12 schools and senior centers. She worked in social services for 15 years supporting and connecting families to resources including healthy food, housing, safety, and other services. She also coordinated environmental health initiatives including neighborhood improvement projects, rain gardens for stormwater management and lead-safe community gardens. Andrea’s background is in international studies, economics and agriculture, and she completed various trainings in child development and family services.
Prasanta Anumolu, Healthy Communities Coordinator
panumolu@wisc.edu
Prasanta Verma Anumolu is a longtime resident of Milwaukee County and has a background in public health and the healthcare industry, as well as in education. Her most recent work was with the Village of Brown Deer Farmers Market. In addition to her public health work, Prasanta is an author, speaker, award-winning writer, former speech and debate coach, and a former health care marketing professional. Her first book, Beyond Ethnic Loneliness, addressing the public health epidemic of loneliness as it relates to ethnicity and belonging, released in April 2024 and is available wherever books are sold. She enjoys reading, writing, walking, being outdoors, tasting cuisines from around the world, and perfecting her chai recipe.
